The local bourse reversed yesterday's gains and then some more today with the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) finishing Friday's session down 0.6%. Despite today's sell-off, the index still managed to end the week with a gain of 0.3% thanks to a strong session on Tuesday.
The selling pressure intensified during the afternoon and came after Wall Street posted falls overnight with the Dow Jones losing 1% and the S&P 500 falling 0.9%. The sell-off in US stocks appeared to be caused by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. missing earnings expectations and investor focus returning to the troubled Eurozone.
In Australia, there was a dearth of company and economic news, although some merger and acquisition activity did provide some spark.
Most sectors ended lower led by the consumer discretionary and materials sectors – both were down around 1%. The only sectors to record gains were property and utilities.
Here are the top five best performing stocks in the index today:
- Drillsearch Energy Limited (ASX: DLS) climbed 3.8% to $1.52
- Ten Network Holdings Limited (ASX: TEN) added 3.6% to 28.5 cents
- Evolution FPO (ASX: EVN) rose up 3.6% to 87 cents
- Sirius Resources N.L. (ASX: SIR) gained 3.2% to $2.94
- InvoCare Limited (ASX: IVC) closed up 2.2% to $10.90
These stocks were the losers on the day:
