The Australian sharemarket is trading lower this morning, marking its third consecutive day in the red, despite strong international equity performances overnight.
While the S&P 500, Dow Jones and NASDAQ indices all rose between 0.8% and 1.3% on strong earnings reports and hopes that a deal would be struck to avoid a Greek debt default, the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has drifted 0.4% lower to be sitting around 5,780 points.
Although the market itself has lost ground; a number of popular Australian stocks are surging higher. Here's why…
Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd. (ASX: DMP) has rallied nearly 22% to be trading at $33.34 after it delivered an almost flawless half-year earnings report this morning. The company recorded a 44.2% leap in net profit, complemented by a 29.5% lift in revenue, while it also increased its interim dividend by 39% to 24.6 cents per share. Although the stock commands a rather lofty premium, it appears to be going from strength to strength as it continues to expand internationally.
Slater & Gordon Limited (ASX: SGH) has risen another 4.9% today to be trading at $7.53, adding to the 8.6% gain it recorded on Tuesday. The legal firm released its profit results for the six months ending 31 December 2014 yesterday, which not only revealed a 46.5% and 37.6% increase in net profit and revenues respectively, but also confirmed the company's strong growth prospects in the UK market.
Skilled Group Limited (ASX: SKE) shares climbed as much as 13.4% to trade at $1.65 before retreating slightly to $1.565 – which is still a 7.6% gain for the day. The company, which provides staffing solutions to the public and private sectors, reported a 10.6% increase in sales revenue and a 12.3% increase in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA). Meanwhile, it said it would continue to cut costs and improve efficiencies with a total of $15 million in savings expected for the year.
Genworth Mortgage Insurance Australia (ASX: GMA) rose 9.1% after the company presented its full-year results where it reported a 16.5% increase in underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) to $279.4 million. Meanwhile, net earned premium was $445.8 million for the year which beat the company's own guidance of between $440-445 million. The stock is now sitting at a record high of $4.30 having risen nearly 50% since it floated on the ASX in May last year.