The S&P/ASX 300 (Index: ^AXKO) (ASX: XKO) has closed up 0.6%, at 5,897.6, as large cap oil stocks lead a sustained surge throughout the day. In fact, most of the top 20 stocks posted positive gains today.
Several ASX-listed stocks did much better than that. Here's our view…
WDS Limited (ASX: WDS) rocketed up 20% to 12 cents, after the contractor and engineering firm announced it had won a new $5 million contract with a new client, Jemena. With a market cap of just $19 million, that's a substantial contract win. A year ago, it would've been a drop in the ocean, but since then WDS's shares have plunged 87% (including today's gains).
Education provider Vocation Ltd (ASX: VET) soared 24% to 15.5 cents, and has now doubled in the past month. Once written off as having no future with shares plunging 94%, it seems there may well be life left in Vocation after all. If the company can clear its debts and sell off some of its operations, management may well be able to revive Vocation. Having said that though, a share price of $3.40 anytime soon does appear out of the question.
Norton Gold Fields Limited (ASX: NGF) saw its shares jump 16.5% to 23 cents. Norton expects to produce around 187,000 ounces of gold during this calendar year at a C1 cash cost of A$870 to A$920 per ounce. Once you include all-in sustaining costs, it's debateable whether Norton will actually make any profit – and showing the uselessness of companies continuing to quote C1 cash costs.
BT Investment Management Limited (ASX: BTT) climbed 7% to $10.38. The fund manager today advised that funds under management (FUM) had jumped by more than 10% to $77.1 billion by the end of March, compared to the end of December 2014. BT says the results mean an increase in annualised fee income of $11.5 million, while the falling Australian dollar against the British Pound added $0.8 billion in FUM.
