For the second day running, the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has staged a major comeback after plummeting as much as 1.7% earlier in the session.
The market rose as much as 4.1% at one point yesterday – a stunning 5.6% turnaround from its intraday low – before closing the day 2.7% higher. Those gains looked set to be reversed early in today's session but the market has since recovered to sit just 0.1% lower at 5133 points.
BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) is one of the companies leading the charge. Although it reported its lowest annual profit in 12 years yesterday afternoon, it did reconfirm its commitment to its dividend policy. The shares have risen 0.7% to $23.50, putting the stock on a "once in a lifetime" 10.6% dividend yield when grossed up for franking credits, as highlighted by the Fairfax press.
The big four banks have also staged a turnaround with Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB) and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) all trading 0.4% higher. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) bucked the trend, falling 0.5%.
Elsewhere, Village Roadshow Ltd (ASX: VRL) is up 6.8%, while Virtus Health Ltd (ASX: VRT) and Computershare Limited (ASX: CPU) are up 5% and 2.3%, respectively.
Although it is currently unclear whether the market's optimism will last, or for how long, it is clear that investors are jumping at the opportunity to buy high-quality companies at down and out prices.
Regardless of whether or not the market falls any further in the coming days or weeks, those investors stand to be well rewarded in the long term. Indeed, thanks to the market's recent crash, ASX stocks haven't looked this appealing in years…
