Investors around the world were shocked when Britain voted to leave the European Union a fortnight ago. Many panicked and sold their shares on the day as markets plunged, with some shares being sold down heavily in the time since as well.
However, shares of a number of companies have also benefited as a result of the surprise vote, with some recording significant gains in that time.
Indeed, gold is known to rise in price during times of heightened uncertainty, which explains why EVOLUTION FPO (ASX: EVN) shares have soared almost 36% over the last fortnight. Not only has the company made two positive announcements in that time, the gold miner will also benefit from the gold price which has rallied to almost US$1,360 an ounce.
Like Evolution Mining, Beadell Resources Ltd (ASX: BDR) has also surged higher as a result of the soaring gold price. Meanwhile, the miner reported high grade oxide drilling results from the Tap AB Mine area at its Tucano mine in Brazil. This saw its shares jump 19.3% in a single day. The shares are up 67.2% in total since the Brexit vote.
As if gold wasn't already dominating this list, St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) is another gold miner whose share price has rocketed higher over the last fortnight. Its shares have gained 26.3% in that time, 152.6% since the beginning of the year and a massive 532% over the last 12 months.
CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) hasn't been quite as spectacular as the gold miners, but its defensive attributes have certainly held the biopharmaceutical giant in good stead. Although the shares initially fell sharply after the vote, they have since recovered and are trading 1.8% higher. Investors typically value defensive qualities in businesses when uncertainty rises, and given that people are still going to need blood and plasma products regardless of the state of the economy, CSL certainly has those qualities.
Another blue chip that is firing on all cylinders is Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS), which has lifted 4.5%. Telstra is facing a number of issues relating to the quality of its network following a series of service outages, but investors appear willing to look past that for the moment and focus instead on its solid cash flows, customer loyalty and, of course, its lucrative fully franked dividend yield.
