It has been a stunning start to the week for the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO). In afternoon trade the benchmark index is up around 1.7% to 5,317 points. Gains can be found across all sectors, not least the financials sector which is leading the way today with a gain of over 2%.
There have been four shares in particular which have stood out with strong gains today. They are as follows:
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) is the best-performing bank so far with a rise of around 3% to $23.80. All the big four and regional banks are higher with investors appearing more confident in the sector and snapping up the big dividend yields which are on offer. Amongst its peers, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) has been the next best performer with a similar percentage rise to hit $29.06.
ANZ's share price is down a whopping 26% in the last 12 months.
Independence Group NL (ASX: IGO) shares have jumped over 8% to $4.09 after the miner released its fourth quarter production update to the market. The update revealed that after a solid fourth quarter the company's gold mining production had met expectations and hit the middle of its full year guidance. As well as this news, the rise in the gold price has no doubt been an additional boost for its shares today.
Independence Group's share price has rocketed 61% so far in 2016.
Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) shares are up over 9% to 51.5 cents following the aerial mapping company's announcement of the successful implementation of its HyperCamera2 initiative. The new aerial mapping technology is expected to vastly increase the capability of its product offering, as well as reduce the costs of capturing data. I believe this is a positive step forward for Nearmap and see the shares as a very interesting option for growth investors.
Nearmap shares have increased by 38% in the last three months.
Sirtex Medical Limited (ASX: SRX) shares have jumped almost 7% to $28.00 after it announced worldwide full year dose sales growth of 16.4% for its SIR-Spheres Y-90 resin microspheres. Whilst the growth delivered was at the upper end of the 15% to 17% dose sales guidance the global healthcare business provided in June, it still falls short of the five-year average growth of 19.8% per annum. Due to a drop in its share price in the last few weeks, I feel at the current price Sirtex could be a good long-term investment.
Sirtex shares are still down by around 11% since the June 1 announcement.
