The S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has come back from its break with a bang. Thanks largely to gains in the resources sector the index is higher by 1.1% to 5,691 points in afternoon trade.
Six shares which have done a lot of the heavy lifting are as follows:
Aconex Ltd (ASX: ACX) shares are up 3.5% to $5.11 despite there being no news out of the software-as-a-service company. Aconex has come under heavy selling pressure in the last few months due to the high multiples its shares trade at. I believe it has now fallen to an attractive entry point for patient buy and hold investors.
Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) shares have jumped over 3% to 84.7 cents thanks to a rise in the Brent crude oil price. According to CNBC Brent crude oil rose 1.7% to US$53.90 a barrel overnight in light trading. On January 1 OPEC and non-OPEC producers will officially start to lower production by around 1.8 million barrels a day. Time will tell what impact this has on prices.
Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) shares have risen 4% higher to $6.00. The iron ore miner has now retraced the majority of Friday's decline thanks to the iron ore price rising 1.6% to $US79.42 a tonne yesterday. BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) shares have also performed strongly today. Currently they are higher by just over 3.5%.
Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) shares have surged over 4% higher to $18.88 after the gold price snapped back from recent drops. The spot gold price is fetching US$1,140 an ounce at present, up around 1.2% from its pre-Christmas lows. Although the majority of Australia's gold miners are higher today, Newcrest and Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG) are the two standouts. Resolute has risen a staggering 14.5%.
