Although the market pushed higher on Friday, the S&P/ASX 200 index finished with a weekly decline of 25 points or 0.4% to 6310.9 points after trade war concerns weighed on investor sentiment.
Not all shares dropped lower with the market, though. The following shares charged higher and were the best performers on the benchmark index last week. Here's why:
The Saracen Mineral Holdings Limited (ASX: SAR) share price was the best performer on the ASX 200 last week with a gain of 10.5%. Market volatility due to trade war concerns led to increasing demand for safe haven assets last week. Saracen wasn't the only gold miner climbing. Not far behind it was the Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) share price with a 9.5% gain and the Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) share price with a gain of 8.5%. The S&P/ASX All Ords Gold index ended the week over 5% higher.
The Domain Holdings Australia Ltd (ASX: DHG) share price rebounded from a late April selloff with a gain of 7.5%. The property listings company's shares fell heavily late last month after a disappointing third quarter update. It appears as though some investors believe the selling was overdone and created a buying opportunity. This certainly isn't the case at Morgans, though. Earlier this month the broker downgraded its shares to a reduce rating with a $2.19 price target amid concerns that its near term growth could be constrained.
The Bingo Industries Ltd (ASX: BIN) share price climbed a sizeable 7.5% last week despite there being no news out of the waste management company. I suspect that some investors may have been attracted to its defensive qualities amid the market volatility. In addition to this, analysts at Morgans retained their add rating and placed a $2.06 price target on its shares last week following its update at an investor conference.
