Weakness in the tech sector weighed heavily on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) last week. This led to the benchmark index falling a disappointing 66.6 points or 0.9% to end the period at 7,014.2 points.
Fortunately, not all shares on the index tumbled lower. Here's why these were the best performing ASX 200 shares last week:
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Omni Bridgeway Ltd (ASX: OBL)
The Omni Bridgeway share price was the best performer on the ASX 200 last week with an 11.1% gain. This gain was driven by the litigation funding provider announcing the settlement of the Wivenhoe class action with the State of Queensland and Sunwater for an aggregate amount of $440 million. Omni Bridgeway will receive a distribution from the settlement of the project costs and the project management fee totalling approximately $30 million.
Crown Resorts Ltd (ASX: CWN)
The Crown Resorts share price was the next best performer with a 7.6% gain. The catalyst for this was news that rival Star Entertainment Group Ltd (ASX: SGR) has tabled a conditional, non-binding, indicative merger proposal. On a pro forma basis, Star's offer implies a price in excess of $14.00 per Crown share. This was a 15.5% premium to its last close price at the time. Crown revealed that it is considering the offer, along with an improved bid from Blackstone.
Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG)
The Resolute share price wasn't far behind with a gain of 7.5% over the five days. While the gold miner announced the appointment of a new CEO at the end of the week, this wasn't the reason for the gain. In fact, the Resolute share price fell almost 2% on Friday following the announcement. The gain may have been due to bargain hunters looking for undervalued options in the gold sector. After all, the Resolute share price is still down 31% year to date even after this gain.
Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC)
The Whitehaven Coal share price was on form and charged 7.45% higher last week. All of this gain and more was made on Friday after the coal producer's shares jumped 9%. This was driven by the release of two positive broker notes that morning. Both Macquarie and Credit Suisse upgraded its shares to an outperform rating on valuation grounds. Macquarie has a $1.70 price target and Credit Suisse has a $1.55 price target.
