The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 0.13% this afternoon so the chances of finishing the week with four out of five days in positive territory are narrowing. However, Wednesday's sharp selloff has pretty much put us back to square one anyway.
Despite the whipsaw like action from the broader market, here are 3 ASX shares that managed to top the market.
Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)
The Appen business is looking to turn a new leaf following its business and trading update on Wednesday. Alongside a restructuring of its business divisions, the company reaffirmed its FY21 underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of US$83 million to US$90 million. The Appen share price has surged 20% this week to $13.18 at the time of writing.
Despite Appen shares making it onto the top-performing ASX 200 shares list, its shares are still sitting at multi-year lows, down 47% year-to-date and more than 60% lower than its all-time record highs. While the company has impressed the market this week and reaffirmed its near-term earnings, this is arguably the first step in Appen's road to recovery.
Aristocrat Leisure Ltd (ASX: ALL)
The jump in the Aristocrat Leisure share price was another announcement-driven catalyst. Its shares jumped as much as 9.40% to an all-time record high of $40.86 on Monday after announcing a half-year earnings upgrade.
The company announced an exceptional product performance and customer engagement for its casino gaming business, coupled with stronger than expected customer sentiment and economic conditions in key US and ANZ markets.
While investors might expect Aristocrat shares to take a breather after such a significant move on Monday, its shares have steadily moved higher, and are currently trading at $40.50 or a weekly gain of 8.70%.
Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX: PRU)
Perseus Mining is a less-known gold miner compared to household names such as Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN), Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) and Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM). Its shares have rallied 8.50% this week, despite no market-sensitive updates.
This week, gold rallied to a 4-month high of US$1,870, likely propping up both the Perseus share price and its gold mining peers. Factors including rising inflation expectations, easing treasury yields and the recent Bitcoin selloff could be drivers behind the higher gold price.
