It's been an interesting day on the ASX boards so far this Tuesday. Investors were initially optimistic when the markets opened this morning, sending the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) up 0.3% at one point. But as the day has progressed, investors have lost that sense of optimism for ASX 200 stocks.
At the time of writing, the ASX 200 is currently down 0.2% at just over 9,000 points.
Despite this haphazard performance, though, we have seen a number of ASX 200 stocks hit new 52-week highs today.
We've already covered the fresh record high that BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) shares are enjoying. But BHP is not the only ASX 200 stock breaking new ground this Tuesday.
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These ASX 200 stocks just hit new 52-week highs
First up, let's talk about Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS). This ASX 200 energy stock is enjoying a strong 1.11% bounce at present at $27.40 a share. That's after Woodside hit a new 52-week high of $27.66 earlier this morning.
It seems we have Woodside's latest earnings to thank for this new high. As we went through earlier this session, Woodside reported record energy production as well as lower costs.
Despite slight declines in revenue and profit, the company still increased its final dividend to 57 US cents per share, up 11% from 53 US cents last year.
Woodside's high today was also likely boosted by an overnight increase in energy prices, with Brent crude now back over US$70 a barrel.
But it's not just Woodside hitting a new 52-week high this Tuesday. We've also seen new highs from a bevvy of ASX 200 gold stocks.
Gold stocks bounce back
These include Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST), Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN), and Westgold Resources Ltd (ASX: WGX).
Northern Star clocked a new 52-week (and all-time record) high of $30.93 soon after market open this morning. It's a similar story with Evolution and Westgold. Evolution reset its own record, hitting $16.39 a share, while Westgold raced to $7.93 a share, a new record.
It's not hard to see a pattern here. Gold itself has continued to push higher today. After dipping below US$5,000 an ounce earlier this month, the yellow metal looks to be gearing up to have a crack at its own record high. It's back above US$5,000 at about US$5,177 an ounce at the time of writing after hitting US$5,237 a few hours ago.
Clearly, this recovery in the gold markets has renewed investors' appetites for ASX 200 gold stocks.
