These three stocks fell by more than 8%.

Vision Eye Institute (ASX: VEI) saw its shares slump by 11.1% to end at 56 cents, despite the company reported a full year profit of $8.9 million on revenues of $111 million. Operating cash flow was very healthy at $26.6 million. Investors appear concerned that former health minister Michael Wooldridge, a director on the Vision board, faces a ban from corporate life over allegations that he breached his duties as a director, while chairman of Australian Property Custodian Holdings.

Sundance Resources (ASX: SDL) shares lost 9.7% to 32.5 cents, more than reversing yesterday's 7.4% rise, despite accepting a revised 45 cents per share bid from China's Hanlong Mining. Hanlong had previously offered 57 cents per share, but was told by Chinese authorities that it would only receive approval if it achieved a 'reasonable' acquisition price. With iron ore prices continuing to fall, investors likely fear the bid may be revised down again.

Ramelius Resources (ASX: RMS) shares slipped 8.3% to 44.5 cents, continuing yesterday's falls after the company reported a 96% collapse in full year profit. Revenues have declined as the company's Wattle Dam mine nears the end of its life, and gold has petered out. Luckily for the company it is ramping up production at its Mt Magnet operation, and has other prospective ventures. In the short-term, production is likely to be erratic, which could affect revenues and have a bearing on the share price.

If you're in the market for some high yielding ASX shares, look no further than our "Secure Your Future with 3 Rock-Solid Dividend Stocks" report. In this free report, we've put together our best ideas for investors who are looking for solid companies with high dividends and good growth potential. Click here now to find out the names of our three favourite income ideas. But hurry – the report is free for only a limited time.

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Motley Fool writer/analyst Mike King doesn't own shares in any companies mentioned. The Motley Fool's purpose is to help the world invest, better. Take Stock is The Motley Fool's free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. Click here now to request your free subscription, whilst it's still available. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post 3 stocks that got clobbered by the market today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Lynas Corporation Limited (ASX: LYC) climbed 17.9% to $1.055, apparently on speculation that the Malaysian government will give the go ahead for Lynas' controversial rare earths processing plant within two weeks. Protesters have been arguing against the plant, which is expected to produce radioactive waste during the processing of rare earths ore into rare earth oxides.

Lynas was one of the top ten most shorted stocks (speculators take short positions, hoping for the share price to fall) on the ASX, so it's likely the share price was also driven up by short-sellers  covering their positions (buying back the shares to close the trade – which pushes the price up).

Linc Energy Ltd (ASX: LNC) jumped 15.6% to close at $0.705. The diversified energy company, with interests in coal, oil and gas has seen its share price yo-yo over the last couple of weeks, as investors chase the share price up and down.  With the stock falling from over $3 a year ago, Mr Market may have over-reacted, and we might be seeing buyers looking for a bargain.

Dart Energy Ltd (ASX: DTE) bounced 14.3% to close at 20c, after hitting an all-time low of 15.5 cents last week.  The company is focused on the development of coal seam gas and coal bed methane projects in Australia and Asia.  Gas is the hot sector (sorry!) now, driven by uncertainty over the carbon tax, and the implications for dirtier sources of energy such as brown coal. Australia is also blessed with large reserves of gas from many sources which may propel the country long after the resources boom has ended…whenever that may be.

Other notable risers include Gindalbie Metals Ltd (ASX: GBG) up 10.5% to $0.475 and Ramelius Resources Limited (ASX: RMS) up 10.1% to close at $0.49.

If you're in the market for some less risky, high yielding ASX shares, look no further than Secure Your Future with 3 Rock-Solid Dividend Stocks. In this free report, we've put together our best ideas for investors who are looking for solid companies with high dividends and good growth potential. Click here now to find out the names of our three favourite income ideas. But hurry – the report is free for only a limited time.

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Motley Fool contributor Mike King doesn't own shares in any companies mentioned. The Motley Fool's purpose is to help the world invest, better. Take Stock is The Motley Fool's free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. Click here now to request your free subscription, whilst it's still available. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post 3 ASX stocks that blew the market away on Monday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Mirabela Nickel Limited (ASX: MBN) rose 28.9% to 33.5 cents, after chief Ian Purdy declared the company's debt position as "rock solid", and opined the heavy recent selling was "unexplainable". Mirabela's share price has fallen 40% in the last week, as investors worry about the company's ability to keep operations running. Mr Purdy has told the Australian Financial Review that he thinks there's some irrational trading going on. We Fools know that markets are not always rational.

Ramelius Resources Limited (ASX: RMS) up 10.6% to 52 cents, its second 10% rise in 2 days, after heavy selling in the stock in the last month, as I discussed in this article.

Perseus Mining Limited (ASX: PRU) up 6.3% to $2.52, following a rise of 7.7% on Thursday, another resources stock recovering after seeing its stock price fall from a $4 high back in September 2011, down to as low as $2.12.

Other winners

Energy World Corporation Ltd (ASX: EWC) up 5.6% to close at 47 cents as it revealed further developments on its Sengkang LNG project in Indonesia. Hastings Diversified Utilities Fund (ASX: HDF) was up 4.5% to $2.11, on news that APA Group (ASX: APA) plans to sell the Moomba Adelaide Pipeline System to help win regulatory approval for its bid for Hastings.

If you're looking in the market for some high yielding ASX shares, look no further than "Secure Your Future with 3 Rock-Solid Dividend Stocks". In this free report, we've put together our best ideas for investors who are looking for solid companies with high dividends and good growth potential. Click here now to find out the names of our three favourite income ideas. But hurry – the report is free for only a limited time.

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The Motley Fool's purpose is to help the world invest, better. Take Stock is The Motley Fool's free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. Click here now to request your free subscription, whilst it's still available. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691).Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post 3 ASX stocks that beat the market on Friday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Are CBA shares still a good buy for passive income?

Ramelius Resources Limited (ASX: RMS) rose 10.6% to close at 47 cents. After falling by more than 50% in the last month, following low gold grades and falling volumes at its flagship Wattle Dam project, as well as lower gold sales. Yesterday the company announced that it had potentially identified a new high grade ore as well as high grade gold mineralisation at its wholly owned Mt Magnet gold project. Investors liked the news, with the shares climbing 10.6% yesterday, and a further 9.6% in trading today. However, a potential discovery has a long way to go before it's proven, and actually starts producing gold.

OneSteel Limited (ASX: OST) rose 9.1% to close at $1.20, a rise of 10 cents, recovering from a low of just 63 cents back in December 2011, and a fall from over $1.30 in the last week. Shareholders overwhelmingly voted to change the company's name to Arrium on the 8^th May 2012, as the company moves away from being a steel manufacturer and producer, to being predominantly an iron ore miner. The name change appears to be good news for the company's share price.

Perseus Mining Limited (ASX: PRU) rose 7.7%, 17 cents to close at $2.37, and in trading today is up another 6.75% to $2.53 so far. Perseus is another gold company that has seen its share price smashed from a high of over $4.00 back in September 2011, and the share price appears to be recovering slightly. As usual, Mr Market appears to have overreacted again, and the bargain hunters have now arrived to push the stock price back up. The company is still expected to produce more than 50,000 ounces of gold in the June 2012 quarter.

If you're looking in the market for some high yielding ASX shares, look no further than "Secure Your Future with 3 Rock-Solid Dividend Stocks". In this free report, we've put together our best ideas for investors who are looking for solid companies with high dividends and good growth potential. Click here now to find out the names of our three favourite income ideas. But hurry – the report is free for only a limited time.

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The Motley Fool's purpose is to help the world invest, better. Take Stock is The Motley Fool's free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. Click here now to request your free subscription, whilst it's still available. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post 3 ASX stocks that blew the market away on Thursday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Iluka Resources (ASX: ILU) fell 12.2% to close at $14.01, after reporting that it was reducing production of zircon because the global outlook remains unclear. Production will fall from 500,000 tonnes to 430,000 tonnes, with sales of zircon likely to be 400,000 tonnes. Cost of production is set to rise from A$650 a tonne to A$700 a tonne. The company also announced that capital expenditure was likely to rise from $220m to $260m in 2012.

In this article, back in January 2012, I highlighted lower zircon production and very high capital expenditure as the main reasons why I was steering clear.

Ramelius Resources Limited (ASX: RMS) fell 7% to 47 cents, continuing its slide from a high of over $1.73 in September 2011. This gold miner has seen falling production, with one of its mines, Wattle Dam originally due to close in 2013. It now looks like it will close earlier due to low grade levels, and lower production. Underground mining at Wattle Dam has now ceased and surface drilling commenced in March 2012. The company expects to produce 20,000 ounces of gold in the June 2012 quarter.

For the half year to December 2012, Ramelius reported net profits of $16.1m, a fall of over 50% from the prior corresponding period.

Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG) fell 5.6% to close at $1.53. Another gold miner, with mines in Tanzania, Mali and Australia, Resolute has seen its share price fall from over $2.20 in the last 12 months. This is on the back of a falling gold price, and a coup in Mali. The miner expects to produce over 400,000 ounces of gold this financial year, although some analysts have expressed doubts about whether the company will meet those forecasts.

Sick of picking losing stocks? If you're looking in the market for some high yielding ASX shares, look no further than "Secure Your Future with 3 Rock-Solid Dividend Stocks". In this free report, we've put together our best ideas for investors who are looking for solid companies with high dividends and good growth potential. Click here now to find out the names of our three favourite income ideas. But hurry – the report is free for only a limited time.

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The Motley Fool's purpose is to help the world invest, better. Take Stock is The Motley Fool's free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. Click here now to request your free subscription, whilst it's still available. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691).

The post 3 ASX stocks that were yesterday's biggest losers appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Several stocks did much better than the index, with six stocks posting gains of over 4 per cent. Here we take a look at the three ASX 200 stocks that moved the most.

GWA International Limited (ASX: GWA) climbed 5.85% to $2.08. The building fixtures and fittings supplier, which includes well known brands like Caroma, Dux and Gainsborough, downgraded expectations in April, stating trading conditions were more difficult than expected. It appears that some investors anticipated the rate cut, with the company's shares opening 5 cents higher and climbing another 6 cents throughout the day.

The interest rate cut should bring some relief to the company, and possibly spur growth in new housing starts and renovations.

AWE Limited (ASX: AWE) climbed 4.87% to close at $1.83. AWE is an oil and gas explorer, developer and producer, currently facing issues with its BassGas project, in Bass Strait near Tasmania. You can read more about the issues in this article, I wrote last week.

The share price appears to have jumped thanks to a broker upgrading the stock from "neutral" to "buy", due to recent price weakness. Before yesterday, AWE's shares had fallen by more than 13% in the last month.

Interestingly, the same broker downgraded the company from "buy" to "neutral" just over a week ago (on 24th  April 2012), causing the stock to fall more than 5% that day.

Cudeco Limited (ASX: CDU) moved up 4.68% to close at $3.58. The copper explorer released its quarterly report on 30th  April 2012, with the company announcing that it had received approval from the Queensland government, for the "Plan of Operations". This is for the Rocklands Group Copper project, 100km east of Mt Isa, in North-west Queensland. The approval clears the way for the company to begin construction of the 3 million tonne per annum process plant, which is expected to produce approximately 480,000 tonnes of Copper/Gold, Pyrite/Cobalt and Magnetite concentrates per year.

Copper is currently trading at around A$8,254 per tonne.

The company announced that construction would begin immediately.

Other notable movers include Seek Limited (ASX: SEK) up 4.47%, Envestra Limited (ASX: ENV) up 4.46% and Saracen Minerals Limited (ASX: SAR) up 4.3%.

Ramelius Resources Limited (ASX: RMS) was the biggest loser on the day, falling by over 24%, after releasing a disappointing quarterly report.

The ASX is already on the move in 2012, and Goldman Sachs experts recently said they reckon S&P/ASX 200 could top 5,000 next year. Read This Before The Coming Market Rally is a must-read for investors who don't want to miss out on the party. Click here now to request your free copy, before it's too late.

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Motley Fool contributor Mike King owns shares in Saracen Minerals. Take Stock is The Motley Fool Australia's free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. Click here now to request your free subscription, whilst it's still available. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691).

The post 3 ASX stocks that performed the best yesterday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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After tracking higher in the first couple of hours of trade, the S&P / ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) couldn't hang on to its early gains on Tuesday 17^th April, closing down 0.3% to 4288.6 points.

The market seemed to lose steam after the Reserve Bank released the minutes from its most recent meeting, outlining its plans to use the upcoming Consumer Price Index (CPI) read as its guide for the next move on rates.

As is always the case, though, the index return only tells part of the story. It's the weighted average of the 200 companies that make up the index – meaning that half of the index (by weight) did better than that mark, and the other half worse.

Leading the charge today were the miners – bouncing back from losses at the end of last week. Streeting the field was Energy Resources of Australia (ASX: ERA) with a 12.7% gain today alone. ERA left the others in its dust, but Lynas Corporation Limited (ASX: LYC) managed a very creditable 5% gain, and Energy World Corporation Ltd. (ASX: EWC) closed up 4.6%. Rounding out the top 5 were Ardent Leisure Group (ASX: AAD) with a 2.9% bump and Australian Infrastructure Fund Ltd. (ASX: AIX), up 2.7%.

With gainers of this magnitude, and the index showing losses on the day, it was inevitable that there'd be some big losers among the 60% of the companies that ended lower today.

Providing a neat bookend to ERA's gain, was Linc Energy Ltd (ASX: LNC), which closed down13%. There were some other heavy losers today, with 13 companies showing losses of 3% or more. Among the largest were Mirabela Nickel Limited (ASX: MBN), off 8.3%, Ramelius Resources Limited (ASX: RMS), down 5.5%, Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL), which shed 5.3%, and Mineral Deposits Limited (ASX: MDL), which dropped 4.8% today.

In other news, Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) released output figures which disappointed the market, with a 0.7% fall in the share price.

The Australian dollar dipped after the release of the RBA minutes, down 0.5c to $1.0305 just before 5pm Australian Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday.

As always, an index throws the good in with the bad, and you should never read too much into a single day's share price movement. We Fools remain on the hunt for the best shares on the market – using dips as a buying opportunity.

If you're looking for income from your shares, look no further than "Secure Your Future with 3 Rock-Solid Dividend Stocks". In this free report, we've put together our best ideas for investors who are looking for solid companies with high dividends and good growth potential. Click here now to find out the names of our three favourite income ideas. But hurry – the report is free for only a limited time.

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 Take Stock is The Motley Fool's free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. Click here now to request your free subscription, whilst it's still available. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691).

The post Interest rates and resource outputs weigh on ASX appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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