Energy stocks rallied to help pare back ASX losses today.
The S&P/ASX200 had dropped 9.40 points or 0.13% to 7,496.60 at time of writing. Over the last five days, the index is virtually unchanged, but is currently 1.78% below its 52-week high.
An hour before market close for the week, the bottom performing stocks in this index were Healius Ltd and The Star Entertainment Group Ltd, down 6.17% and 4.13% respectively.
Looking at the sectors for the day, Energy was up 0.90% and Materials was hanging on by a whisker with a 0.06% gain. On the flipside, Utilities was the worst performed down 1.69%, followed by Consumer Staples which lost 1.21%.
The best-performing sectors for the week include Information Technology up over 3%, followed by Consumer Discretionary and Real Estate up 1%. The worst-performing sectors include Materials, down over 2%, followed by Utilities, down just over 1% and Energy, which is just in the red.
The best-performing stocks in the ASX top 100 include Alumina Ltd, up over 24%, Iluka Resources Ltd (ASX:ILU) which gained over 9% and South 32 Ltd, up over 8%. The worst-performing stocks include IGO Ltd, down over 7%, followed by Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX:MIN) and Newmont, both down over 6%.
What's next for the Australian stock market?
Wealth Within founder and chief analyst Dale Gillham is back for 2024 to run his eye over the Aussie stock market.
“What an interesting year 2023 was for the Australian stock market; after rising strongly in January, it turned to fall for nine months before rising strongly in the final two months of the year to close 2023 by just over 8%. This is quite unusual, and in hindsight, if you were not invested, you probably were not too concerned. If you were, then you were most likely a bit frustrated.
“The good news is that I believe 2024 will be a different story; in fact, I think the next few years will be vastly different to the past few years. It is often said that what happens in January often dictates the rest of the year, however, January 2023 was not a good indication of what transpired throughout the remainder of the year. Currently, in January 2024, the All-Ordinaries Index is down just over 1%, which after two very strong months is to be expected.
“Right now, the signs are that 2024 will be a good year and will likely be the start of a new bull run lasting a few years. Right now I like Financials, Energy and Materials stocks for this year.”
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