3 ASX stocks that beat the market on Monday

Two of these three are airline related – the other a rare earths miner

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Published May 15, 2012 11:15 am AEST

The S&P / ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) barely moved yesterday, rising just 11.9 points to close at 4,297.0. It seems flying was on investors' minds, with two of the three stocks involved in aviation. The following three stocks all managed to rise by 3.5% or more.

Lynas Corporation Limited (ASX: LYC) rose 6.5 cents, up 6.7% to $1.035. The rare earths miner announced last week that it is on track to start up its plant in Malaysia in June 2012. The plant has been held up as Malaysian residents and local politicians expressed concerns about radioactive waste contaminating the environment.

China has a major hold on rare earths elements, which are used in electronic devices such as Apple Inc's (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone. Despite their name, rare earths are relatively plentiful, but because of their properties are not often found in concentrated and economically viable forms.

Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd (ASX: VAH) rose 1.5 cents to close at 43.5 cents, a rise of 3.6%. The company and Western Australian based Skywest Airlines have received Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) approval to jointly bid for corporate contracts and charter operations. The companies entered into a 10-year strategic alliance in January 2011, to enable Virgin to fly into regional areas, and in April 2012, Virgin purchased 10% of Skywest Airlines for $8m.

Sydney Airport (ASX: SYD) rose 10 cents, or 3.5% to close at $3.00. The company holds a right of first refusal on a second Sydney airport. The Australian Financial Review reported that Sydney Airport's Chief Executive, Kerrie Mather, has said Sydney Airport will defend that right in the face of government plans to find alternatives to reduce congestion at the airport.

Other notable risers included Decmil Group Limited (ASX: DCG) up 3.2% to $2.89 and Macmahon Holdings Limited (ASX: MAH) up 2.9% to 70.5 cents.

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Editor's note: A previous version of this article stated that Sydney Airport would exercise its right of refusal. That statement was incorrect, and has been amended in the article, above.

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