ASX continues to bleed

ASX drops 0.3%, but it could have been much worse

Mike King

Mike King is a Fool.com.au Investment Analyst and Writer. He caught the investing bug more than a decade ago, at a time when the U.S. had invaded Iraq and fear reigned in the markets. His initial success as the markets took off encouraged his passion and thirst for knowledge. With 13 years behind him at one of Australia's largest domestic banks, Mike's passion for stocks led him to join a boutique funds management firm, where he stayed for four years. A seven-year stint in equity research at one of the largest investment banks in the world followed that, giving Mike a thirst to pursue his passion further. Mike holds a Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment and a Graduate Certificate in Financial Planning. His passion is to help retail investors invest better, and that passion was one of his primary reasons for joining The Motley Fool Australia in late 2011. Mike has written thousands of articles since joining, including for Fairfax Media, Yahoo!7, Ninemsn and has also appeared on ABC's The Business. You can see all of Mikes' holdings here

Published April 16, 2013 5:47 pm AEST

The S&P / ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has extended yesterday's fall, losing 0.3% to end at 4,950.8, after earlier hitting 4,914 as gold and other commodities recovered some of the massive falls they experienced yesterday. Overnight the Dow Jones lost 1.8%, while the S&P 500 lost 2.3% on news that China's growth had slowed.

The Australian dollar has continued its falls against the US dollar, fetching 103.7 cents.

These three stocks were the best performers in the top 20.

Brambles Limited (ASX: BXB) added 1.2% to close at $8.28. In February the pallet pooling company guided to a full year net profit after tax of just over US$1 billion, with its CHEP USA pallets business performing an impressive turnaround. The falling Australian dollar should also help Brambles, with much of its earnings coming from the US.

Woolworths Limited (ASX: WOW) gained 0.9% to close at $34.76, as investors gave 'riskier' assets like resource companies the flick and went in search of companies with defensive qualities. You can't really get another Australian stock that's more defensive than Woolworths, which operates supermarkets, hotels, liquor stores, home improvement and hardware and reportedly the largest owner of poker machines in Australia, and pays a full franked dividend of just under 4% as well.

Telstra Corporation (ASX: TLS) was also up 0.9%, rising to $4.69. Yet another defensive stock, Australia's largest telco is still offering a 6% fully franked dividend yield at the current price. With its legendary, fully franked 28 cent dividend, Telstra is the darling of Aussie investors.

Chances are even if you don't own Telstra shares directly, your superannuation fund does. But with its share price skyrocketing over the past year, is Telstra past its prime? Click here for our brand-new report: Buy, Sell, or Hold Telstra?

More reading

The Motley Fool's purpose is to help the world invest, better. Click here now for your free subscription to Take Stock, 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. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson. Motley Fool writer/analyst Mike King owns shares in Woolworths and Telstra.

Automatic Renewal

By taking up this offer, you will also be enrolled in our auto-renewal program, which is our way of making your ongoing subscription easier by ensuring uninterrupted service. Don't worry, though – you're not locked in, and can cancel your auto-renewal at any time before each 'anniversary' date without question or penalty.