Best and worst stocks on the ASX today

ASX ends down as RBA cuts the official cash rate

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 August 6, 2013 4:31 pm AEST

The S&P / ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has dropped 0.1% to finish at 5,105.6, despite the Reserve Bank cutting the official cash rate as expected, by 0.25%, and three of the four major banks announcing that they would pass on the rate in full or more. The gold sector was the worst performer, losing 3.5%, while the A-REIT (property trust) sector gained 1.9%.

Here are the top five best performing stocks in the index.

Atlas Iron Limited (ASX:AGO) jumped 5.4% to 88.5 cents
GPT Group (ASX:GPT) gained 4.5% to $3.70
Independence Group (ASX:IGO) rose 4.4% to $3.60
Billabong International (ASX:BBG) added 3.5% to 44.5 cents
Mirvac Group (ASX:MGR) climbed 3.5% to $1.65

These stocks were the losers on the day.

Resolute Mining (ASX:RSG) dropped 10.8% to 70.5 cents
Flight Centre (ASX:FLT) lost 5.7% to $43.74
Silver Lake Resources (ASX:SLR) fell 5.4% to 70 cents
Evolution Mining (ASX:EVN) closed down 5.3% at 80.5 cents
Virgin Australia Holdings (ASX:VAH) slipped 4.6% to 41.5 cents

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Motley Fool writer/analyst Mike King owns shares in Silver Lake Resources and Flight Centre.

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