Best and worst stocks on the ASX today

ASX added 0.2%, shrugging off the US government shutdown

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 October 2, 2013 4:27 pm AEST

The S&P / ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has closed up 0.2% to 5,215.6, shrugging off the impact of the US government shutdown. The gold sector followed the gold price down, losing more than 3%, while consumer discretionary and information technology sectors both saw gains of more than 1%.

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

Horizon Oil (ASX: HZN) rocketed up 11.1% to 35 cents
Paladin Energy (ASX: PDN) climbed 10.4% to 53 cents
BlueScope Steel (ASX: BSL) rose 6.2% to $4.83
Panaust (ASX: PNA) closed up 2.9% at $2.12
Aristocrat Leisure (ASX: ALL) added 2.7% to $4.88

These stocks were the losers on the day.

Linc Energy (ASX: LNC) slumped 10.5% to $1.257
Ausdrill (ASX: ASL) dropped 4.8% to $1.40
Resolute Mining (ASX: RSG) lost 4.7% to 61.5 cents
Beadell Resources (ASX: BDR) fell 4% to 83.5 cents
Newcrest Mining (ASX: NCM) slipped 4% to $10.95

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Motley Fool writer/analyst Mike King doesn't own shares in any companies mentioned.

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