Best and worst stocks on the ASX today

ASX closes down 0.2% as US political issues dog the markets

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 8, 2013 4:05 pm AEDT

The S&P / ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has closed down 0.2% at 5,149.4 as investors fret over the US political stalemate and its up-coming debt ceiling issue. Most sectors ended in the red, with just Health care and the Utilities sectors posting a positive result.

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

Alacer Gold (ASX: AQG) gained 4.8% to $3.30
Atlas Iron (ASX: AGO) added 4.7% to 89.5 cents
Cardno (ASX: CDD) rose 4.6% to $6.09
GWA Group (ASX: GWA) closed up 3.6% to $3.13
Aurora Oil & Gas (ASX: AUT) ended 3.5% higher at $3.29

These stocks were the losers on the day.

Cudeco (ASX: CDU) dropped 9.8% to $1.805
Paladin Energy (ASX: PDN) slumped another 5.2% to 46 cents
Magellan Financial Group (ASX: MFG) fell 5% to $9.70
Decmil Group (ASX: DCG) lost 4.9% to $2.14
Resolute Mining (ASX: RSG) slipped 4.1% to 58.5 cents

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

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