The S&P / ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has closed up 0.3% at 5,386.3. That followed gains in offshore markets overnight. The US Dow Jones added 0.6%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.3%, and the UK's FTSE 100 saw a rise of 0.6%.
Here are the top five best performing stocks in the index today.
- St Barbara (ASX: SBM) climbed 5% to 52.5 cents
- Beadell Resources (ASX: BDR) added 4.8% to 97.5 cents
- Macquarie Atlas Roads Group (ASX: MQA) closed up 4% at $2.83
- Silver Lake Resources (ASX: SLR) rose 3.9% to 79.5 cents
- Boart Longyear (ASX: BLY) gained 3.4% to 45.5 cents
These stocks were the losers on the day.
- Resmed (ASX: RMD) dropped 8.3% to $5.41
- Linc Energy (ASX: LNC) lost 5.2% to $1.375
- Asciano (ASX: AIO) fell 5% to $5.90
- Carsales.com (ASX: CRZ) slipped 4.3% to $10.45
- Skilled Group (ASX: SKE) closed down 2.9% at $3.70