The S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has managed to end the day higher with a gain of 0.18%.
It was down to local companies reporting to do the heavy lifting today with little in the way of economic data or offshore leads with the US markets closed over night for the Presidents' Day holiday. Investors reacted enthusiastically to BHP Billiton Limited's (ASX: BHP) result, which helped lift the materials sector by 1%. The financial, healthcare, telco, and REIT sectors all gained as well. The IT, gold, industrials, utilities, consumer discretionary and consumer staples sectors were all lower.
Here are the top five best performing stocks in the index today.
- Monadelphous Group Limited (ASX: MND) jumped 9.7% to $17.10
- Karoon Gas Australia Limited (ASX: KAR) gained 4.3% to $3.18
- NRW Holdings Limited (ASX: NWH) added 4% to $1.435
- Sirtex Medical Limited (ASX: SRX) rose 3.8% to $14.96
- G8 Education Ltd (ASX: GEM) closed up 3.4% to $3.95
These stocks were the losers on the day.