After having retreated heavily over the last two trading days, the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) hit back in fine form on Tuesday, rising 0.6% to be trading just under 5,870 points. The jump came after a strong session for international equity markets overnight, while the Reserve Bank of Australia's latest meeting minutes also provided some scope for further interest rate cuts.
QBE Insurance Group Limited (ASX: QBE) was one of the market's strongest performers for the day with its shares rising 3.2%. Despite the absence of any news which would explain the jump, it's possible that investors are reacting to the falling Australian dollar (which should provide a boost for QBE's earnings thanks to its US division). The stock has risen a remarkable 30% since the beginning of February and is trading just shy of its highest price since December 2013 at $13.82.
ResMed Inc. (CHESS) (ASX: RMD) is another company which investors might buy to take advantage of the lower Australian dollar. The company, which develops and manufactures products for the treatment of sleep apnea, is set to release its third-quarter results early Friday morning (Australian time), when it is expected to report strong sales growth, thanks in large part to the release of several new products. The stock rose just over 3% to be trading at $9.46.
iCar Asia Ltd (ASX: ICQ) delivered an impressive quarterly result which the market was clearly impressed with. The stock surged 12.1% to 97.5 cents after it reported record quarterly cash collections of $1.4 million and a record combined monthly audience of 7.6 million unique car buyers in March. You can read more about the report, here.
M2 Group Ltd (ASX: MTU) has also provided some oomph for the local bourse after the telco soared to a new all-time high earlier in the session. The stock has since retreated to $11.49, up 4.6% for the day and 109% over the last 12 months. M2 Group has been rising strongly since it announced the acquisition of New Zealand's number-three internet service provider CallPlus and 2Talk last week, which will only improve the telco's scalability in the NZ market. Although it is trading near a record price, M2 Group is certainly one worth watching.
