Although it remains well below its recent highs, it's been a far better session for the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) today than in days gone by.
Led by a resurgence from Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC), the benchmark index has managed to regain 0.5% to be trading at 5,675 points.
Here are four of the market's other strongest performers.
Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) is doing a lot of the heavy lifting with its shares up an impressive 5.2%. Macquarie became the fifth major bank to report its earnings this week, and its results were far better than those announced by its larger rivals. Profit rose 27% on the prior corresponding period on the back of a 14% lift in net operating income, while earnings per share (EPS) were up 31% on the 2014 financial year.
JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH) has risen 3.6% during today's session, adding to its 1.5% gain from Thursday. The discount retailer presented some encouraging sales figures yesterday, declaring an 8.7% uplift in total sales and comparable sales growth of 6.9% domestically during the latest quarter. Although its year-to-date growth is lagging those figures, it's certainly encouraging to see momentum picking up towards the end of the year.
Scentre Group Ltd (ASX: SCG) also updated the market on its third quarter operations yesterday but it seems investors are only reacting to the news now. The stock has risen 3.3% to be trading at $3.81 after the shopping centre giant reconfirmed its full-year earnings guidance and reported a strong rise in specialty sales.
Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd (ASX: LNG) ("LNGL") has provided plenty of excitement for its shareholders so far this year with the stock up 93% since the beginning of 2015. However, a recent pullback from a $5 all-time high has likely been enough to entice investors into the stock, which could explain today's 4% rise. The shares are now trading at $4.66.
While today has been a much better day for the Australian sharemarket, many investors will still be hesitant to buy considering the high level of volatility that has rocked the market recently.
Indeed, investors shouldn't let the market control their emotions, but it is also vital that they prepare themselves (and their portfolios) for whatever headwinds might come their way.
