The Australian sharemarket is on fire today with the benchmark index, the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO), up 1.4% at 5,554 points, helping to reverse some of the damage inflicted on investors' portfolios over the last two months.
While it is the banks and miners doing most of the heavy lifting, there are a number of stocks posting far greater gains today, including these five.
STW Communications Group Ltd. (ASX: SGN) is the top performing stock from the ASX 200 group today, rising 8.6% to 63 cents following yesterday's 6.4% gain. The communications group provided an update on its strategic and operational review yesterday, stating that it has identified a number of initiatives to improve the company's overall performance. Credit Suisse has subsequently upgraded its stance on the stock from neutral to outperform.
Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) has jumped 5.2% to trade at $2.45 after the iron ore price surged above US$65 a tonne overnight. The commodity has now regained more than 40% since it hit a 10-year low in April, offering some much needed relief for the nation's high-cost operators.
BC Iron Limited (ASX: BCI) has also benefited from the overnight rally, climbing just over 7%.
Harvey Norman Holdings Limited (ASX: HVN) was sold off by investors yesterday following weak consumer confidence data from the Westpac-Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment, but it has jumped 2.8% today to trade at $4.75. The gain could be attributed to the strong jobs data provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which showed that 42,000 new jobs had been created in May. That could suggest greater consumer spending in the future which bodes well for the retailers.
Retail Food Group Limited (ASX: RFG) appears to be back on the market's agenda following a sharp sell-off which saw the stock drop 18.4% over the last fortnight. The retailer, which owns brands such as Gloria Jean's and Pizza Capers, recently booked an $18.5 million impairment most of which will be accounted for in the financial reports for this financial year (thus impacting profits). In my opinion, the stock had become oversold and the market is now reaching the same conclusion, bidding the shares 5.5% higher to $5.80.
