The ASX has traded mostly flat today, keeping in line with the Dow Jones which rose a mere 0.1% overnight. However, these five ASX stocks have defied the trend, heavily outperforming the market today.
AWE Limited (ASX: AWE) rose a staggering 17.4% today to trade at 85.7 cents per share. Although the entire energy sector is riding high today, AWE deserves a special mention. The company announced a 25 million standard cubic feet flowrate from its Waitsia gas discovery, which it owns 50% of at the moment. The company described this as an "excellent result", and investors clearly agree.
Notably, Senex Energy Ltd (ASX: SXY) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) have also risen 10.3% and 11% respectively after oil prices rose more than 5% overnight, with some analysts now revising their future price estimates upwards.
Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) was another standout from the resources sector. The gold miner's shares gained another 4.3% to trade at $14.66 after the spot gold price rose 1.4% to US$1,151 an ounce.
The gold price is rising due to expectations that a US interest rate hike could be put off until next year, with many investors making their return to the supposed 'safe haven' of gold.
Outside the resources arena, Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL) rose 2.2% to $9.24 after hitting a new seven-year high of $9.37 earlier in the session. The gain came after Deutsche Bank raised its price target on the stock by 10% to $11 a share, citing the potential to increase North American earnings as it gains market share.
XERO FPO NZ (ASX: XRO) also gained 3.8%, hitting $14.64 a share as it slowly regains the losses inflicted upon it in recent months. The company, which provides a cloud-based accounting software platform, has recorded heavy losses recently and it seems investors are focused on this, rather than the reports that show it is quickly growing market share around the world.
Long-term investors should try to ignore this short-term pessimism and focus on the company's ability to continue winning, and retaining, new customers.
