With the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) losing 0.21% to 7,112.8 points by the end of today's trading session, it certainly wasn't a great day for many ASX 200 shares. But the Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) share price was not among them.
Today was, in fact, a great day for Coles shares. The supermarket giant ended up recording a gain of 0.36% to $19.38, so a healthy outperformance of the broader market. But it was even better for investors during intra-day trading.
This company rose as high as $19.50 a share around midday today. That happens to be both a new 52-week high and an all-time record high for the Coles share price.
Today's move means that Coles shares are now up a healthy 8.2% in 2022 so far. That's a marked outperformance of the ASX 200 as well, which remains 6.3% in the red over 2022.
So what happened today that pushed Coles to these new record highs?
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Why did Coles shares hit a new record high today?
Well, if you (understandably) suspect earnings, that isn't the case. Coles isn't scheduled to report its FY22 full-year numbers until next Wednesday (24 August).
In fact, there wasn't any fresh news or announcements out of the company today at all, or indeed since 11 August.
So we don't have a smoking gun for Coles' new highs today.
As such, let's look at what happened to Coles' consumer staples peers. Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) shares didn't do as well as Coles today, losing 0.25%.
But Endeavour Group Ltd (ASX: EDV) also had a positive day, gaining 0.6%. Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE) had a corker (no pun intended), lifting 4.04%.
So we are seeing some market-defying moves in Coles' consumer staples sector.
Consumer staples shares such as Coles are often good performers on days when the market is falling. This is due to a perception that these companies are 'safer', given that they sell life's needs, not wants.
So it's possible this was the reason why Coles shares had such a cracking day of trading this Thursday. We also can't discount the possibility that some investors are taking a bet that what Coles will report next week will impress the markets.
Whatever the reasons for the positive performance of the supermarket operator, no doubt investors will be happy.
At the last Coles share price, this ASX 200 blue chip has a market capitalisation of $25.8 billion, with a dividend yield of 3.15%.
