Australia’s stock market reaches a record high, breaking through the 7000 point mark
The Australian stock market has hit a new record high this morning. So what stocks have been hot over the past decade, what ones have flopped, and how have mum and dad favourites fared?
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The Australian stock market has broken through the 7000 point mark for the first time ever in a stellar start to 2020.
The nation’s key stock market index, the ASX 200, hit a new record high of 7041.1 points in early trade this morning.
The latest gains came as investors cheered the signing of a phase 1 deal to resolve the US-China trade war.
The local market has also been dragged higher by another record session on Wall Street overnight where the Dow Jones Industrial Index pushed past 29,000 points for the first time.
The ASX 200, which broadly tracks the nation’s 200 largest listed companies, has gained close to 5 per cent since the start of the year in its best new year opening since 1987.
This year’s gains add to the 18.4 per cent the market put on last year in its best performance of a decade.
Over the past decade – a period when the market exited the tail end of the global financial crisis – the ASX 200 has gained close to 44 per cent
Total shareholder returns, a measure which includes the value of dividends, stand at 158 per cent.
That means if you invested $10,000 in the ASX 200 in early 2010 and reinvested your dividends, you would now have $25,800.
The best performing stock of the past decade has been upstart goldminer Northern Star Resources.
Its share price has surged by more than 39,000 per cent – from 3c to $11.92 – as it has rapidly expanded by buying up mines.
Altium, which sells design software for printed circuit boards, has been the second best performer as its share price has skyrocketed more than 14,000 per cent from 27c to $37.40.
Most of those gains have been made in the past two years as a new tech boom has gripped investors.
Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals, which makes medicine to treat a rare metabolic disorder, rounds out the top three best performing stocks of the past 10 years.
Its share price has surged by more than 10,600 per cent, from $2.50 to $29.
At the other end of the scale wealth management giant AMP, laboratory services company ALS and coal miner New Hope have been the three worst performing stocks which have remained trading on the ASX.
AMP’s share price has lost 70 per cent of its value over the decade – falling from around $6.80 to $1.94 – while ALS has lost 70 per cent of its value and New Hope 55 per cent.
Mum and dad favorites have thrown up a mixed bag.
Biotech giant CSL has been the standout with its share price up 852 per cent over the decade to this morning hit an all-time high of $299.28
Qantas has put on 140 per cent, rising from less than $3 to sit at $7.05, while Woolworths has gained 38 per cent, rising from about $27.70 to $38.80.
Among the banks Commonwealth Bank has gained 45 per cent to be trading at $84.30 this morning, while ANZ has gained 13 per cent to $25.41.
Westpac’s share price is 2.75 per cent lower than what is was 10 years ago – sitting at $24.89 this morning – while National Australia Bank is down 7.5 per cent to $25.36.
Telstra’s share price has risen 16 per cent to be currently changing hands for $3.86.
Those numbers do not include the value of dividends and many of the nation’s blue chips are sought out by investors for what have historically been generous payments.
Among the miners, shares in BHP have lost 8 per cent over the past 10 years to be sitting at $40.06 while Rio Tinto has gained 32 per cent to be trading at $103.52.
BHP spun off a bunch of assets into a new company South32 in 2015, reducing the size of its business.
10 BEST PERFORMING STOCKS OVER PAST DECADE*
Northern Star Resources, up 39,630%
Altium, up 14,060%
Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals, up 10,605%
Hub24, up 10,134%
EML Payments, up 7471 %
Magellan Financial, up 7354%
Polynovo, up 6635%
Appen, up 4621%
Ingenia Communities, up 3732%
Jumbo Interactive, up 3366%
*does not include dividends
10 WORST PERFORMING STOCKS OVER PAST DECADE*
AMP, down 70%
ALS, down 68%
New Hope Corp, 55%
Sims Metal Management, down 54%
Whitehaven Coal, down 52%
Healius, down 50%
Southern Cross Media, down 50%
Origin Energy, down 49%
Estia Health, down 46%
Western Areas, down 46%
*does not include stocks that no longer trade on the ASX
MUM AND DAD FAVOURITES*
CSL, up 852%
Qantas, up 140%
Commonwealth Bank, up 45%
Rio Tinto, up 32%
Wesfarmers, up 42%
Woolworths, up 38%
Telstra, up 16%
ANZ, up 13%
Westpac, down 2.75%
National Australia Bank, down 7.5%
BHP, down 8%
*does not include dividends