ASX – Shares in Play 8 October 2018

This fortnight the ASX has churned sideways with reasonable volatility with notable performances.

Murray Cod Australia (MCA) + 20%, continuing the agricultural and food thematic that has performed well for years on the ASX, although thinned out in numbers dramatically.

Avita Medical (AVH) are known as the spray-on skin company + 23% this fortnight beating the cancer treatment health care companies Immutep (IMM) + 8.5% and Opthea Limited (OPT) + 12.8%.

Leading Thematics:

The best share market performances come from companies centred in a strong industry or thematic with favouring tailwinds. Examples in history have been railway companies, wireless radio manufacturers, automobiles, airlines, and technology. This fortnight the standouts have been:

1) Mining Companies

Alumina (AWC) jumped after news of the world's alumina largest refinery Alunorte ceased production indefinitely, sidelining 5 per cent of global alumina supply.

Other top mining companies were:

2) Technology Companies

The top performing companies on the global market over the last two years have been dominated by technology companies. In Australia the best performers have been replaced regularly, however they all have another tailwind propelling their rise. Some complementary themes have been financial services and mining services.

The Top Tech companies have been: