Today, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) finished the week with a bang, paring back half of the week’s losses. At the end of the session, the benchmark index finished a sizeable 1.93% higher at 7,075.1 points.

A backdrop of buying on the US market last night spilled over into ASX shares today. Taking centre stage amid the buying frenzy on Friday were tech shares, with the sector soaring 7%. Other sectors making the most of the rally were real estate and healthcare. By the end of the day, investors were hard-pressed to find a company in the red.

However, the question is: which shares delivered the biggest returns to investors on the ASX today? Here are the top ten stocks that came through for investors:

Top 10 ASX shares countdown today

Looking at the top 200 listed companies, Block Inc (ASX: SQ2) was the biggest gainer today. Shares in the fintech giant exploded 15.00% after analysts at Wolfe Research noted their belief that the Block share price had been oversold. Find out more about Block here.

The next best performing ASX share across the market today was Xero Ltd (ASX: XRO). The cloud accounting platform provider experienced a 9.44% surge in its share price today. It appears market participants looked upon the company more fondly amid firming across the tech sector. Uncover the latest Xero details here.

Today’s top 10 biggest gains were made in these ASX shares:

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
Block Inc (ASX: SQ2)	$114.88	15.00%
Xero Ltd (ASX: XRO)	$84.16	9.44%
Link Administration Holdings Ltd (ASX: LNK)	$4.42	8.87%
Event Hospitality and Entertainment Ltd (ASX: EVT)	$14.85	8.39%
Wisetech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC)	$41.02	7.27%
Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG)	$15.79	7.27%
Altium Ltd (ASX: ALU)	$27.00	7.14%
Yancoal Australia Ltd (ASX: YAL)	$5.62	6.84%
Viva Energy Group Ltd (ASX: VEA)	$2.83	6.39%
Netwealth Group Ltd (ASX: NWL)	$12.85	5.76%

Our top 10 ASX shares today countdown is a recurring end-of-day summary to ensure you know which companies were making big moves on the day. Check-in at Fool.com.au after the market has closed during weekdays to see which stocks make the countdown.

The post Here are the top 10 ASX shares today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why did the Telstra share price rebound nearly 2% on Friday?
• Nearmap share price jumps 9% on Friday
• 3 ASX All Ordinaries shares leaping by more than 10% on Friday
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Friday
• Block share price rebounds 15% as analyst calls sell-off overblown

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler has positions in Block, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Altium, Block, Inc., Link Administration Holdings Ltd, Netwealth, WiseTech Global, and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Block, Inc., Netwealth, WiseTech Global, and Xero. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Link Administration Holdings Ltd (ASX: LNK) share price finished the session up 8.87% to $4.42 on Friday. In earlier trading, it hit an intraday high of $4.52 — 11% higher than yesterday’s closing price of $4.06. The whole market went up today with the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gaining 1.93%.

Today’s share price bump represents a strong recovery for Link Group following a tumultuous week for the soon-to-be taken over administration services company.

Subject to a shareholder vote, Link Group has accepted a takeover offer from the Canadian company Dye & Durham Ltd (TSE: DND). The offer is $5.50 per share via a scheme of arrangement. Completion is expected in June or July.

The explanatory booklet was released on Tuesday, revealing that Dye & Durham will fund the acquisition via a $3.5 billion term loan through various lenders. The problem with that is that the loan is more than three times the company’s market capitalisation.

What did this do to the Link share price?

On Wednesday, the Link share price plunged by more than 12% in the first half-hour of trading. It hit a new 52-week low of $4.19. The large fall, on a huge trading volume, prompted the ASX to pause trading.

Link responded to the ASX query saying it was “not aware of any reason for the decline in the share price and the elevated trading volumes today”. The company added: “Link Group is not aware of any material information about the proposed acquisition by Dye & Durham that is not in the Explanatory Booklet approved by the Supreme Court of New South Wales on 10 May 2022.”

As my Fool colleague James reported on Wednesday, the size of the loan “appears to have spooked investors and cast doubt on the deal closing”.

The Link share price has lost 9.8% over the past five trading days. The shares traded as low as $4.04 at one point yesterday. The Dye & Durham share price has also tanked by 19% over the same period.

What now?

Yesterday, Link released a letter to shareholders regarding the scheme booklet and scheme meeting to be held on 13 July. The Link board is unanimously recommending that shareholders approve the deal. Shareholders will also vote on a proposed capital return immediately after the takeover vote.

The post Why did the Link share price surge 11% on Friday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why GrainCorp, Link, NAB, and Pendal shares are sinking today
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Wednesday
• The Link share price just tumbled 12% before being halted. What’s happening?
• ASX 200 midday update: Magellan names its new CEO, Link shares crash

Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Link Administration Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Well, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has had a fantastic day of trading this Friday. The ASX 200 closed today up a pleasing 1.93% at 7,075 points after some heavy losses earlier in the week. As you might expect, the Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price also enjoyed some healthy gains.

Telstra shares ended up finishing the day at $3.93 each. That was up a solid 1.55%.

So what was behind this telco’s hefty rise this Friday?

Telstra share price ends the week on a high note

Well, we can’t say for sure. There were no news or announcements out of Telstra today, save for a routine share buyback notice. But Telstra has been putting one of these out most days in recent weeks, reflecting its ongoing share buyback program. Still, one can’t discount the value of these buybacks, they do theoretically boost shareholder returns.

But perhaps the most plausible explanation for Telstra’s share price moves today is that the telco has just been caught up in the goodwill of the markets. Telstra wasn’t immune to the sell-offs this week. It remains down 1.7% over the past five trading days, falling from $4 a share at the start of the week to $3.93 yesterday. Thus, it’s not too strange to see the company regain some ground today, especially in light of the ASX 200’s massive move upwards.

So that seems to be the most likely explanation as to why Telstra has enjoyed such a strong end to the trading week. No doubt it will make Telstra’s investors pleased as we enter the weekend.

At the current Telstra share price, this ASX 200 telco has a market capitalisation of $45.89 billion, with a dividend yield of 4.07%.

The post Why did the Telstra share price rebound nearly 2% on Friday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Friday
• Why is the Magellan share price up 7% today?
• ASX 200 midday update: Block and Xero rebound, gold miners fall
• The Soul Patts dividend is being paid today. Here’s what you need to know
• 2 ASX dividend shares that brokers are tipping as buys right now

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in Telstra Corporation Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Telstra Corporation Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) share price has found some much-needed relief today as it rebounded alongside the ASX tech sector.

Shares in the aerial mapping company shot up 8.6% to a one-week high of $1.21 in after lunch trade. The Nearmap share price was trading at $1.19, up 7.2% at the close of trade on Friday.

ASX tech shares rebound

The outperformance comes as other IT shares on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) staged a 6.2% bounce – making the sector the top performer on the index on Friday.

Other ASX tech shares that surged by 8% or more today include Xero Limited (ASX: XRO), up 9% at the close; Brainchip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN), which jumped as high as $1.15 before closing at $1.12; and Block Inc CDI (ASX: SQ2), up 14.6% at the close.

What’s happening to the Nearmap share price?

The Nearmap share price has been heavily sold off along with its peers, more recently off the back of rising interest rates.

Higher borrowing costs depress the valuation of shares – particularly growth shares such as tech companies that trade on lofty multiples.

But the prediction by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) boss Matt Comyn that interest rates won’t rise as much as the market is currently pricing, is a welcome relief to tech investors.

Comyn thinks rates could rise by another 100 basis points (bps), or 1 percentage point, instead of 200 bps as many economists are tipping.

If he’s right, the embattled ASX tech sector could find its feet sooner than the market is expecting.

Nearmap share price dives despite positive earnings news

Other good news for the Nearmap share price comes in the shape of its recent positive earnings update. Management said last month the company generated more than US$2 million in incremental annual contract value (ACV) from its government portfolio in North America in the March quarter alone.

This followed Nearmap’s report that its total ACV hit $150 million for the first time in its history.

The trading update should alleviate fears that growth is slowing, although these positive messages have been lost in the latest blood-curling market sell-off.

Foolish takeaway

Having said that, no one can say with any certainty if the painful correction in ASX tech shares is close to running its course.

At least investors know they won’t be buying the Nearmap share price at the peak of the market given that the shares have collapsed by more than 30% over the past year.

The post Nearmap share price jumps 9% on Friday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 3 ASX All Ordinaries shares leaping by more than 10% on Friday
• Block share price rebounds 15% as analyst calls sell-off overblown
• Why 5E Advanced Materials, Block, Neometals, and Xero shares are racing higher
• Why is the BrainChip share price leaping 7% on Friday?
• ASX 200 midday update: Block and Xero rebound, gold miners fall

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau has positions in Block, Inc., Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and Nearmap Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Block, Inc., Nearmap Ltd., and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Block, Inc., Nearmap Ltd., and Xero. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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