Thursday’s top performing ASX 200 shares at the end of the session

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) finished the day 1.15% lower, tipping just under 7000 points once more, to 6987 at the close. Rather than bucking the trend of the US market like it did yesterday, ASX shares followed suit today.

Healthcare led the losses, dropping a staggering 3.7% across the sector in the session. Healthcare heavyweight, CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL) plunged 4.27% despite no news out from the biotherapeutics company.

However, let’s not dwell, and instead take a look at the 3 best performing shares in the ASX 200 today.

These ASX 200 shares pulled it together today

Out of the ASX’s top 200 shares, 150 were in the red by the end of the session. So what gave the top 3 that extra pizzazz on an otherwise disappointing day.

GPT Group (ASX: GPT)

The diversified property group managed to pull ahead into the green while leaving its ASX 200 peers in the dust. GPT climbed an impressive 3.4% by the end of the session. That brings GPT’s share price to a fall of 20% over the last 12 months.

Adding confusion, there appears to be no news out from GPT today. However, a few macro factors could be leaning into a stronger price. Firstly, value stocks are holding reasonably during this recent market drop-off. UBS analyst Pieter Stoltz also recently inferred the expectation for value shares to outperform this year.

Furthermore, as published by The Sydney Morning Herald, the Covid-19 vaccine is showing early signs that it could be reasonably effective against other strains. This is good news for any industry that has been impacted by and continues to be suppressed by the pandemic. For GPT as an owner and operator of multiple retail and office assets, any further signs towards a promising return to normal are good for business.

Cleanaway Waste Management Ltd (ASX: CWY)

The waste management company spent most of the trading sideways, but after entering and then coming out of a trading halt, Cleanaway surged into the close. The Cleanaway share price finished the day up 4.9%.

The big news event is that Cleanaway is in talks to acquire one of its competitors, Suez. The France-based company serves over 4 million residents locally in Australia. The deal is rumoured to be around $2 billion. Importantly, all the details are yet to be finalised and discussions are still ongoing.

Cleanaway finished as the best performing share in the ASX 200, after resuming trade.

Computershare Ltd (ASX: CPU)

Computershare was the quiet achiever today. Although the company didn’t post any announcement or developments, the Computershare share price gradually moved upwards throughout the day. The world’s largest share registry put much of the ASX 200 to shame, with a significant 4.6% gain.

Given the maturation of the company and the space it operates in, shareholders may be viewing Computershare as a decent balance between growth and value in this market. This hypothesis could be supported by the change in substantial holding notice posted earlier in the week which indicated Australian Super had increased its holdings of the company.

More reading

• ASX 200 sinks, Xero reveals acquisition, ARB driven higher
• CSL (ASX:CSL) share price is now down 12% in 2 weeks
• Cleanaway (ASX:CWY) share price swept up in >$2bn acquisition rumour
• Why are these ASX 200 healthcare shares sinking today?
• ANZ (ASX:ANZ) share price outperforms on broker “buy” upgrade

Mitchell Lawler has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of CSL 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 Bruce Jackson.

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