With the market gaining ground this week on the back of improved sentiment, and better-than-expected tech earnings out of the US, growth stocks have been the ASX best performers.

Which shares excelled?

Shares in AI chip manufacturer Brainchip (ASX: BRN) entered Friday trading session up almost 40% for the week, and it is largely due to developments out of the US that bode well for the company. Other than a rebound in the Nasdaq index, the US also passed legislation this week that will provide up to US$50 billion in funding for chip manufacturing. As a fast-growing company in this space, including operations in the US, Brainchip is directly poised to benefit from the CHIPS' Act.With the appetite for growth stocks seemingly creeping back into the market over the last fortnight, battery metals stocks have taken off in recent trading sessions. Some of the winners this week include Sayona Mining (ASX: SYA), Liontown Resources (ASX: LTR), Novonix (ASX: NVX), Lake Resources (ASX: LKE), Vulcan Energy Resources (ASX: VUL), and Core Lithium (ASX: CXO).

One of the catalysts for the sector-wide rally was commentary from none other than Elon Musk, who spoke to the difficulty of refining lithium, and why it is equivalent to effectively minting money right now, Meanwhile, Tesla Chair commented around the prospect of a lithium supply deficit. At the same time, electric vehicle uptake across Australia is continuing to grow, with wait lists now ballooning out. 

Elsewhere, digital family tracking and safety app Life360 (ASX: 360) has had a bumper week, bursting sharply higher amid a bullish note from broker Bell Potter. The firm believes Life360 is on track to become cash flow positive from 4Q FY23, with its strong balance sheet and growing user base allowing it to gain traction in disrupting the market. In keeping with the resurgence of the tech sector this week, shares in software layer provider Megaport (ASX: MP1) have soared. The firm, which specialises in interconnection services, released its fourth-quarter results for FY22, and in a cornerstone moment for the company, it announced an inaugural EBITDA-positive result thanks to the above-expectation performance of its Canadian and Japanese operations. Rallying global equity prices have fed into the performance of fund managers this week, including Pendal Group (ASX: PDL), Magellan Financial Group (ASX: MFG), Platinum Asset Management (ASX: PTM), and Pinnacle Investment Management (ASX: PNI). In the case of Pendal Group, the company is back in the spotlight once again regarding a potential transaction, with management in talks with industry peer Perpetual (ASX: PPT) regarding a potential takeover. It has also been a positive week for mineral sands explorer Iluka Resources (ASX: ILU), and copper miner Sandfire Resources (ASX: SFR), with the duo paring recent losses that have come about as a result of growing concerns about a global recession. 

Which shares dragged on the market?

Shares in Australian health care fund NIB Holdings (ASX: NHF) have underperformed the market this week, with the stock sold off despite no price-sensitive news out of the company. In fact, the company hasn't released any announcement via the ASX since the end of May, although the share price had climbed to a near one-year high last week. This week pull-back could be attributed to profit taking and growth stocks returning to favour.Childcare education provider G8 Education (ASX: GEM) also features among this week laggards, although the stock is only modestly down across the week. Nonetheless, it was news of leadership changes at the top of the company that weighed on the stock, as did a trading update that confirmed ongoing team member shortages. Both factors outweighed what was otherwise an improvement in terms of occupancy compared with the first quarter of its financial year.Another stock that slipped this week, albeit mostly over Monday and Tuesday trading sessions before recovering, is Cochlear (ASX: COH). There wasn't any particular news attributable to the stock early-week struggles, however, the stock did rally this time last week, so it appears some traders may have taken that opportunity to cash out of their positions.And finally, Insurance Australia Group (ASX: IAG) has been on the outer this week, and while its losses have been fairly constrained, it comes at a time when its peer, Suncorp (ASX: SUN), has been garnering attention as it seeks to offload its banking division to ANZ (ASX: ANZ). The retreat in IAG share price could be due to some investors believing Suncorp could become a more formidable competitor to IAG in the insurance space if it receives as much as $4.9 billion in fresh funds to focus on its core operations.

We'll be back next week with another Weekly ASX Trading Wrap Up - until then, have a great week!