Key takeaways:

• Inflation-sensitive stocks feel the heat as rising costs start to weigh on earnings outlooks

• Coal remains one of the most lucrative trades in 2022 thus far

Buoyed by strength from the utilities and energy sector, the ASX gained 1.6% this week, shaking off concerns the US Federal Reserve is showing no signs of slowing its rate hike campaign.

Which shares excelled?

Fund manager Perpetual (ASX: PPT), recently one of the most shorted stocks on the local share market, tops this week best performers on the back of an unexpected takeover offer for the company. On Thursday, the asset manager disclosed to the market that Barings Private Equity Asia had offered a $1.7 billion bid for the firm, although this offer was quickly knocked back by the company, which argues the bid materially undervalues the business. 

The news followed a sudden spike in the share price of Perpetual in the final minutes of trading on Wednesday afternoon, which has now prompted an ASIC investigation. Perpetual decision to turn down the offer comes as it makes progress with its own M&A activity, with the $2.5 billion acquisition of ASX-listed peer Pendal announced back in August.

Despite a late-week pullback, shares in Imugene (ASX: IMU) made strong ground this week. The biotech firm, which is working in the field of cancer immunotherapy, provided a clinical trial update where it informed the market that it has dosed the first intratumoral patient in the second cohort of its Phase 1 clinical trial for Vaxinia, a novel cancer-killing virus. Currently, Imugene is assessing safety of the oncolytic virus, but pre-clinical testing has given the company hope after it showed effectiveness in shrinking various tumours. Elsewhere, Coronado Global Resources (ASX: CRN) is riding the heights of a commodities boom for coal exporters. This week the company reported just shy of US$900 million of revenue for the September quarter, thanks in no small part to an elevated metallurgical coal price of US$253 per tonne over the period. Its year-to-date revenue is more than double that of the prior corresponding period, prompting a special dividend of US13.4 cents, its fifth dividend in 2022.Nickel Industries (ASX: NIC) has also been among this week best performers, and it all centres on the low cost nickel producer quarterly update. The highlight of its report was a new record for nickel production, eclipsing 20,000 tonnes thanks to a 30.2% increase in output for the quarter. At the same time, the company also managed to reduce its average cash costs by just over 6%, despite the inflationary environment. On the back of these metrics, investors were prepared to overlook a large drop in sales and earnings, which boiled down to lower nickel prices.Some of the other stocks to prop up the ASX this week included Vulcan Steel (ASX: VSL), Hutchison Telecommunications (ASX: HTA), New Hope (ASX: NHC), and Nanosonics (ASX: NAN).

Which shares dragged on the market?

Weighing on the ASX this week, Domino Pizza Enterprises (ASX: DMP) suffered a blow as the pizza franchise operator annual general meeting fell flat with shareholders. Once again, as it has been for some time now, inflationary costs relating to energy expenses, labour, and raw ingredients are weighing on the business, while sales are down 1.8% thus far in the new financial year. With these headwinds in play, the company expects to take an earnings hit in the first half of the year.Another company feeling the effects of an underwhelming trading update is building contractor LendLease (ASX: LLC). On Thursday, the business provided an update on its guidance for FY23, with management anticipating EBITDA margins and Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) will come in at the lower end of its previous guidance.AI chip developer Brainchip (ASX: BRN) had a tough month in October, with its shares shedding a quarter of their value, and things haven't improved in the opening days of November. Its recent quarterly update indicated the company continues to burn cash at a rate of knots, while its cash receipts were a lowly $118,000 for the three-month period, despite being valued in excess of $1 billion.While Perpetual was flying higher this week, it was a different story for its target acquisition Pendal Group (ASX: PDL). Shares in the fund manager reacted to news that Perpetual is in the sights of a private equity suitor, which would cast doubt on Pendal takeover. Although Perpetual management were quick to dismiss the bid thrown their way, it appears some investors believe the offer could represent the start of a process whereby Pendal takeover could be shelved if a better offer for Perpetual were to arise.  Also on the slide this week was building materials supplier Brickworks (ASX: BKW), which traded ex-dividend on Tuesday to the tune of 41 cents per share. The company is somewhat akin to the dividend aristocrats' in the US, which is a term used to describe a group of companies that have consistently increased their normal dividends in each of the past 25 consecutive years. However, weakness in the company share price this week is also attributable to concerns about a recession in the face of rising interest rates and elevated inflation.

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