With the S&P 500 trading at a 22-month low, the ASX also found itself on the back foot this week, with real estate and tech shares some of the worst hit.

Which shares excelled?

One of the bright spots this week, retailer Premier Investments (ASX: PMV) defied expectations of a consumer slowdown to soar during Thursday trading session. The company, which owns brands like Peter Alexander, Just Jeans, and Smiggle, among others, released its FY22 results. 

Premier reported a 14.3% increase in online sales, while underlying EBIT rose 10.1% to $335 million. Making waves, however, was news that the company declared a special dividend of $0.25 per share, alongside a final dividend of $0.54 per share. It has also launched a $50 million share buyback, providing an upbeat story for shareholders.

Megaport (ASX: MP1), which focuses on elasticity connectivity and network services interconnection, ended Thursday trading session as one of the leading mid-to-large-cap stocks this week. Despite a sell-off across tech assets, and also being one of the most shorted stocks across the entire ASX, it held up better than its peers, which could suggest it has some buying support waiting on the sidelines.Entering the final trading session of the week, the health care sector was the only ASX sector in the green. Several names from this sector performed relatively well this week, which suggests that investors exiting growth stocks and real estate names have been looking at more defensive shares to park their funds. One of the companies that has benefitted this week from this pivot is medical device company Cochlear (ASX: COH).On a similar note, shares like Sonic Healthcare (ASX: SHL), CSL (ASX: CSL), and Ansell (ASX: ANN), each from the health care sector, have managed to avoid the steep losses seen in some other corners of the market.

Which shares dragged on the market?

With growth assets in line for a selldown this week, a host of volatile battery metals names have found themselves on the outer as investors try to safeguard their portfolios. Core Lithium (ASX: CXO), Novonix (ASX: NVX), and Lake Resources (ASX: LKE) are all among the worst performing stocks on the ASX this week.

Of note, Core Lithium this week informed the market that it is making progress towards the first shipment of Direct Ship Ore (DSO) spodumene from its Finniss Lithium Project by the end of the year.

Graphite miner Syrah Resources (ASX: SYR) exited a trading halt at the start of the week, but the news wasn't ideal for shareholders. Management announced that operations at the company Balama graphite project in Mozambique would be suspended due to alleged illegal industrial action raised by a small contingent of local employees and contractors. As negotiations continue between stakeholders, the company will be hoping a resolution can be reached so that operations may resume safely.Delivering a shock blow to its shareholders earlier this week, Costa Group (ASX: CGC) announced that its CEO and Managing Director, Sean Hallahan, would depart the company with immediate effect. In the role for just 18 months, Mr Hallahan departure caught the market off guard, and shares in Costa Group were abruptly sold down.Elsewhere, markets software and information services provider Iress (ASX: IRE) has had a week to forget. Shareholders were quick to rush to the exits when the company announced a material downgrade to its earnings guidance, with full-year net profit now expected to be around 16% lower than previously envisaged. 

It joins a number of other companies that have recently cited inflationary costs as having an impact on operations, but it is also witnessing delays in its sales pipeline given the impact that a deteriorating macro environment is having on its clients.

Another tech name feeling the heat this week has been Link Administration (ASX: LNK). The superannuation administration and share registry provider was previously up for acquisition as part of a mooted $2.5 billion deal, however, that prospect officially collapsed at the start of this week when it became clear the deal would no longer proceed. The sticking point was the valuation of the company in light of contingency funding required to be set aside following adverse court rulings in relation to historical operations of Link subsidiaries. A long list of names underperformed this week, including SiteMinder (ASX: SDR), energy stocks such as Santos (ASX: STO) and Beach Energy (ASX: BPT), plus companies with agricultural ties like Nufarm (ASX: NUF), Australian Agricultural Company (ASX: AAC), and Graincorp (ASX: GNC).

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