This week has seen a fresh inflation shock in the US, and subdued earnings from major banks to start the latest reporting season dampened the recent recovery in the market. Meanwhile, coal stocks are on the up, and Lake Resources is dealt another blow.

Which shares excelled?

After a dismal showing last week, ASX-listed coal producers have taken off this week. Amid signs of a potential thawing in relations between Australia and China, investors have started to increase their expectations around improving trade between the two countries, including the prospect China lifts its unofficial ban on Australian coal.

In response to the developments, a host of coal stocks have shone this week, including New Hope Corporation (ASX: NHC), Coronado Global Resources (ASX: CRN), Whitehaven Coal (ASX: WHC), Yancoal (ASX: YAL), and Stanmore Resources (ASX: SMR).

Offering a glimpse of positivity amid an uncertain economic environment, Eagers Automotive (ASX: APE) expects a bumper result for the first half of FY22. Management has guided for a statutory net profit before tax of $246 million, which is slightly above the top-end of its former guidance, which previously topped out at $240 million. Meanwhile, underlying operating profit before tax is tipped to reach $195 million, also above prior guidance of $189 million. Ongoing productivity improvements and robust demand for cars are the key catalysts, and Eagers will also launch a share buyback program.Health duo Cochlear (ASX: COH) and CSL (ASX: CSL), two of the largest names in the healthcare sector, have been at the centre of the sector charge this week, with the cohort outperforming all other sectors across the market over recent trading sessions. 

Extending on that theme, Telix Pharmaceuticals (ASX: TLX) has been another strong stock this week, which follows a recent purple patch for the business. This week has seen the company dose the final patient and complete recruitment into the Phase III pivotal study of its investigational renal imaging agent.

Up till this point, the study has seen 300 patients dosed, surpassing initial targets for 252 patients. Separately, Telix also announced the appointment of Kevin Richardson as CEO of its Americas division, bringing with him 25 years of industry experience.Continuing its strong run of form of late, Imugene (ASX: IMU) has been a solid performer up until Friday. The biotech stock has been on a tear ever since it announced a positive and favourable survival outcome from the phase two study of its HER-Vaxx targeting advanced gastric cancer.Dicker Data (ASX: DDR) has also impressed this week, which follows favourable coverage of the stock in the media last week, including a positive recommendation from fund manager Airlie Funds Management.

The fundie believes digitisation is a prevailing tailwind that could help the hardware and software distributor deliver strong growth as it has done over recent years.

Which shares dragged on the market?

If there was one stock courting extra discussion this week it was none other than under-fire lithium explorer Lake Resources (ASX: LKE), which has been hit by one setback after another since being included in the ASX 200. 

This week challenge came rather unexpectedly in the form of a short-seller report, with active research house J Capital taking aim at the lithium extraction technology the company plans to use at its South American project, arguing against its viability.

What more, J Capital also potted the company management for previously selling shares in the business. Although Lake entered a trading halt in order to provide it with time to fire back, even arguing that the short-seller is criticising the incorrect extraction technology, and cycles thereof, it did little to restore confidence in the stock, which slumped to its lowest level since October, 2021. 

Shares in Bega Cheese (ASX: BGA) were left reeling on Thursday after the dairy firm unveiled its guidance for FY23, with shareholders disappointed in the company outlook. The bottom-end of its EBITDA guidance is lower than that of FY22, while the top-end is in line with the last financial year. With the prospect of negative growth in the year ahead, the stock was sold off sharply.

Weaker copper prices have continued to weigh on Sandfire Resources (ASX: SFR), which is directly leveraged to the commodity. Demand for the metal has been weighed down by concerns about a recession, and as early as Friday morning AEST copper was trading at US$3.26/lb, its lowest level since late 2020. 

Shares in Costa Group Holdings (ASX: CGC) took a sudden tumble earlier in the week, and it prompted a new 52-week low in the food business amid heavy trading volume. The company was queried on the sudden pull-back, however, outside of a recent broker report, it wasn't able to attribute the sharp decline to any specific news, which only made investors more nervous.

Delta Airlines reported in the US this week, and while it offered a solid result that offers a glimpse on the strong state of the recovery in the travel industry, that tailwind didn't flow through to some of the ASX-listed travel stocks. Corporate Travel Management (ASX: CTD) and Flight Centre (ASX: FLT) have both fared poorly this week, and it may have something to do with the ongoing disruption across the industry that sees a swathe of cancellations, while rising inflation could also be viewed as a headwind for consumer spending.Also on the receiving end of selling pressure this week were Novonix (ASX: NVX), Alumina (ASX: AWC), Judo Capital (ASX: JDO), and Jumbo Interactive (ASX: JIN).

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