Key takeaways:

• After nearly setting a record high, the ASX settled lower for the week as investors reassessed the likelihood of any near-term rate cuts from the Federal Reserve

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Which shares excelled?

These were the major winners over recent trading sessions:

• With reports that hedge funds are stockpiling barrels of raw uranium as the nuclear fuel’s price surges to 16-year highs, there was plenty of support for uranium stocks, including Energy Resources of Australia (ASX: ERA), Deep Yellow (ASX: DYL), and Boss Energy (ASX: BOE)
  
  

• Coal stocks also started the year on a positive note, with Yancoal (ASX: YAL) and Whitehaven Coal (ASX: WHC) leading the way as the price of the commodity rose strongly ahead of Thursday’s trading session
  
  

• Insignia Financial (ASX: IFL) was the top performer from the ASX 200 on Thursday, up nearly 6%, despite no price-sensitive news out of the financial services firm 

• Strike Energy (ASX: STX) was among the outperformers this week, with oil prices rebounding in response to concerns that conflict in the Middle East could escalate into a region-wide war
  
  

• Tuas (ASX: TUA), Johns Lyng Group (ASX: JLG), and Imugene (ASX: IMU) also rewarded shareholders with a positive showing over recent days

Which shares dragged on the market?

These stocks weighed on the local market across the course of the week:

• Shares in Gold Road Resources (ASX: GOR) hit turbulence this week after the company announced production at its 50%-owned Gruyere gold project was impacted by a labour shortage, with the miner only just reaching the bottom end of its full-year guidance range

• Meanwhile, a host of other gold stocks were on the outer after the precious metal dipped, including but not limited to Bellevue Gold (ASX: BGL), Genesis Minerals (ASX: GMD), Capricorn Metals (ASX: CMM), Westgold Resources (ASX: WGX), Silver Lake Resources (ASX: SLR), and Northern Star Resources (ASX: NST)

• With US tech shares slipping following the release of the Federal Reserve minutes and tension in the Middle East, Life360 (ASX: 360) was impacted as investors took some risk off the table and reduced exposure to growth stocks
  
  

• Shareholders of Healius (ASX: HLS), Latin Resources (ASX: LRS), Tabcorp (ASX: TAH), and Lynas Rare Earths (ASX: LYC) were also left to nurse their wounds