Gold holds its lustre for Shares Race leader

After a big selloff on the Australian sharemarket this week, it's hardly surprising the portfolio values of our Shares Race contestants have all dropped from last week.

However, the race is still led by Varun Ratra, from the newsletter Eye Between Bulls & Bears, whose portfolio is worth $107,668 in week five of the six-week race, down from $108,977 last week.

Ratra's gold plays have continued to do well, with all of his gold stocks higher this week.

The price of the precious metal continues to rise as investors seek a safe haven from volatile sharemarkets.

Dreamscape Networks, held by Hina Chowdhary of Kalkine, remains the best-performing share tip of all, with her original $10,000 in the stock now worth $16 061.

Chowdhary remains in second place, with her portfolio now worth $104,093, down from $105,697 last week.

Michael Gable, of Fairmont Equities, whose portfolio is worth $97,351, is in third spot from Chris Conway, of the sharemarket newsletter Marcus Today.

Gable's best performer and the second-best stock pick of all is iSignthis. His original $10,000 investment in the payment and identity technology company is now worth $13,741.

The sharemarket, as measured by the S&P/ASX 300 index, was almost 2.5 per cent lower, at 6,366 points, at the close on Thursday – the day the Shares Race ends for the week. The previous week, the index was down more than 3 per cent.

The Shares Race is a fantasy shares game that runs for six weeks. Players start with $100,000, divided evenly across 10 stocks. Their progress is reported weekly.