Market wrap: This week's best and worst performing stocks

Let's face it, we all want to retire on a comfortable income, and research suggests that for a couple to retire comfortably they need $640,000 or $545,000 for a single.

Yet the research also indicates that the average Australian is retiring on much less with men under $180,000 while for women it's under $140,000. This means that many Australians will need to either work longer before they can retire or live a less-than-comfortable retirement, as they will potentially run out of money before they run out of time.

According to the ABS, the life expectancy of males has risen to just over 81, while for females it's 84, however, by the end of this decade it will rise to 82 for males and 85 for females.

If the average couple retires at 65 with $320,000 in superannuation, and assuming they live for 17 years in retirement, it means they will have approximately $18,800 per year to live on. It is frightening to think how the average Australian will cope in retirement, especially when this could have been avoided.

The prospect of having to compromise your standard of living when you retire after working more than 40 years is not very attractive, and we know the costs of living aren't going down, so the situation will only get worse if we don't do something about it. The current statistics confirm that the path individuals take to prepare for retirement is just not cutting it. They also show how relying on superannuation alone is not enough, which means everyone needs to be investing outside of super.

While investing in property and shares may seem daunting for those who are uneducated about investing, I have lost count of how many I have helped get started who have gone on to fund a better lifestyle for themselves in retirement.

As Abraham Lincoln once said, you cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today. Having helped people for decades, I know that literally anyone, no matter how young or old, can begin their journey to a better financial future. And as Lincoln indicates, the sooner you start the better.

The best and worst performing sectors this week

The best-performing sectors include Financials up more than 1% followed by Communication Services and Industrials, which are both just in the green for the week. The worst-performing sectors include Materials and Healthcare, which are both down more than 2% followed by Utilities down more than 1%.

The best performers in the S&P/ASX top 100 stocks include The Star Entertainment Group up more than 11% followed by Endeavour Group and Challenger, which are both up more than 6% while Pilbara Minerals is up more than 5%.

The worst-performing stocks include Downer EDI and Whitehaven Coal, as they are both down more than 7% followed by Evolution Mining and Block down more than 4%.

What's next for the Australian stock market

The last few weeks is a good indicator of why we need to ignore the daily fluctuations in the stock market. In the nine trading days since the All Ordinaries Index closed on October 7, it has risen or fallen around 2% on five occasions, yet it is down less than 1% as of the close on October 20.

During that time, news about the stock market has been quite bearish with many investors fearful of what may unfold. But this is a very stark reminder that daily fluctuations are largely irrelevant and why investors should look at the bigger picture rather than concerning themselves with what the US market did last night.

Right now, the Australian stock market is holding up and the tug of war between the bulls and bears over the past two weeks is fairly equal with no clear direction in price.

In my last report I mentioned that if the market can hold, we are likely to see a sustained rise over the coming months.

While the market has held, it did not rise this week and given there is no clear direction of a trend, we still need to assume that the low in June of 6581 points may be challenged. A strong rise on Friday and into next week will change that view but for now, I continue to recommend investors be cautious, have an exit strategy and be selective with any stocks you buy.

Get stories like this in our newsletters.