The European Lithium Ltd (ASX: EUR) share price finished in the red today. This is despite a morning surge after the company announced positive results from its Wolfsberg lithium project in Austria.

At the close of trading today, the lithium miner’s shares are down 4%, swapping hands at 12 cents.

What drove up the European Lithium share price?

European Lithium is a mining exploration and development company intent on acquiring lithium in Europe. Lithium is heavily used in electric vehicle (EV) battery technology, which is gaining momentum in Europe and globally.

Investors appeared to react well to positive test results from the company’s Wolfsberg lithium project in Austria earlier in the day.

Analysis of samples from the mine showed high-quality, battery-grade lithium product can be produced with very low impurities. The European Lithium share price jumped soon after the results were released before retreating.

European Lithium chair Tony Sage said: “Together with the recent announcements in the resource upgrades these metallurgical results further enhance the value of the Wolfsberg project.”

What else may impact European Lithium?

The Jadar Resources Ltd (ASX: JDR) share price rocketed by 20% on a new lithium deal today. Jadar signed a memorandum of understanding with Yahua International Investment and Development to sell 100% of the lithium concentrate from its lithium projects to Yahua.

Where does European Lithium fit into this? Well, the company holds a 20% stake in Jadar’s Weinebene and Eastern Alps lithium projects. In fact, the projects are located immediately adjacent to European Lithium’s Wolfsberg deposit.

European Lithium share price snap shot

The European Lithium share price surged early in the day, jumping 12% ahead of Wednesday’s closing price following the market update.

However, there appeared to be a sudden selloff of shares at the end of the day with the company finishing down 4% on the previous close. The company’s share price has rocketed 150% in the past 12 months.

The post What happened to the European Lithium (ASX:EUR) share price today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Shares in global biotech giant CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) edged lower today and finished more than 1% in the red at $305.23.

CSL held the fort across the day, with intraday prices trading in a narrow spread of $307–$308 before a large set of trades sent its share price as low as $301.11.

Acquisition rumours?

Rumours are circulating that the Aussie biotech is set to buy Vifor Pharma, a Swiss-based company, in a deal that could see CSL fork out $10 billion.

According to reporting from The Australian, CSL might be heading to the capital markets to raise additional equity capital to the tune of $3 billion–$4 billion.

Both CSL and Vifor have been in a game of verbal ping-pong with talks of the acquisition first circulating back in March this year. If the deal goes through, it would mark the CSL’s first major acquisition in over 10 years.

It is understood that Bank of America and Goldman Sachs are to be involved with the transaction, and both banks will nab a hefty fee from CSL’s capital raise if it is successful.

Vifor states that it aims to be a leader in iron deficiency, nephrology and cardio-renal therapies, with a focus on chronic disease.

It recognised 1.7 billion Swiss Francs in revenue in 2020 and has a market cap of 6.75 billion Swiss Francs ($10.33 billion). For comparison, CSL’s market cap is $140.88 billion.

Vifor itself has been busy on the acquisition trail as well, recently confirming it bought 100% of cardio-renal biopharma company, Sanifit Therapeutics on 22 November.

Curiously, former CSL non-executive director, Abbas Hussain – who resigned from CSL’s board in June this year – was recently appointed as the new CEO of Vifor Pharma.

Hussain joined the company on 16 August and will hold tenure as Vifor’s top executive after serving on CSL’s board for 4 years.

Without further clarification from CSL itself, it is unwise to make any speculation on the matter. However, CSL is well capitalised with over $8.3 billion in net assets – of which $1.8 billion is in cash on the balance sheet.

CSL share price snapshot

The CSL share price has climbed almost 1% in the past 12 months and almost 8% this year to date.

In the past week, it has slipped almost 4% but is in the green by 2% in the past month.

The post CSL (ASX:CSL) share price dips amid $10b acquisition rumours appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The author has no positions in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended CSL Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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This year has seen Australian institutions and retail investors increasingly open to crypto investment and transactions.

The Australian Federal Government is working on legislation to regulate the booming crypto market.

And the nation’s biggest bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), became the first Aussie bank to provide crypto services to its customers just last month. It’s a move many analysts believe other large financial institutions are likely to follow.

November also saw the launch of the first ASX listed crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF), which broke records for a new fund on its first day. While the BetaShares Crypto Innovators ETF (ASX: CRYP) doesn’t invest directly in any cryptocurrencies, it does offer ASX investors exposure to the crypto-sphere by tracking the performance of up to 50 crypto-related companies.

With this rapidly changing picture in mind, the Motley Fool turned to Feroze Medora, director of trading at global crypto platform Gemini APAC, for his insights into what’s happening, and what we can expect next.

Motley Fool: Really the multi-billion-dollar question is, is this the beginning of a country-wide mass institutional crypto adoption in Australia or just a passing fad?

Feroze Medora: Putting the number of institutions already involved in crypto aside, the growing percentage of Australian crypto investors alone can lead us to expect an even larger amount of institutional participation.

We’re at the nascency of not only crypto as an asset class but the technology behind it as well. With the huge potential this space has to offer, it would be safe to say that this is not a passing fad but the beginning of a new era.

MF: What catalysts might speed up mainstream crypto use Down Under?

FM: As it is for the rest of the world, the biggest factor that would enable even further growth for cryptocurrency in Australia is regulatory oversight. While that might not currently be in place, the Australian government has proven itself to be open to establishing the right framework to regulate crypto.

I believe that the government is working hard to establish the right frameworks to set the standard for cryptocurrency firms in the country.

MF: If the Australian government greenlights digital tokens like Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), who would be the winners and losers in the current setting?

FM: Should more institutions adopt cryptocurrencies or the underlying technology, there is a fair chance of there not being any losers per se.

However, as we move closer towards a global consensus on crypto regulations, the only losers would be the non-compliant players who choose not to be responsible participants in the new digital economy.

MF: What’s the biggest trend unfolding in the crypto market our readers should keep a close eye on?

FM: While I would advise every reader to conduct their own research, there is no denying that 2021 was a banner year for non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

This was an important milestone as prior to the NFT boom, blockchain technology became synonymous with cryptocurrencies, with many overlooking the potential of the technology itself. Thanks to NFTs, we saw a new use case for blockchain gain mainstream attention and one can expect to see more new use cases in 2022.

Additionally, this year we also saw more attention given to the environmental impact of cryptocurrencies. As a result, given the innovative nature of this sector, we are seeing more efforts being made to provide sustainable solutions.

Crypto and the environment is a conversation that will not, and should not, end until a solution is reached.

The post Is Australia on the precipice of mass crypto adoption? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Today, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) made an effort to recoup its early morning losses but was unable to overcome the downward pressure. At the end of the session, the benchmark index finished 0.15% lower to 7,225.2 points.

While there were many sectors that brought some positivity to the table today, it was a blatantly different story for tech shares. Tech investors would have had their stomachs in their mouths as the sector took a 3.2% nosedive. The biggest detractor was none other than buy now, pay later provider, Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT).

However, the question is: which shares delivered the biggest returns to investors on the ASX today? Here are the top ten stocks that came through for investors:

Top 10 ASX shares countdown today

Looking at the top 200 listed companies, Worley Ltd (ASX: WOR) was the biggest gainer today. Shares in the engineering company moved 6.53% higher today. Investors flocked to the company’s shares after Morgan Stanley released a bullish broker note on Worley. Find out more about Worley here.

The next biggest gaining ASX share today was AGL Energy Ltd (ASX: AGL). The embattled energy retailer enjoyed a 3.61% reprieve today despite there being no announcements out. Uncover the latest AGL Energy details here.

Today’s top 10 biggest gains were made in these ASX shares:

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
Worley Ltd (ASX: WOR)	$10.12	6.53%
AGL Energy Ltd (ASX: AGL)	$5.45	3.61%
Genesis Energy Ltd (ASX: GNE)	$2.95	3.51%
Fletcher Building Ltd (ASX: FBU)	$6.61	3.44%
Imugene Ltd (ASX: IMU)	$0.52	2.97%
Transurban Group (ASX: TCL)	$13.85	2.52%
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)	$95.97	2.23%
Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: CUV)	$28.71	2.17%
Domain Holdings Australia Ltd (ASX: DHG)	$5.31	2.12%
Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH)	$7.27	2.11%

Our top 10 ASX shares today countdown is a recurring end-of-day summary to ensure you know which companies were making big moves on the day. Check-in at Fool.com.au after the market has closed during weekdays to see which stocks make the countdown.

The post Here are the top 10 ASX shares today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO and Commonwealth Bank of Australia. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO and Pointsbet Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Pointsbet Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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