Today, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) avoided negative territory after its worst fall in 17 months yesterday. At the end of the session, the benchmark index finished 0.1% higher at 6,997.8 points.

Investors were torn in two directions today as the market unleashed a number of well-received company earnings, while the terror of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine raged on.

Surprisingly, it was the tech sector that aided in the positive performance across the Aussie index. Remarkably, every tech share in the ASX 200 finished in the green, putting the sector at an 8.14% gain.

The question is: which shares managed to stay in the green on the ASX today? Here are the top ten stocks that pulled through for investors:

Top 10 ASX shares countdown today

Looking at the top 200 listed companies, Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN) was the biggest gainer today. Shares in the uranium mining company charged ahead 12.41% after losses narrowed to US$11 million in the first half. Find out more about Paladin Energy here.

The next biggest gaining ASX share today was APM Human Services International Ltd (ASX: APM). The employment and health services provider experienced a 10.90% jump in its share price. Investors were reacting positively following its solid first-half result. Uncover the latest APM Human Services International details here.

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

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN)	$0.77	12.41%
APM Human Services International Ltd (ASX: APM)	$2.95	10.90%
Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR)	$1.43	10.00%
Yancoal Australia Ltd (ASX: YAL)	$3.49	7.39%
Chalice Mining Ltd (ASX: CHN)	$7.40	7.25%
Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: TLX)	$5.19	7.23%
Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC)	$9.57	6.93%
Imugene Ltd (ASX: IMU)	$0.235	6.82%
Home Consortium Ltd (ASX: HMC)	$6.45	6.61%
Nickel Mines Ltd (ASX: NIC)	$1.54	6.57%

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 Lynas Corporation Limited. 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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ASX lithium shares may be hot at the moment, but which is the best value on the market?

Two ASX lithium shares that reported earnings recently are Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) and Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN). The Pilbara share price finished 4.58% in the green today, while Mineral Resources climbed 2.54%

So which of these top lithium shares does one expert recommend?

Which lithium stock is best?

ASX lithium shares are popular right now due to surging demand and tight supply, with lithium a critical component in electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

Speaking with livewire yesterday, Eley Griffiths Group analyst and portfolio manager Tim Serjeant gave some clues to the best ASX lithium shares to buy.

Which is the cheapest lithium stock in the market? Look, it’s how adventurous you want to be.

I think today, [Pilbara] has the best exposure to current pricing dynamics… it is incredibly challenging to bring these assets into production. And I think that reinforces the positions of the incumbents. 

Pilbara Minerals reported its half-year financial results to the market this week, while Mineral Resources presented its financial results on 9 February. Pilbara reported an underlying profit after tax of $84.2 million and the shock exit of its CEO. Meanwhile, as my Foolish colleague James reported, the half-year results presented by Mineral Resources fell short of expectations.

One to buy, one to hold, says expert

Serjeant recommends shareholders buy Pilbara, and hold Mineral Resources, saying:

I think in the shorter term, [Pilbara] is a clean 100% exposure to that raw material shortage in lithium, through spodumene. For me, given the pricing backdrop, I think in the shorter term that’s probably where you want to be.

[Mineral Resources] is a hold today but their position in the value chain — being further downstream — means there is a lot of embedded growth to come over the next three to five years. 

Serjeant said he did not believe there was enough incentive to take risks with emerging ASX lithium shares compared to six to nine months ago.

However, he noted that Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) and Liontown Resources Limited (ASX: LTR) may be worth considering if the bigger players underperformed.

That said, I think the lithium industry is going to prove that you want to back one of the incumbents as opposed to backing smaller players outside of that. That’s how I expect it will play out.

How have these ASX lithium shares been performing?

The Pilbara share price has soared 151% in the past year, while Mineral Resources has surged nearly 13%.

In comparison, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has climbed 2.4% in the past year.

Year to date, Pilbara has plunged 14%, while Mineral Resources has tumbled about 20%.

The post Is this the best-value ASX lithium share right now? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These 3 ASX 200 shares are topping the volume charts this Friday
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Thursday
• How have ASX lithium stocks been faring this reporting season?
• These 3 ASX 200 shares are topping the volume charts this Wednesday
• Pilbara Mineral (ASX:PLS) share price sinks 7% amid half-year results and CEO exit

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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The Tesserent Ltd (ASX: TNT) share price surged by 15% today after the cybersecurity provider released its half-year results.

The company reported increases in earnings and revenue, alongside the induction of three acquired businesses.

At the market close, the Tesserent share price was up 15.38% at 15 cents. To compare, the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) closed up 8.14% today.

So what did the IT company report to make its share price skyrocket?

Tesserent share price surges on rise in earnings, revenue

The Tesserent share price surged today on the back of the half-year results for the period ending 31 December 2021. Key takeouts included (against the prior corresponding period):

• Normalised earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) up 102% to $5.6 million
• Turnover up 72% to $62.9 million
• Statutory revenue up 52% to $43.9 million

All in all, the company’s annual recurring revenue increased by 44%, though no dividend was declared for the half year.

What else happened?

During the half, Tesserent underwent a branding and integration facelift — remodelling the company as “a single customer-facing brand”.

Further, the IT company completed the acquisitions of three businesses — Loop Secure, Clarinet, and Pearson Corporation.

In order to fund these takeovers and “strengthen the balance sheet”, the company successfully completed a $25 million capital raise during the period.

This has led to organic growth and a higher turnover, Tesserent said.

What did management say?

Commenting on the results that boosted the Tesserent share price today, executive chairman Geoff Lord:

The management team successfully executed its brand and business unit integration strategy – strengthening Tesserent’s commercial position in the market by enabling the Group to enhance its value proposition to existing and new clients and improve gross margins and net margins reported across the business.

Given the significant events that are occurring in eastern Europe, we are also mindful of the heightened level of cyber security risk that exists for Tesserent clients. We note that Tesserent has targeted capabilities to address these risks in its Cyber Enhanced Situational Awareness and Response (CESAR) capabilities.

Tesserent share price snapshot

In the last 12 months, the Tesserent share price has dropped by 54%. It saw a 52-week high price of 33 cents at the end of July, after releasing a quarterly report for the period ending 30 June 2021. However, Tesserent shares hit a 52-week low of 13 cents just yesterday.

Tesserent shares have fallen 12% this year to date and 6% over the past month.

The company has a market capitalisation of $163.56 million.

The post Tesserent (ASX:TNT) share price rockets 15% as earnings, revenue soar appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Back on the horse! ASX tech shares stage stunning comeback following sell-off

Motley Fool contributor Alice de Bruin has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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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Inflation keeps rearing its ugly head amongst investor circles this year and that’s got both individual investors and money managers planning to tackle the worst in 2022.

Whilst the core level of inflation seems to be faring better in Australia than other jurisdictions, the situation isn’t nearly as glossy when factoring in all components of the consumer price basket.

Not only inflation, but the topic of interest rates is one of hot debate right now, as investors try to navigate the next moves of central banks in anticipation of a number of rate hikes in 2022.

The volatility has crept over into the Australian treasuries market, the benchmark equity index being the S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO) and AUD/USD forex rates, as seen on the chart below.

Alas, what is there to do in these pressing times, to counteract the dark forces of inflation and establish a reasonable hedge to the regime?

What about QBE shares as a hedge to inflation?

Firstly, there needs to be some distinction on what we actually mean here. An inflation hedge can act as so in a few ways.

Most commonly, this is either by producing a ‘real rate of return’ (i.e, adjusted for inflation) that outpaces the level of aggregate price growth in the economy. If inflation is at 2%, say, then we want assets that produce a real return of at least 4%, for instance as a reasonable hedge.

The other way to look at it is in the correlation, or directional relationship, in how an asset class performs in times of high or low inflation.

This can boil down to a myriad of factors, not in the least related to asset class, investment style and/or, in the case of equities, the company backing stock itself.

Take insurance giant QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE) for instance. It lies within the insurance industry, one that is highly sensitive to small changes in interest rates.

Let’s also remember that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)’s main weapon in targeting headline inflation is its influence over interest rates in the economy.

Whilst the RBA doesn’t touch commercial or consumer-level rates directly, it makes adjustments to the cash rate to do so, producing an impulse effect in the credit markets.

In a nutshell, when inflation rises, the RBA will seek to push interest rates higher to increase the costs of credit, and (hopefully) compress the level of price increases seen throughout the economy. The opposite is true when inflation stalls.

As the RBA looks well poised for a few rate hikes in 2022–23′, according to many economists, insurance shares like QBE might be well placed to benefit from the change.

That’s what Lazard Asset Management portfolio manager Aaron Binsted said when speaking with Livewire recently, noting the insurance giant could be a major benefactor to an increase in rates.

Binsted estimates that for every 25 basis point jump in average interest rates, QBE’s earnings are set to lift dramatically – with earnings per share (EPS) as high as 5-6% from that jump.

In other words, QBE’s earnings are sensitive to changes in the interest rate cycle and could offer a return that is tied to a spike in rates – something most companies don’t enjoy the luxury of.

Binsted might be onto something too, as, at a quick glance, when charting the three datasets of inflation year on year change, Australian interest rates and QBE shares together over the last decade, the dispersion is remarkably similar, as seen below.

QBE shares gained 24% over the last 12 months and have climbed a further 4% this year to date to now trade near 52-week highs.

The post Should you buy QBE (ASX:QBE) shares as an inflation hedge? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Banking on the QBE (ASX:QBE) dividend? Here’s what you need to know
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• Why Fortescue, Goodman, Inghams, and QBE shares are dropping
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: QBE sinks but Magellan rockets

Motley Fool contributor Zach Bristow has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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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