If you have room for some new portfolio additions in December, then it could be worth considering the two ASX growth shares listed below.

Here’s what you need to know about these buy-rated shares:

Lovisa Holdings Limited (ASX: LOV)

The first ASX growth share to look at is fast-fashion jewellery retailer Lovisa. It could be a top long term option due to the popularity of its affordable offering, its focus on younger consumers, and its bold global expansion plans. In respect to the latter, the company has been expanding its footprint materially in recent years and shows no sign of stopping. In fact, it just revealed that it has added 47 net new stores so far in FY 2023, bringing its total to 676 stores across 26 countries. Management also advised that Lovisa’s first stores in Italy, Mexico, and Hungary are due to open in the coming weeks.

Macquarie currently has an outperform rating and $27.00 price target on its shares.

ResMed Inc. (ASX: RMD)

Another ASX growth share that could be in the buy zone for investors in December is ResMed. It is a medical device company with a focus on sleep treatment solutions. For many, many years, ResMed has been growing its revenue and earnings at a strong rate. This has been underpinned by the quality of its products and the growing prevalence of sleep disorders. In respect to the latter, management estimates that there are almost one billion people with sleep apnoea globally (with only ~20% diagnosed). In addition, it estimates that approximately half a billion people suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Thanks to its leadership position in the market, this gives ResMed a long runway for growth over the 2020s and beyond.

Morgans is a fan of ResMed and currently has an add rating and $37.00 price target on its shares.

The post Analysts name 2 excellent ASX growth shares to buy in December appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 4 ASX shares to buy in the sectors set to explode in 2023: expert
• ‘Dominant player’: Expert urges buying ASX shares in 2 near-monopolies

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Lovisa Holdings Ltd and ResMed Inc. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended ResMed. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended ResMed Inc. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Lovisa Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA) share price had a rough day today, finishing nearly 5% in the red.

Sayona Mining shares dropped 4.76% to close at 20 cents. For comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Resources Index (ASX: XJR) descended 1.14% today.

Let’s take a look at what may have weighed on the Sayona Mining share price today.

The big picture

Sayona shares fell today, but they were not alone among ASX lithium shares. For example, the Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR) share price plummeted 7.5% today, while Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) shares fell 3.37%. Piedmont Lithium Inc (ASX: PLL) shares lost 4.14% today.

ASX lithium shares followed in the footsteps of their US counterparts on Friday. Shares in lithium giant Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB) dropped 3.91%, while Livent Corp (NYSE: LTHM) shares sank 8.81% on the New York Stock Exchange.

Lithium shares may be struggling amid concern that demand for the battery-making material in China could fall, potentially impacting the global lithium price. Protests over COVID-19 lockdowns broke out in that country on the weekend.

The electric vehicle (EV) battery industry in China may have an oversupply of EV batteries by 2025, according to a report in the South China Post on Sunday. The article stated EV battery makers in mainland China were forecast to exceed electric car maker demand in China threefold in 2025.

The lithium carbonate price in China dropped 0.53% to 562,500 yuan on Friday. This followed a 1.74% drop in the lithium carbonate price last Thursday.

What’s happened with Sayona Mining recently?

Meanwhile, Sayona recently highlighted that its North American Lithium (NAL) operation restart was gaining momentum. Procurement is 98% complete, and construction is ramping up. Sayona advised the operation was on track to produce lithium by the first quarter of 2023.

Commenting on the news, Sayona managing director Brett Lynch said:

NAL is progressing rapidly towards next year’s restart, and our recent move to expand NAL’s potential resource and mine production capacity will only further enhance its long‐term productivity.

Sayona share price snapshot

The Sayona Mining share price has soared 42.8% in the past 12 months and 53.8% year to date.

For perspective, the Resources Index has jumped nearly 20% in the past year.

Sayona has a market capitalisation of $1.7 billion based on the current share price.

The post Why did the Sayona Mining share price have a tough run today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Monday
• Why Bank of Queensland, Bubs, City Chic, and Liontown shares are sinking
• Why is the Core Lithium share price in the red today?
• Why are ASX lithium shares getting slammed again on Monday?
• Why is the Liontown share price sinking 9% on Monday?

Motley Fool contributor Monica O’Shea 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 Scott Phillips.

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The BrainChip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN) share price kicked off the week deep in the red on Monday.

Shares in the artificial intelligence (AI) start-up were down 5.44%, swapping hands for 69.5 cents apiece at the close of trade.

Other ASX tech shares closed lower, too, including Life360 Inc (ASX: 360), which slid 1.91% today, and Block Inc CDI (ASX: SQ2), which lost 2.70% in afternoon trade.

At a broader level, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was also not off to a great start to the week, down 0.42% at the close.

So why did BrainChip shares — and much of the broader market — have such a lousy day? Let’s investigate.

What’s going on with the BrainChip share price?

What might be surprising is the absence of announcements from BrainChip to support a dive in its share price this afternoon.

However, there appears to be a sense of trepidation in the United States’ equities market that might be bleeding over into ASX tech shares.

The Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) has lost 0.27% since 18 November. The slip comes as the market holds its breath in anticipation of the Federal Reserve releasing a handful of economic reports later this week.

The reports will include the US personal consumption expenditures price index for October, and monthly employment figures for November, among others.

This week may see a watershed moment for equities

The release of these reports may help confirm some experts’ feelings that the US economy is cooling down. It was reported earlier this month that the US consumer price index (CPI) beat analyst forecasts, rising just 0.4% from September, which should be a bullish signal by all accounts.

However, the situation is not black and white. Although inflation appears to be falling, a softer labour market and reduced personal consumption could indicate that the US is heading toward or is already in, a recession. This would likely lead to a steeper sell-off in the equities market in the near future.

The flip side is that if these reports show that the US economy is still overheated, it may prompt the Fed to continue with an anticipated fifth consecutive 0.75% rate hike. This would put further pressure on stocks and keep worsening the odds of it performing a soft landing of the economy.

BrainChip investors could therefore be waiting on the sidelines to witness the release of these reports, as well as see if the Fed will continue with its aggressive monetary policy or change to a more dovish tune.

BrainChip share price snapshot

The BrainChip share price is up 2.21% year to date. It has performed better than the broader market this year, with the ASX 200 down 2.89% over the same period.

The company’s market capitalisation is around $1.2 billion.

The post Why did the BrainChip share price slide 5% on Monday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 5 of the craziest things making news on the ASX this week
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Why did the BrainChip share price leap 7% today?
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today

Motley Fool contributor Matthew Farley has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Block, Inc. and Life360, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Block, Inc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) broke a four day winning streak on Monday. The Index closed 0.42% lower at 7,229.1 points.

And weighing it down was none another than the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ). It plunged 1.7% today amid falling oil prices.

It has been broadly reported that WTI crude oil and Brent crude oil each hit their lowest points since December 2021 today. The former fell to around US$74 a barrel while the latter slipped below US$82 a barrel.

The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XJO) also struggled on Monday, sliding 0.9% despite major commodity prices rising.

Gold futures price rose 0.5% to US$1,754 an ounce on Friday while iron ore futures lifted 0.9% to US$92.74 a tonne.

However, it wasn’t all bad. The S&P/ASX 200 Communications Index (ASX: XTJ) led the market, gaining 0.6%, while the S&P/ASX 200 Real Estate Index (ASX: XRE) lifted 0.5%.

All in all, four of the ASX 200’s 11 sectors ended the day in the green. But which stock outperformed all others to take today’s crown? Keep reading to find out.

Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown

While many of the market’s biggest energy stocks struggled today, their coal-focused counterparts outperformed.

Indeed, today’s best performer was New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC). Its share price lifted 5% despite the company’s silence.

Today’s biggest gains were made by these shares:

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC)	$5.68	5.38%
Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC)	$9.43	3.97%
Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW)	$22.53	3.21%
Seek Limited (ASX: SEK)	$21.96	2.23%
News Corp (ASX: NWS)	$27.70	2.21%
National Storage REIT (ASX: NSR)	$2.45	2.08%
REA Group Limited (ASX: REA)	$123.35	1.84%
Coronado Global Resources Inc (ASX: CRN)	$1.985	1.79%
Centuria Industrial REIT (ASX: CIP)	$3.20	1.59%
Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH)	$212.66	1.51%

Our top 10 shares countdown is a recurring end-of-day summary to let you know which companies were making big moves on the day. Check in at Fool.com.au after the weekday market closes to see which stocks make the countdown.

The post Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Monday
• The Whitehaven chair just cashed out $1.8 million in shares. Here’s the latest
• Up 30% in a month, why the Evolution Mining share price can keep climbing: expert
• Which ASX 200 bank share stands to benefit the most from ‘good borrowers’?
• New Hope shares have soared 152% in 2022. Is it time to cash in?

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Brickworks and Cochlear Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Brickworks. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Cochlear Ltd., REA Group Limited, and SEEK Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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