ASX 200 consumer staples shares performed better than any other sector on the market today.

The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) was up 1.23% to 13,079.7 points at the market close on Friday. In comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) lifted just 0.34% today.

Let’s take a look at which ASX 200 consumer staples shares had a top day today.

In the green…

The consumer staples sector was the best performing on the ASX today. Other sectors that closed in the green included information technology, up 1.20%, and real estate, up 1.12%. Financials also lifted 1.00%, while the healthcare and energy sectors shed 0.27% and 1.84%, respectively.

Among the consumer staples winners were Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL), Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW), Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE) and Bega Cheese Ltd (ASX: BGA).

Coles shares jumped 1.16%, while Woolworths shares were trading 1.18% higher at the close. Treasury Wine Estates shares jumped 2.2%, and Bega Cheese shares rose 1.54%.

In the news…

Signs that inflation may have peaked could have provided consumer shares with a boost today. AMP Capital chief economist Shane Oliver, in quotes cited by the ABC, suggested investors were optimistic the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) would be “less hawkish and that there will be a soft landing”.

Oliver added:

Despite worse than expected CPI inflation data and increased market expectations for RBA rate hikes — with the market’s expected cash rate peak this year rising from 3.45 per cent to 3.75 per cent — the Australian share market rose for the fourth week in a row and is now less than 2 per cent below its all-time high.

Meanwhile, in news today, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and Foreign Investment Review Board have approved Coles’ plan to offload its Coles Express retailing business to Viva Energy Group Ltd (ASX: VEA). In a statement, Viva said:

Completion of the transaction remains subject to closing conditions with Coles Group and is anticipated to occur in the second quarter of 2023.

Share price snapshot

The Coles share price has risen 11% in the last 12 months. In the year to date, Coles shares have risen nearly 5%.

The Woolworths share price has risen 4.3% in the last 52 weeks and nearly 5% year-to-date.

The Treasury Wine Estates share price has soared nearly 35% in the last 12 months and nearly 6% year to date.

Bega Cheese shares have fallen 19% in the past year. However, they have lifted 2% year to date.

The post ASX 200 consumer staples shares raced higher to finish the day on top appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Experts say these are the ASX 200 blue chip shares to buy now
• Why I think Woolworths shares aren’t worth the worry
• 3 ASX shares to cash in on China’s reopening to the world: Jun Bei Liu
• I think Coles shares are a top ASX 200 buy for 2023
• ‘Fierce competitor’: Expert names 2 big brand ASX shares ready to take off in 2023

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 positions in and has recommended Coles Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Treasury Wine Estates. 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 New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC) share price had a tough run on the market today.

New Hope shares sunk 9% to finish at $5.84. For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) closed 1.84% in the red.

Let’s take a look at what weighed on this ASX 200 coal share today.

What’s going on?

New Hope was not the only ASX 200 coal share to decline today. Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) shares lost nearly 7%, while Coronado Global Resources Inc (ASX: CRN) shares slipped more than 2%.

A decline in the coal price may have weighed on coal explorers today. The Sydney Morning Herald reported coal prices fell 12.7%, impacting the coal sector.

Asia-Pacific coal, the leading thermal coal index, dropped 10% to its lowest level in 9 months this week, Montel Group reported.

New Hope has not reported any price-sensitive news to the market this year. However, in 2022, New Hope delivered a record return to shareholders on the back of “record coal prices”.

The Federal Government’s office of the chief economist is predicting the metallurgical coal price to fall from US$404 a tonne in FY22 to US$262 in FY23.

However, thermal coal prices are forecast to grow from US$245 a tonne in FY22 to US$360 a tonne in FY24.

New Hope is predicted to pay the highest dividend yield of any ASX 200 share in FY24. Consensus estimates tip a dividend yield of 19.5%, my Foolish colleague James reported this week.

Morgans is tipping an 80 cent per share dividend yield in 2024, while Citi analysts predict the dividend could be a whopping $1.93 a share.

New Hope share price snapshot

The New Hope Corporation share price has fallen nearly 160% in the last year.

New Hope has a market capitalisation of more than $5 billion based on the current share price.

The post Why did ASX 200 coal share New Hope Corporation sink 9% today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Guess which ASX 200 share is projected to pay the biggest dividend yield in FY24?
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Can ASX 200 coal shares really deliver dividend yields of over 10% in FY24?
• ASX 200 to yield 4.4% in 2023. These 2 dividend shares pay more than twice that
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today

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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ASX 200 lithium shares are having a mixed day on the market, with multiple explorers in the red after rising in earlier trade.

Lithium developers on the ASX 200 include Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS), Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO), Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA), Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN) and Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE).

Let’s take a look at what is going on with ASX 200 lithium shares today.

Lithium explorers bounce around

Multiple lithium shares are now in the red after lifting in earlier trade. However, some ASX lithium shares remain in the green, despite retreating from their daily high.

• Pilbara Minerals shares are falling 1.76% after rising 2.9% in early trade
• Allkem shares are down 0.65% after climbing 2.16% in earlier trade
• Mineral Resources shares are 2.24% in the red after leaping 0.21% this morning 
• Core lithium shares are up 1.34% after rising 3.1% in morning trade
• Sayona Mining shares are rising 4.55% after charging 5.45% in earlier trade

ASX 200 lithium shares appear to be following a similar trend to major USA lithium shares. For example, Livent Corp (NYSE: LTHM) rose 3.7% in early trade on the New York Stock Exchange before retreating to finish 1.14% in the red. Albermarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB) soared 5.2% in early trade before pulling back to finish 3% in the green. And Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (NYSE: SQM) leapt 2.7% in morning trade before finishing 1.51% ahead.

Lithium demand and supply, the lithium price and electric vehicle demand and supply are all factors that can impact lithium shares.

The lithium hydroxide price closed 0.38% lower on the London Metal Exchange. The lithium carbonate price is unchanged at 477,500 Chinese Yen per tonne, according to trading economics data.

In news this afternoon, a China consortium is planning to develop lithium deposits in Bolivia. The Bolivian government has chosen a Chinese group led by Contemporary Amperex Technology to invest more than $1 billion to develop untapped lithium deposits, Nikkei Asia reported this afternoon. Bolivia is said to have the largest lithium reserves in the world. This could be weighing on demand sentiment for lithium.

Meanwhile, analysts at Bell Potter have retained a buy rating on the Mineral Resources share price with a $110 price target, my Foolish colleague James reported today. The broker is positive on the company’s potential for earnings growth and commodity prices.

Share price snapshot

The Pilbara Minerals share price has soared 59% in the last year.

The Core Lithium share price has risen 59% in the past 52 weeks.

The Sayona Mining share price has soared 128% in the last year.

Mineral Resources shares have soared 71% in the past year.

Allkem shares have returned 55% in the past 52 weeks.

The post What’s with ASX 200 lithium 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 Friday
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy now
• Why Accent, Mineral Resources, Newcrest, and Whitehaven Coal shares are dropping
• Mineral Resources share price falls on Goldman Sachs downgrade
• Invested $1,000 in Mineral Resources shares 10 years ago? Here’s how much passive income you’ve made

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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It’s looking like the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) will have a positive end to the trading week at this point of Friday’s trading session.

At the time of writing, the ASX 200 has gained a healthy 0.4%, which puts it back over the 7,500 point mark for the first time since April 2022. The Index is now up a rather extraordinary 8% in 2023 to date.

So time now to delve a little deeper into these market moves by checking out the shares currently at the top of the ASX 200’s share trading volume charts, according to investing.com.

The 3 most traded ASX 200 shares by volume this Friday

Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC)

ASX 200 coal miner Whitehaven is our first share worth a look this Friday. So far today, a hefty 14.46 million Whitehaven shares have been swapped on the markets. This is almost certainly a result of the nasty share price fall this company has copped.

At present, Whitehaven has lost 6.47% of its value this session, and is now going for $8.46 a share.

It’s not entirely clear why Whitehaven is getting such a thumping today, although we went into some possible reasons earlier. But regardless, it’s this drop that is almost certainly to blame for the high volumes we are seeing.

Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR)

Next up this session, we have ASX 200 lithium share Liontown Resources. Today has had a sizeable 18.14 million Liontown shares change hands as it currently stands. There’s been no news out of Liontown today either.

But that hasn’t stopped this lithium company from leaping a pleasing 3.9% at present to $1.60 a share, which explains why we are seeing high trading volumes right now.

Liontown fared even better earlier today too, going as high as $1.68 a share. Liontown joins many other lithium shares in having an especially pleasant end to the trading week.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

Speaking of, our third, final, and most traded ASX 200 share of the day is another lithium stock in Pilbara Minerals. This Friday has seen a whopping 23.46 million PIlbara shares fly around the ASX boards thus far.

Unfortunately for investors, Pilbara is one of the lithium shares not rising today. In fact, the company is rapidly going the other way, recording a nasty loss of 3.42% at present to $4.94 a share. That’s despite Pilbara initially rising as high as $5.26 a share this morning.

Perhaps investors didn’t like the announcement this morning that John Stanning has been appointed to the newly created position of chief development officer at the company.

Whatever the reason for Pilbara’s losses today, this is probably the cause of the high volumes on display.

The post Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Friday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why Liontown, Megaport, Origin, and Tyro shares are pushing higher today
• Why is the Whitehaven Coal share price tanking 6% today?
• Why Accent, Mineral Resources, Newcrest, and Whitehaven Coal shares are dropping
• Lithium giant forecasts 15% greater demand. How are ASX lithium shares reacting?
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Wednesday

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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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