On Wednesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was on form and edged higher. The benchmark index rose 0.1% to 8,765.3 points.

Will the market be able to build on this on Thursday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to sink

It looks set to be a tough session for Australian investors on Thursday following a poor night on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 104 points or 1.2% lower this morning. In the United States, the Dow Jones fell 0.7%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.75%, and the Nasdaq was 1.1% lower.

ASX 200 shares paying dividends

A number of ASX 200 shares are rewarding their shareholders with dividends on Thursday. This includes PLS Group Ltd (ASX: PLS), Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS), ResMed Inc. (ASX: RMD), Ramsay Health Care Ltd (ASX: RHC), and Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO). The latter is paying a fully franked $2.96 per share interim dividend later today.

Oil prices rise

ASX 200 energy shares Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) could have a good session after oil prices rose overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 2.4% to US$92.70 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 4.1% to US$103.35 a barrel. Doubts over a US-Iran peace deal were behind the rise.

Buy Nufarm shares

Nufarm Ltd (ASX: NUF) shares could be a good option for investors according to Bell Potter. This morning, the broker has retained its buy rating on the agricultural chemicals company’s shares with an improved price target of $3.90 (from $3.75). It said: “Our Buy rating is unchanged. In FY26e NUF has delivered a result that was consistent with our expectations, while incurring costs related to plant outages that were not expected. The underlying performance looks to be stronger than what is implied at the headline, with material YoY growth in Seeds and the basis of the next leg of cost outs now articulated.”

Gold price falls

It could be a poor day for ASX 200 gold shares Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) on Thursday after the gold price fell overnight. According to CNBC, the gold futures price is down 1.2% to US$4,323.9 an ounce. A rebound in oil prices appears to have led to increased US rate hike bets.

The post 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are the most popular ASX share superannuation investments in SMSFs
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• ASX 200 turns higher after a rocky start. Is a recovery on the table?
• PLS shares have surged 85% in a year. So why are short sellers circling?
• Buy, sell, hold: AMP, Wesfarmers, Woodside shares

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Woodside Energy Group Ltd. 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 Telstra Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

It’s interesting to look at the types of investments that other Australian investors own. It could be very informative to see what the most widely held ASX shares are in self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs).

SMSF investors have more flexibility than other superannuation investors about where to put their money. ASX shares have the biggest allocation, followed by owned property, cash and term deposits, managed funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), unlisted trusts, ‘other’, international shares and finally debt securities.

Let’s see which ASX shares are the most popular within SMSF portfolios.

The most popular ASX shares

SMSF cloud accounting software provider Class recently released its 2026 annual benchmark report, which gave a lot of insights into the SMSF landscape. Class is owned by Hub24 Ltd (ASX: HUB).

At 30 June 2026, there were 12 ASX shares that were held in at least 20% of SMSF portfolios:

• BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) – 46.6% of all SMSF portfolios
• Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) – 37.2%
• National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) – 34.4%
• Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) – 34.1%
• ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) – 34.1%
• Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) – 31.9%
• CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL) – 31.4%
• Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) – 31.4%
• Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) – 29.4%
• Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) – 29.5%
• Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) – 24.1%
• Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) – 21.8%

It makes sense that these ASX shares have been chosen by SMSF investors. Almost all of them have a solid dividend yield. Passive income may be exactly what investors in retirement are looking for.

I think it’s interesting that BHP and Woodside appear in the most portfolios. But it’s also intriguing that NAB, Westpac and ANZ all feature in more portfolios than CBA. Commonwealth Bank also has the lowest dividend yield of the big four banks.

However, while they are in more portfolios, things look different when looking at which ASX shares have the most overall SMSF dollars invested in them.

According to Class data, order of most dollars allocated to ASX shares (with a weighting of more than 2%):

• CBA – 5.9%
• BHP – 5.5%
• Westpac – 3.6%
• NAB – 3.4%
• ANZ – 3.2%
• Wesfarmers – 3.2%
• Macquarie – 3.1%
• Telstra – 2%

ASX bank shares still have a very large place in SMSF portfolios, though BHP has significant SMSF dollars invested in it too.

What about exchange-traded funds (ETFs)?

ETFs are becoming increasingly popular investors as a way to gain exposure to certain sectors or geographies for a low cost.

According to the Class SMSF benchmark report, 35.5% of SMSFs now own at least one ETF, though they only account for a 7.2% allocation of overall SMSF dollars.

The ASX ETFs that are the most widely held include:

• Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS)
• iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV)
• VanEck MSCI International Quality ETF (ASX: QUAL)
• Vanguard Msci Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS)
• Vanguard All-World ex-US Shares Index ETF (ASX: VEU)
• Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ)

If SMSF investors use a mix of investments, they can build an ASX share portfolio that delivers strong returns and diversification.

The post Here are the most popular ASX share superannuation investments in SMSFs appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Can CSL shares hit $200? 3 things that need to go right
• ANZ shares have climbed 13% in a year. Is there still room to run?
• Bought $5,000 worth of New Hope and BHP shares 5 years ago? Guess how much passive income you’ve already earned!
• Is NAB one of the best ASX dividend shares to buy?

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has positions in VanEck Msci International Quality ETF. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF, CSL, Hub24, Macquarie Group, Vanguard International Equity Index Funds – Vanguard Ftse All-World ex-US ETF, Wesfarmers, and iShares S&P 500 ETF. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF and Telstra Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended BHP Group, CSL, Hub24, Macquarie Group, Vanguard Msci Index International Shares ETF, Wesfarmers, and iShares S&P 500 ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Having a good handle on how much in superannuation savings you need to generate the sort of income you want to fund your retirement is a good strategy.

The sooner you start planning, the sooner you can reap the benefits of compound interest.

Today I’m looking at how much you’d need to have saved to generate $1,000 a week, or $52,000 a year, in income.

This level is slightly below the level of income the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) says is necessary for a comfortable retirement.

How much do you need for a comfortable retirement?

ASFA has pegged this at $56,166 for singles or $78,998 for couples, but keep in mind they assume the retiree owns their home and draws a part pension.

This so-called comfortable retirement would include the ability to hold top-level private health cover, own and maintain a reasonable car, and travel occasionally.

How much would you need in retirement to generate $1,000 per week?

If you are earning 5% on your superannuation savings, you would need $1.04 million. That drops to $520,000 if you earn 10%.

I would argue that, with the benefit of franking credits, a retiree could comfortably aim for a dividend stream returning about 7.5%. This would mean you would need about $693,333 in superannuation to generate $1,000 per week in income.

Franking credits pay back the tax a company has already paid to the shareholder – 30% in the case of fully franked dividends.

Given retirees don’t pay tax, they receive this amount back in cash.

This means a 5% fully franked dividend becomes a “grossed-up” 7.14% dividend yield for retirees.

Which shares have strong dividend yields?

Plenty of companies deliver solid dividend yields.

In the property sector, Arena REIT (ASX: ARF) is currently paying 9.03%, Centuria Office REIT (ASX: COF) is paying 11.7%, and Cromwell Property Group (ASX: CMW) is paying 8.57%.

In the financial services sector, Regal Partners Ltd (ASX: RPL) is paying 12%, Bank of Queensland Ltd (ASX: BOQ) 6.01%, and Prime Financial Group Ltd (ASX: PFG) 8.6%.

Toll roads operator Atlas Arteria Ltd (ASX: ALX) recently reiterated its dividend payout and is currently delivering a yield of 8.98%.

What if your superannuation is falling short?

If your superannuation could use a top-up, it’s worth exploring concessional contributions.

Up to a cap of $32,500, which includes your employer’s superannuation contributions, you can make extra contributions into your retirement savings at a tax rate of 15%.

The post How much superannuation do I need to earn $1,000 per week in passive income? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Bank of Queensland shares hit a 52-week low in June. Are they cheap today?
• Buy, hold, sell: Regal Partners, HomeCo Daily Needs REIT, APA Group shares
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• 4 ASX shares that pay a dividend yield of 8% (or more)
• Ord Minnett tips this ASX financials stock to double within the next 12 months 

Motley Fool contributor Cameron England 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 recommended Prime Financial Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.