The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has made a 4th week of gains to keep the extraordinary new share market bull run alive.

Despite 2 days of red ink on Thursday and Friday offsetting the strong gains we saw earlier in the week, the ASX 200 still managed to power ahead and finish the week with a 1.71% gain.

It was the big miners that underpinned much of the ASX ‘s positive momentum. Production slowdowns in the iron-heavy Brazilian mining industry prompted an explosion in the iron ore price last week. This pushed the shares of the big ASX iron miners to new highs. Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) even reached a new all-time high of $14 at market open on Thursday.

Fellow mining giants BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) didn’t make new highs but still joined the party with 8.37% and 6.99% gains for the week, respectively.

ASX responds to good news

In other news, the ongoing lifting of coronavirus-related restrictions throughout the economy is continuing to flow through to investor sentiment. As were persistent rumors of a potentially successful candidate for a COVID-19 vaccine.

Last week, it was announced the ski season will be going ahead in Victoria. New South Wales is also preparing to allow the reopening of gyms and beauty facilities after pubs were allowed to open their doors again recently. This steady drip-feed of good economic news is also likely playing a part in the wall of confidence ASX investors are building.

All of this ‘good news’ was enough to offset an eruption of tensions between Australia and China last week. After Australia called for an international inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus, China responded by denouncing Australia’s foreign policy and slapping an 80% tariff on Australian exports of barley (although China claims this is ‘unrelated’). Barley is not the only valuable commodity Australia sends China’s way, and these tensions (combined with some healthy speculation) were behind the more subdued market activity on Thursday and Friday last week.

How did the markets end the week?

As already mentioned, the ASX 200 had a relatively strong week overall. Commencing on Monday at 5,404.8 points, it concluded the week 1.71% higher on Friday at 5,497 points.

Monday and Tuesday were by far the week’s strongest trading days, with the ASX 200 chalking up gains of 1% and 1.81% respectively (the latter being the best day for the ASX 200 in May so far). Wednesday also brought a day in the green – albeit one far milder. Then Thursday and Friday saw shares backtrack significantly. Thursday saw the ASX 200 lose 0.4%, whilst Friday saw a heavier loss of 1% overall. It still wasn’t enough to nullify the earlier gains of the week or snap the ASX 200’s ‘4 out of 4’ streak of weeks in the green.

Meanwhile, the All Ordinaries (ASX: XAO) also had a strong week. It rose 2.1% from 5,492.8 points on Monday to 5,608.8 points on Friday.

Which ASX shares were the biggest winners and losers?

Let’s get into the Foolish ‘gossip pages’ and see which ASX shares were the week’s biggest winners and losers. As always, let’s start with the losers!

Worst ASX losers	% loss for the week
Southern Cross Media Group Ltd (ASX: SXL)	12.5%
Austal Limited (ASX: ASB)	8.3%
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (ASX: URW)	7.9%
NIB Holdings Limited (ASX: NHF)	6.5%

As you can see, Southern Cross Media once again gets the wooden spoon this week. This advertising company has been hit extremely hard during the coronavirus crisis as advertising dollars dry up or head to cheaper alternatives. Closing at just 14 cents per share on Friday, Southern Cross Media shares are now down around 78% since mid-February.

The pain also continues for shipbuilder Austal, which investors apparently still haven’t forgiven for being passed over for a major multi-billion-dollar U.S. Navy defense contract. Austal shares still aren’t quite at the lows we saw in March, but that 52-week high is slipping further and further away nonetheless.

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield had another shocker as well and closed on Friday at $3.49 per share. This represents a post-merger all-time low for the European retailing giant.

With the losers out of the way, let’s have a look at last week’s winners!

Best ASX gainers	% gain for the week
NRW Holdings Limited (ASX: NWH)	30.2%
Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA)	22%
Lynas Corporation Ltd (ASX: LYC)	21.8%
Orocobre Limited (ASX: ORE)	21.7%

Leading the winning pack last week was infrastructure company NRW Holdings, which surged over 30%, despite falling more than 9% before close on Friday. The catalyst for this move was an earnings update, which mightily impressed investors with record revenue numbers. Despite this move, the NRW share price is still down more than 35% from its pre-March highs.

Also joining the party this week was aerial mapping software provider Nearmap, which saw its shares surge last week despite there being no tangible reason for celebration. Nearmap shares have more than doubled since hitting multi-year lows in March, so perhaps more investors are simply trying to jump on the bandwagon with this one.

Lithium miner Lynas was also a beneficiary of investors’ affections this week, along with Orocobre and the other ASX lithium stocks. Lithium miners have had a hard couple of years, so investors might be seeing some value in the rock-bottom prices this sector has been throwing up of late.

What is this week looking like for the ASX 200?

With 4 weeks of gains now in the bag for the ASX 200, investors will no doubt be wondering if it’s going to be ‘5 for 5’ this week. If all goes well regarding coronavirus and the continuation of restrictions being eased, it might well continue to support bullish sentiment for the share market.

Australia’s relationship with China is one area worth watching this week, in my opinion. Putting aside political opinions, the economic impacts of any further retaliatory moves by China on Australian exports shouldn’t be underestimated. As such, any developments in this area could have market-moving potential.

Over the past 2 weeks, it has been ASX resource shares that have powered much of the market’s gains. The week before last, we had ASX gold miners raising the roof, followed of course by iron miners last week. Thus, the prices of these metals as well as other commodities (oil for instance) also merit a watchful eye.

So before we go, here’s how the ASX’s movers and shakers, a.k.a. blue chips, are looking as we start another week in paradise.

And finally, here is the lay of the land for some leading market indicators:

•     S&P/ASX 200 (XJO) at 5,497 points
•     ALL ORDINARIES (XAO) at 5,608.8 points
•     Dow Jones Industrial Average at 24,465.16 points
•     Gold (Spot) swapping hands for US$1,734.68 per troy ounce
•     Iron ore asking US$97.65 per tonne
•     Crude oil (Brent) trading at US$35.13 per barrel
•     Crude oil (WTI) going for US$33.25 per barrel
•     Australian dollar buying 65.35 US cents
•     10-year Australian Government bonds yielding 0.86% per annum

Foolish takeaway

Yet another week has passed us by on the markets, and the ‘slow-but-steady’ recovery the ASX has been experiencing since March continues. Although the markets feel calm (perhaps eerily so), it’s worth remembering that the circumstances of the coronavirus pandemic remain fluid and the economy fragile. Investing with this in mind is prudent, at least in this writer’s view. Still, it’s great news to read about our economy opening up and life slowly returning to some semblance of normality.

As always, stay safe, stay rational, and stay Foolish!

More reading

• Why Leigh Creek, Lynas, Monadelphous, & TechnologyOne are dropping lower
• Should you invest $1,000 in Altium shares today?
• 3 commodity trends to watch this week
• ASX 200 shares to buy for growth and income
• Where to invest $5,000 in ASX 200 shares immediately

Sebastian Bowen owns shares of National Australia Bank Limited, Newcrest Mining Limited, and Telstra Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Austal Limited and CSL Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Macquarie Group Limited, Nearmap Ltd., and Telstra Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of COLESGROUP DEF SET, Transurban Group, Wesfarmers Limited, and Woolworths Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended NIB Holdings Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX rallies on mining highs appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares offering both growth and income could be solid ideas in this current operating environment.

There are plenty of ASX 200 shares that face short-term and/or long-term impacts because of the coronavirus. But there are some shares that are still growing and could be solid ideas today:

Amcor Plc (ASX: AMC)

Amcor is now one of the biggest global packaging businesses in the world with its flexible and rigid offerings. After the Bemis merger it’s now a powerhouse. The combination of the two companies has already generated $55 million of synergy benefits.

Adjusted free cash flow is still solid and the company increased its adjusted earnings per share (EPS) growth to 11% to 12%. Not many businesses are increasing their guidance at the moment.

The ASX 200 share currently offers a dividend yield of 4.9% with more growth likely in FY21.

Ansell Limited (ASX: ANN)

Ansell is one of the ASX 200 shares involved in fighting the spread of the coronavirus. It makes a number of products like gloves, masks and protective suits.

It’s another business that is still expecting to generate solid profit despite the global pandemic that’s currently going on.

I believe that Ansell is a defensive option now. Its products are useful for fighting against the coronavirus and if life goes back to normal it was expecting growth anyway.

It currently offers a trailing dividend yield of 2.1%.

Service Stream Limited (ASX: SSM)

Service Stream is an ASX 200 share that helps design, build, maintain and operate essential network infrastructures. The company has been steadily increasing its operating earnings and its dividend over the last few years.

The company recently said that its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) from operations will be approximately $108 million which would be a record operating result.

As part of the update the Service Stream board said it has the confidence with the company’s ability to maintain its commitment to dividends.

Service Stream has a trailing grossed-up dividend yield of 6.7%.

Foolish takeaway

Each of these businesses offer compelling long-term growth with a good immediate yield. In today’s environment the ASX 200 share I’d pick is Amcor because it has stated its earnings expectations are higher and it has the highest yield too.

More reading

• 2 quality ASX shares to buy for long-term growth
• Top brokers name 3 ASX dividend shares to buy
• What to watch on the ASX 200 next week
• The latest ASX small caps broker picks to buy today
• Why this ASX infrastructure company could help protect your portfolio in a downturn

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Amcor Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Ansell Ltd. and Service Stream Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post ASX 200 shares to buy for growth and income appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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