• 8 ASX mining shares hitting 52-week highs today

    Two workers on a tablet at a mine site, with mining machinery behind them.

    Several ASX mining shares, including BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), reached new 52-week highs on Tuesday.

    The BHP share price reached a record $68.22, up 1.6% for the day and 56% over 12 months, in earlier trading.

    This pushed two ASX mining exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to record highs as well, given their 40% weighting to BHP shares.

    They are SPDR S&P/ASX 200 Resources ETF (ASX: OZR) and Betashares Australian Resources Sector ETF (ASX: QRE).

    Meanwhile on Tuesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is 0.6% higher at 9,153.6 points.

    As earnings season continues, let’s look at the other ASX mining shares reaching new peaks today.

    Sandfire Resources Ltd (ASX: SFR)

    The ASX 200’s largest pure-play copper mining share rose 2% to a record $22.89 today.

    Genesis Minerals Ltd (ASX: GMD)

    ASX 200 gold mining share, Genesis Minerals rose 1.75% to a 52-week high of $8.72 per share.

    Capricorn Metals Ltd (ASX: CMM)

    Fellow gold mining share, Capricorn Metals, spiked 1.6% to a new record of $18.02 today.

    Andean Silver Ltd (ASX: ASL)

    ASX silver mining share, Andean Silver increased 6.2% to a record $2.90 per share.

    Vault Minerals Ltd (ASX: VAU)

    Gold and copper mining share, Vault Minerals rose to a 52-week peak of $7.06, up 1.9%, on Tuesday.

    Alkane Resources Ltd (ASX: ALK)

    Gold and antimony miner Alkane Resources hit a 52-week high of $1.91 per share.

    Carnaby Resources Ltd (ASX: CNB)

    Copper and gold miner Carnaby Resources rose 4% to a 52-week high of $1.05 per share.

    What about the ASX mining ETFs?

    QRE and OZR were among the 6 top-performing ASX ETFs of FY26 amid the new mining boom underway in Australia.

    The OZR ETF rose 1.1% to an all-time high of $19.38 on Tuesday.

    OZR ETF delivered an exceptional total one-year return of 51% in FY26. The trailing distribution yield was 2.4%.

    This ASX ETF seeks to mirror the performance of the S&P/ASX 200 Resources Index.

    After BHP (40%), its other top holdings are Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) (7.7%) and Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) (7.4%).

    The QRE ETF increased 1.9% to a record $11.16 today.

    QRE ETF produced a similarly impressive total one-year return of 50% in FY26. The trailing distribution yield was 2.3%.

    This ASX ETF seeks to track the Solactive Australia Resources Sector Index.

    After BHP, its next top holdings are also Woodside (7.5%) and Rio Tinto shares (7.4%).

    Both ETFs invest predominantly in ASX mining shares, along with oil and gas suppliers, and other resources companies like steel makers.

    QRE also invests 2.5% in utilities, which is a key difference to OZR, although Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG) is the only stock.

    The post 8 ASX mining shares hitting 52-week highs today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Genesis Minerals right now?

    Before you buy Genesis Minerals shares, consider this:

    Motley Fool investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Genesis Minerals wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that may be better buys…

    * Returns as of 1 August 2026

    .custom-cta-button p {
    margin-bottom: 0 !important;
    }

    More reading

    Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen 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 BHP Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

  • Is the Vanguard US Total Market ETF (VTS) the best buy for investing in America?

    Statue of Liberty with the American flag in the background.

    This morning, we discussed the most popular exchange-traded fund (ETF) on the ASX for investors wishing to invest in the US markets. The iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV) easily takes that crown, with over $14 billion in funds currently under management. But could the Vanguard Morningstar US Total Market Shares Index ETF (ASX: VTS) be a better choice for that slice of America in an ASX portfolio?

    In theory, the iShares S&P 500 ETF and the Vanguard US Total Market ETF are quite different.

    For one, IVV is an index fund that tracks the S&P 500 Index. This flagship index represents the largest 500 stocks on the US markets, weighted by market capitalisation (size).

    Meanwhile, the VTS ETF tracks a far less common index, the Morningstar U.S. Total Market Index. Instead of following just the largest 500 stocks on US markets, this index tracks more than 4,000. As such, it offers significantly more coverage of mid- and small-cap US stocks than IVV.

    Is this enough to make VTS the better choice over IVV? Well, diversification is usually a good thing for investors seeking to increase their exposure to an entire market.

    However, as we touched on above, the differences between the IVV and VTS ETFs are more theoretical than practical. That’s because, while both funds have different scopes, they both weight their portfolios by market capitalisation. That means the largest shares take up far more room than the smaller ones in both funds. Since both IVV and VTS both share the same stocks at the top of their portfolios, buying either will get you a similar investment profile.

    IVV vs. VTS: Top ETF holdings compared

    To illustrate, as of 31 July, IVV’s top five holdings, and their respective weightings, were as follows:

    NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) at 7.53%

    Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) at 7.03%

    Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL) at 5.85%

    Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) at 5.35%

    Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) at 4.12%

    Meanwhile, the VTS ETF’s largest stocks, as of 31 July, were:

    NVIDIA at 6.39%

    Apple at 6.28%

    Alphabet at 5.2%

    Microsoft at 4.78%

    Amazon at 3.64%

    As you can see, there’s not a lot of daylight between these two ETFs’ holdings.

    But let’s look at performance.

    Over the 12 months to 31 July, IVV returned 9.42%. That rose to an annualised 17.41% over three years, and 13.61% per annum over five.

    Meanwhile, the VTS ETF returned 9.82% over the year to 31 July. Over three years, it managed an average of 17.19% per annum, and 12.77% per annum over five years.

    So it’s clear we’re doing a bit of hair splitting here. Overall, these two ASX ETFs can be expected to deliver a similar return over time, given their overlapping, heavy exposure to the largest US stocks on the market. It’s my view that ASX investors who are looking for cheap, easy exposure to US stocks can’t go wrong with either fund.

    The post Is the Vanguard US Total Market ETF (VTS) the best buy for investing in America? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Vanguard Us Total Market Shares Index ETF right now?

    Before you buy Vanguard Us Total Market Shares Index ETF shares, consider this:

    Motley Fool investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Vanguard Us Total Market Shares Index ETF wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that may be better buys…

    * Returns as of 1 August 2026

    .custom-cta-button p {
    margin-bottom: 0 !important;
    }

    More reading

    Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, and iShares S&P 500 ETF. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, 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.

  • Post-earnings: Why I’d buy this ASX dividend share for income

    Happy woman looking for groceries. as she watches the Coles share price and Woolworths share price on her phone

    There have been many ASX dividend shares that I’ve been impressed with so far this earnings season. Over the past week or two, we’ve seen the likes of Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX: PME), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS), Ampol Ltd (ASX: ALD), and many more announce dividend pay rises for their investors.

    Today, another income stock joined that party. It was none other than Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL).

    Coles is, of course, the famous name behind the dominant supermarket chain and Liquorland bottle shop network. As we covered earlier today, it was a decent set of numbers that the company had to show for its 2026 financial year. For the 12 months to 30 June 2026, Coles reported revenues of $45.58 billion, up 2.8% over FY2025.

    Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) rose 9.9% to $2.32 billion, while net profits after tax (NPAT) surged 13.7% to $1.26 billion.

    Perhaps it is these numbers that have prompted the market to push Coles shares 2.3% higher so far this Tuesday to $23.20 each (at the time of writing). Or perhaps it was the dividend hike that Coles just announced.

    Coles: An ASX share with seven years of dividend growth

    Yep, Coles has just revealed that its final dividend for 2026 will be worth 37 cents per share. It will come with full franking credits attached, as is Coles’ habit. That represents a 15.6% hike over the final dividend of 32 cents per share that investors enjoyed last year.

    Together with the April interim dividend of 41 cents per share, this latest payout takes Coles’ full-year dividends to 78 cents per share. Again, that is a nice 13.04% rise over 2025’s total of 69 cents per share.

    So why would I buy Coles shares for income post-earnings? Well, a big reason is this company’s dividend history. Consistent dividend growth over time is difficult to fake. Dividends are a heavy burden on a company’s finances. As such, only the strongest companies tend to be able to keep their payouts growing year in, year out.

    2026 happens to be the seventh year in a row that Coles has grown its annual dividends per share. Bear in mind that Coles was only listed on the ASX back in late 2018.

    Given that this ASX share is a mature, healthily profitable business in a defensive sector of the market, this dividend pedigree is worth a lot. As such, I would be happy to add Coles shares to a diversified income-focused portfolio today.

    The post Post-earnings: Why I’d buy this ASX dividend share for income appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Coles Group right now?

    Before you buy Coles Group shares, consider this:

    Motley Fool investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Coles Group wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that may be better buys…

    * Returns as of 1 August 2026

    .custom-cta-button p {
    margin-bottom: 0 !important;
    }

    More reading

    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 recommended Pro Medicus. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Telstra Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Pro Medicus. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.