S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) lithium shares have delivered some stellar returns over the past year.

But the last few weeks have left some investors wondering if the party is coming to an end for the big lithium companies.

What’s been happening with the big lithium stocks?

In November, only two of the five ASX 200 lithium shares posted gains, while the benchmark index leapt 6.1% higher over the month.

This was despite several of the miners hitting new all-time highs earlier in the month amid record prices for the battery-critical metal. Then lithium prices began to slide.

Now, as we approach the end of the third day of trading in December, it looks like the selling trend from the past few weeks may be reversing. At least for some.

Here’s how the top ASX 200 lithium shares have performed since the closing bell on 30 November:

• Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) shares are down 2.1%
• Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE) shares are up 4.6%
• Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) shares have gained 1.3%
• IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO) shares are up 2.9%
• Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN) shares have gained 4.3%

For some context, the ASX 200 is up 0.7% over this same period.

Can ASX 200 lithium shares come charging back in December?

With the exception of Mineral Resources – hands down the best-performing ASX 200 lithium share in November with a 19.5% share price gain – the rest of the pack struggled with a dip in lithium prices.

Most of that’s been due to some headwinds blowing out of China, the world’s biggest electric vehicle (EV) producer.

China’s economy-hampering COVID zero policies have given some investors in lithium stocks the jitters. Especially as infection numbers in the nation soared and rare anti-government protests broke out across major cities.

2023 is also likely to see the Chinese government axe its subsidies to domestic battery manufacturers. And the government has flagged an end to rebates for consumers purchasing new EVs.

Add to that reports that Chinese battery manufacturers look to have overproduced the near-term needs of EV manufacturers and you can see why lithium prices, and ASX 200 lithium shares, have come under pressure recently.

Which brings us back to the outlook for December.

China may well end its EV subsidies and there may be some short-term battery oversupply issues making the news this month. In turn, this could put some pressure on the big lithium stocks.

However, over the weekend, the Chinese government did an extraordinary backflip on its pandemic containment policies.

While some restrictions remain, officials have bowed to protester demands and are turning their attention more towards growing the economy than stamping out the virus.

An end (or near-end) to lockdowns should offer a healthy boost to China’s mammoth manufacturing sector. And we suspect this will also see more analysts upgrading their near-term forecasts for lithium demand.

Which could mean good news for ASX 200 lithium shares in December.

The post Can ASX 200 lithium shares come charging back in December? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why Arafura, Mayne Pharma, Pilbara Minerals, and Tyro shares are dropping today
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Monday
• Why is the Pilbara Minerals share price sinking deep into the red today?
• 2 ASX lithium shares smashing all-time highs on Monday
• ASX index beaters: 5 shares that have supercharged portfolios in 2022

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The Mesoblast Ltd (ASX: MSB) share price has been on a top run lately. It’s launched 25% higher over the last 30 days.

Indeed, this time last month, shares in the clinical-stage biotechnology company were trading for 92 cents. Today, the Mesoblast share price is $1.16.

For comparison, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) has risen 6% over the last month.

So, what’s been bolstering the Mesoblast share price lately? Let’s take a look.

What’s been going right for the Mesoblast share price lately?

Mesoblast has had a good run recently. That’s despite the market appearing disappointed by the only price-sensitive news from the company.

The healthcare company released its latest quarterly update and news of a key trial on 24 November. That same day, the Mesoblast share price slipped 1%.

Over the September quarter, Mesoblast burnt through US$14.3 million and brought in US$1.4 million of revenue. Though, there was more positive news released alongside its earnings.

Mesoblast also revealed the long-term survival results for its remestemcel-L phase 3 trial in children with steroid-refractory acute graft-versus-host disease (SR-aGVHD).

Overall survival at two years for children treated with the drug was 51% compared to between 25% and 38% in recent studies of children or adults treated with the best available therapy.

The company’s chair Joseph Swedish said the results reaffirmed the potential significance of the drug as “ a life-saving treatment for children with SR-aGVHD”.

Mesoblast CEO Dr Silviu Itescu also commented:

These substantial and durable long-term survival outcomes seen in our Phase 3 trial with remestemcel-L are a cornerstone to our [Biologics License Application] resubmission.

That same day the company hosted its annual general meeting (AGM). There, Swedish reiterated the company is hoping to see regulators give remestemcel-L their tick of approval in the first half of 2023.

Mesoblast is also working to get its rexlemestrocel-L to market as a treatment for chronic low back pain associated with degenerative disc disease and for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction.

Interestingly, the biggest gain posted by the Mesoblast share price over the period was on a day of seeming silence. The stock soared 11.6% on Wednesday last week despite no word from the company.

The post Why has the Mesoblast share price boomed 25% in a month? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• What’s going on with the Mesoblast share price today?
• Why did the Mesoblast share price soar 9% today?

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 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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to start the week in a positive fashion. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is up 0.5% to 7,340.4 points.

Four ASX shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here’s why they are dropping:

Arafura Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: ARU)

The Arafura share price is down 5.5% to 41.5 cents. This has been driven by the company’s institutional placement. The rare earths developer has received firm commitments for a $121 million placement to accelerate the Nolans Project development schedule. These funds are being raised at a 15.9% discount of 37 cents per new share.

Mayne Pharma Group Ltd (ASX: MYX)

The Mayne Pharma share price is down over 10% to 21.5 cents. This morning the pharmaceutical company announced that it has signed a transaction agreement and related license agreement for a portfolio of on-market women’s health products from TherapeuticsMD for US$140 million. The products’ net revenue in the third quarter of 2022 were US$20.9 million and gross profit was US$17.1 million.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

The Pilbara Minerals share price is down 4.5% to $4.64. This is despite the lithium giant being added to the ASX 50 index at the quarterly rebalance. Investors appear to have concerns about lithium prices following a couple of bearish broker notes and news of a new major lithium mine development.

Tyro Payments Ltd (ASX: TYR)

The Tyro share price is down 5.5% to $1.62. Investors have been selling this payments company’s shares following the release of a transaction update. According to the release, transaction value growth slowed to 16% during the month of November. This is a sharp slowdown compared to its year to date growth rate of 43%.

The post Why Arafura, Mayne Pharma, Pilbara Minerals, and Tyro shares are dropping 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 is the Pilbara Minerals share price sinking deep into the red today?
• ASX index beaters: 5 shares that have supercharged portfolios in 2022
• Arafura share price sinks 12% as Gina buys up big
• Why is the Pilbara Minerals share price charging higher on Monday?

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 Tyro Payments. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Tyro Payments. 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) has kicked off the trading week on a positive note so far this Monday. After recording a gain last week, the ASX 200 is once again living up to the fabled December ‘Santa rally’ and is lifting higher at this point of the session.

At the time of writing, the index has gained a healthy 0.49%, lifting the index up to just under 7,340 points.

So time now to dive deeper into these market moves by having a look at the shares currently topping the ASX 200’s share trading volume charts, according to investing.com.

The 3 most traded ASX 200 shares by volume this Monday

South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)

First up today is the mining giant South32. This Monday has had a sizeable 16.7 million South32 shares bounce around the markets today so far. There’s been no fresh news out of South32 so far this week.

However, the South32 share price has really taken off today. The miner is currently enjoying a 4.06% lift to $4.36 a share. Most ASX resources shares are taking flight today following some pleasing price rises on the commodity markets. It’s this gain that is likely leading these volume figures.

Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO)

ASX 200 lithium share Core Lithium is our next share for today. This lithium producer had had a hefty 19.82 million shares change hands as it currently stands. There’s been no new news out of Core shares either today. But investors are sending this company in the opposite direction to South32 regardless.

Like most ASX lithium shares today, the Core Lithium share price has lost a painful 3.65% of its value so far today, putting it down to $1.32 a share. It’s not quite clear what’s up with lithium today, but this drop is probably the cause of the high volumes on display.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

Speaking of the devil, our last ASX 200 share worth taking a gander at today is Core’s fellow lithium luminary Pilbara Minerals. A whopping 25.03 million Pilbara shares have been bought and sold thus far this session.

The same factors seem to be at play here. However, investors have decided to punish Pilbara even more harshly than Core, with this company currently down a nasty 4.32% at $4.65 a share. Again, it’s this selling pressure that is likely influencing the high volumes we are seeing.

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

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More reading

• Why is the Pilbara Minerals share price sinking deep into the red today?
• ASX index beaters: 5 shares that have supercharged portfolios in 2022
• Could Core Lithium shares be set for a Santa rally in December?
• Guess which gold share is being booted out of the ASX 200
• With almost no savings at 30, I’d use the Warren Buffett method to try to get rich!

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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