Category: Stock Market

Many of Australia’s top brokers have been busy adjusting their financial models again, leading to the release of a number of broker notes this week.

Three ASX shares brokers have named as buys this week are listed below. Here’s why they are bullish on them:

Boss Energy Ltd (ASX: BOE)

According to a note out of Macquarie, its analysts have retained their outperform rating and $6.00 price target on this uranium developer’s shares. This follows the release of an update which revealed the highest grade drill results to date at the Alta Mesa Project. Macquarie was pleased with the update and believes it points to better than expected resource estimates. In addition, the broker was pleased that production remains on track to commence later this year, giving the company exposure to strong spot uranium prices. The Boss Energy share price is trading at $4.83 this afternoon.

Life360 Inc (ASX: 360)

A note out of Morgan Stanley reveals that its analysts have retained their overweight rating and $14.40 price target on this location technology provider’s shares. The broker highlights that the company’s plan to sell advertisers access to its user base implies improved monetisation of its existing base and faster monetisation of new users. Morgan Stanley believes that this will lead to improved operating leverage or potentially accelerated growth in active users if it decides to step up its investment in sales and marketing. Another positive is that not only is the Life360 app a high-frequency app, but it also has highly affluent users to advertise to. The Life360 share price is fetching $12.85 today.

Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW)

Analysts at Goldman Sachs have retained their conviction buy rating and $40.40 price target on this supermarket giant’s shares. The broker highlights that Woolworths’ shares have fallen heavily amid concerns over inquiries into price gouging and anti-competitive behaviour claims. It believes this has been an overreaction, noting that the 2008 ACCC inquiry concluded that the supermarkets industry was “workably competitive” and recommended industry changes that did not result in a material impact to its earnings. The Woolworths share price is trading at $31.80 on Wednesday.

The post Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why you should buy cheap Woolworths shares before it’s too late
• My top 3 ASX shares to consider buying before April
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Down 12% over the past year, is the Woolworths share price a dead duck?
• 3 Australian shares to buy and hold forever in your ASX portfolio

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Life360. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Goldman Sachs Group, Life360, and Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Macquarie Group. 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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Looking to build a $1,000 monthly passive income stream with S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares?

Well, you’re certainly shopping in the right market.

Over the next nine weeks, ASX 200 investors will receive an eye-popping $34 billion in dividends. And as staggering as that figure is, it’s actually down from the $35.1 billion in dividends paid over the same period in 2023.

With that said, here are two top ASX 200 shares to consider buying now for $1,000 a month, or $12,000 annually, in passive income.

But first…

Trailing yields and diversification

If you’re looking to build a proper, long-term passive income portfolio, you’ll want to hold more than just two stocks.

While there’s no magic number, 10 is a decent ballpark figure. Ideally, the companies will operate in various sectors and locations. That kind of diversity will help lower the overall risk to your income portfolio if any one company or sector takes an unexpected hit.

Also, bear in mind that the yields you generally see quoted are trailing yields. Future yields may be higher or lower depending on a range of company-specific and macroeconomic factors.

With that said…

Two ASX 200 shares to tap for passive income

The first company to buy for passive income is ASX 200 bank stock Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA).

CBA has a lengthy history of paying two fully franked dividends per year. And shares in Australia’s biggest bank have been trading near all-time highs.

Some investors might be jittery following the recent share price strength. But I like buying into strength. New record highs, after all, are often followed by more new record highs.

As for that passive income, the ASX 200 bank paid a final dividend of $2.40 per share on 28 September. Investors who owned CBA shares at market close on 20 February can expect to see the interim dividend of $2.15 per share land in their bank account on 28 March.

That equates to a full-year payout of $4.55 per share.

At the current CBA share price of $116.44, that works out to a fully franked trailing yield of 3.9%.

Which brings us to the second company to buy today for passive income, ASX 200 mining stock Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX: FMG).

The Fortescue share price has rebounded over the past week. This comes amid an uptick in the iron ore price, fuelled by increased optimism on China’s economic growth outlook.

Shares are currently changing hands for $24.97 apiece.

Fortescue paid a final dividend of $1.00 per share on 28 September. If you owned shares at market close on 27 February, you can expect to receive the interim dividend of $1.08 per share next week, on March 27.

That comes out to a full-year passive income payout of $2.08 per share. Which sees Fortescue shares trading on a fully franked yield of 8.3%.

$1,000 a month in passive income from these ASX shares

Assuming you buy the same amount of each ASX 200 dividend share, you’ll earn an average yield of 6.1%.

To collect your $1,000 monthly passive income ($12,000 yearly) then, you’d need to invest $196,721 today.

Now, that’s sizeable amount to invest in one go.

But that’s okay.

Investing is a long game.

You can always invest smaller amounts each month. If you stick with it, you’ll reach that passive income goal in good time.

The post 2 top ASX 200 shares to buy now for $1,000 a month in passive income appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why are ASX 200 mining shares are smashing the benchmark on Wednesday?
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Shares vs. property: Which Australian states and ASX stocks are delivering the best passive income?
• 3 ASX 200 mining shares to buy now with less than $1,000
• Fortescue shares retreat to fresh 2024 low as iron ore breaks below US$100 per tonne

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben 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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As most ASX investors would know, the investing world has had a fairly strong start to 2024. Year to date, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up a solid 1.24% so far, and has hit several new all-time highs along the way. That’s after the ASX 200 rose an impressive 11.9% over the two months to 31 December, of course. But what about superannuation?

Our superannuation accounts are not an asset class in themselves but represent a vehicle for other assets, which our super funds invest in to help us fund a comfortable retirement when the time comes.

Many Australians don’t have a comprehensive understanding of what kind of assets our super is invested in. The most popular super account is the so-called ‘balanced fund’, which invests in a variety of different assets. These typically include a mix of ASX shares, international shares, bonds, unlisted assets and cash.

Because of this diverse mix of asset classes in most Australians’ super, it can be hard to keep track of exactly how our funds are performing. Even if the share market is having a good few months.

Share market delivers a strong January for superannuation

Luckily, financial research firm Chant West has done some of the hard work for us. In a media release last month, Chant West revealed that super funds were off to a great start in 2024.

The firm found that the ‘median growth fund’ (funds with between 61 and 80% allocated to growth assets like shares) were up an average of 1% over the month of January 2024. That was after gaining an average of 9.9% over the 2023 calendar year.

Chant West also found that more balanced funds holding between 41% and 60% growth assets grew by an average of 0.7% over January.

Those numbers might not sound too impressive, but they are a strong showing for only a one-month period. Chant West senior research manager Mano Mohankumar cited strong returns from international shares, as well as a weaker Australian dollar, for the strong January showing. Here’s some more of what he had to say on these findings:

The end of January marks exactly four years since the pre-COVID high reached in 2020. Despite the challenging backdrop of market volatility over that period, the median growth fund is up nearly 23%, so members who have remained patient and resisted the temptation to switch to a more conservative option have been well-rewarded.

Even more importantly, super funds are continuing to meet their long-term return and risk objectives.

So good news for any Australian with a superannuation fund. Let’s hope the rest of 2024 is just as robust.

The post Here’s how much your superannuation has grown in 2024 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why Core Lithium, Deep Yellow, Iperionx, and Tuas shares are racing higher today
• Why Amcor, Arafura, Brainchip, and South32 shares are tumbling today
• How I’d invest my first $1,000 in ASX shares in 2024
• Why this ASX Nvidia partner has just been placed in a trading halt
• Why this ASX 300 uranium stock could rocket 45%

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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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is having another relatively positive session. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is up 0.15% to 7,713.9 points.

Four ASX shares that are rising more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are climbing:

Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO)

The Core Lithium share price is up 4.5% to 16.2 cents. This is despite there being no news out of the struggling lithium miner today. However, prior to today, Core Lithium’s shares had lost a third of their value since this time last month. Some investors may believe that they have been oversold and are snapping them up. This month’s weakness has been driven by the release of its results and concerns that its mining operations may remain suspended for some time to come.

Deep Yellow Limited (ASX: DYL)

The Deep Yellow share price is up 6% to $1.30. This may have been driven by the release of a bullish broker note out of Bell Potter this morning. According to the note, the broker has retained its speculative buy rating on the uranium developer’s shares with an improved price target of $1.90. This implies potential upside of 45% for investors from current levels. The broker said: “We see DYL as being attractively positioned in a rising uranium bull market, capable of delivering the next wave of supply into an increasingly tight market.”

Iperionx Ltd (ASX: IPX)

The Iperionx share price is up 11% to $2.22. This also appears to have been caused by a broker note out of Bell Potter. This morning, its analysts initiated coverage on the titanium products company’s shares with a speculative buy rating and $3.70 price target. This suggests further upside of approximately 67% for investors. Bell Potter said: “IPX has the potential to disrupt the incumbent titanium supply chain through materially lowering production costs and manufacturing waste.”

Tuas Ltd (ASX: TUA)

The Tuas share price is up 12% to $3.77. This follows the release of the Singapore-based telco’s half-year results this morning. Tuas reported a 38% increase in revenue to S$54.7 million and a 56% jump in EBITDA over the prior corresponding period to S$22.4 million. This was driven by its growing subscriber base.

The post Why Core Lithium, Deep Yellow, Iperionx, and Tuas shares are racing higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why this ASX 300 uranium stock could rocket 45%
• Why Arafura Rare Earths, Core Lithium, Goodman, and Superloop shares are falling today
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• Why are ASX lithium shares being annihilated on Friday?
• Why Beach, Clinuvel, Deep Yellow, and EML shares are charging higher today

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 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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In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on track to record another small gain. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.1% to 7,712.5 points.

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

Amcor (ASX: AMC)

The Amcor share price is down 3.5% to $13.92. This follows news that the packaging company’s CEO is stepping down. According to the release, Ronald Delia has notified the company of his intention to retire as CEO and as a member of the board of directors for health reasons. Delia intends to retire from the company in a touch under a month on 15 April 2024. However, he will remain employed by Amcor in a consulting and transition capacity until 30 September 2024. This is to ensure a smooth transition of duties.

Arafura Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: ARU)

The Arafura Rare Earths share price is down 2.5% to 20 cents. This appears to have been driven by a broker note out of Bell Potter this morning. According to the note, the broker has downgraded the rare earths developer’s shares to a speculative neutral rating with a 19 cents price target. It made the move partly on valuation grounds following a strong rebound this month.

Brainchip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN)

The Brainchip share price is down over 7% to 32 cents. Investors have been hitting the sell button today after global semiconductor giant Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA) announced its new Blackwell artificial intelligence chips. The company spent an estimated US$10 billion on the research and development budget for the processor. It’s possible now that some investors are finally realising that Brainchip has almost zero chance of competing with the giant given its shoestring budget. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, commented: “Blackwell offers massive performance leaps, and will accelerate our ability to deliver leading-edge models. We’re excited to continue working with NVIDIA to enhance AI compute.”

South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)

The South32 share price is down 4% to $2.99. This follows the release of an update on its Groote Eylandt Mining Company operation. Yesterday, the company revealed that inclement weather had caused the temporary suspension of operations. It has followed this up this morning advising that the suspensions will continue after initial assessments identified flooding in the mining pits, as well as significant damage to a critical haul road bridge that connects the northern pits of the Western Leases mining area and the processing plant.

The post Why Amcor, Arafura, Brainchip, and South32 shares are tumbling today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why is the South32 share price getting battered today?
• Insider buy alert: Arafura chair snaps up 100,000 beaten-up shares!
• Here is the South32 dividend forecast to 2026
• 2 ‘materially undervalued’ ASX 200 shares to buy while they’re at ‘attractive value’
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today

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 Nvidia. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Amcor Plc. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nvidia. 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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If I had $1,000 to invest in ASX shares as a beginner, one of the first choices I’d want to buy is VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (ASX: MOAT).

Why an exchange-traded fund (ETF) to start with? I think it’s great for diversification.

If I took my $1,000 and invested in one business like Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) or Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL), I’d have 100% of my portfolio in just one business. All the eggs are in one basket.

With an ETF, we can buy a whole group of businesses in just one transaction. The portfolio is instantly spread across a number of companies.

So why the MOAT ETF? There are a few key reasons.

Strong competitive advantages

With most investments on the (ASX) share market, we’re looking to find businesses with economic moats. This describes a company’s ability to maintain its competitive advantages and defend its long-term profitability from ‘invaders’.

The investment team at Morningstar has identified five sources of sustainable competitive advantages: switching costs, intangible assets, network effects, cost advantages and efficient scale. The annual management fee is 0.49%, which is quite cheap for how much work is being done to identify ideas.

Some of the businesses in the portfolio that you may have heard of that have strong competitive advantages include Alphabet (Google), Campbell Soup, Nike, Walt Disney, Salesforce.com, Bank of America, Berkshire Hathaway, Pepsico, Microsoft, Starbucks and Adobe.

There are a total of 54 holdings in the portfolio at the time of writing.

Good value

The MOAT ETF only invests in these target companies when they’re trading at “attractive prices” compared to Morningstar’s estimate of fair value.

It doesn’t just invest in these competitively-advantaged businesses at any price, the Morningstar team only buy when the business is valued noticeably less than they think the company is worth.

I like this because it can help the MOAT ETF only focus on good value businesses, rather than overvalued. Exiting a position if it has climbed too high can be a good move.

Solid returns

Past performance is definitely not a guarantee of future returns, but I think this fund has the potential to perform as well as any solid ASX shares.

Since the ETF was started in June 2015, it has returned an average of 16.1% per annum.

Any return of more than 10% per annum is a great number for compounding. $1,000 can double in around five years if it returns at 15% per annum.

The post How I’d invest my first $1,000 in ASX shares in 2024 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 4 top ASX exchange-traded funds smashing record highs on Wednesday
• The best ASX shares to invest $500 in right now
• 2 ASX ETFs that have made investors rich
• 5 ASX ETFs to buy and hold for 10 years
• 2 excellent ASX ETFs I’d buy right now

Bank of America is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison 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 Adobe, Alphabet, Bank of America, Berkshire Hathaway, Microsoft, Nike, Salesforce, Starbucks, and Walt Disney. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long January 2025 $47.50 calls on Nike, long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft, and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Coles Group and Telstra Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Adobe, Alphabet, Berkshire Hathaway, Nike, Salesforce, Starbucks, VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF, and Walt Disney. 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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A tiny ASX stock with a big Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA) partnership has entered a trading halt today.

Pentanet Ltd (ASX: 5GG) shares are locked at 8.2 cents a pop as investors await further information. The share halt comes amid a busy week for the telecommunications and gaming service provider. Yesterday, the company announced further work alongside Nvidia to expand its cloud offerings.

Nvidia has been the poster child for artificial intelligence (AI), rallying 85% this year as tech companies squabble to get the latest best-in-class AI hardware. Amid the excitement, companies with any association have attracted much attention.

More than 275 million shares traded hands between 15 and 19 March. For context, the prior three days saw approximately 181,000 shares traded. That’s more than a thousand-fold increase in trading volume.

So what’s going on now?

Pentanet put on ice

Before today’s market opened, Pentanet requested its shares be paused pending an announcement.

According to the request, the announcement will be in relation to a placement. In other words, Pentanet will be rattling the can for additional funding. Little more is known at this point in time.

The need for more capital makes sense when looking at the company’s balance sheet and spending.

As of 31 December 2023, Pentanet held $6.78 million in cash and $2.44 million in debt. Yet, the company recorded $7.4 million in negative free cash flow for the 12 months ending 31 December 2023. It’s safe to say the finances aren’t as pretty as Nvidia’s.

If cash flows over the next year closely resemble the last year, cash would quickly become a scarce resource for this ASX telecom stock.

The last time Pentanet raised capital was in April 2023 — securing $6.1 million via a placement and an additional $330,000 through a share purchase plan.

Nvidia hardware doesn’t come cheap

While it’s yet to be confirmed what Pentanet intends to use any raised capital for, the proximity to its recent Nvidia announcement is notable.

As per yesterday’s announcement, the company has upgraded to Nvidia’s L40 graphics processing units (GPUs) to unlock next-level computing capability. According to online sources, one L40 GPU can come with a $23,000 price tag.

On 15 March, Pentanet highlighted that its GeForce NOW partner agreement with Nvidia now recognised New Zealand as a ‘serviceable territory’. Potentially, the ASX company will be looking for funds to expand its offering across the ditch.

The post Why this ASX Nvidia partner has just been placed in a trading halt appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• How to invest in artificial intelligence (AI) without buying Nvidia stock
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• If you invested $10,000 in Nvidia stock the day ChatGPT came out, this is how much you’d have today
• Stock-split watch: Is Nvidia next?
• Guess which ASX tech stock is exploding 120% on a new deal with Nvidia

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler 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 Nvidia. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Pentanet. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nvidia. 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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Demand for uranium is expected to increase materially over the coming decades as the world embraces nuclear power again.

This bodes well for a handful of ASX 300 uranium stocks that trade on the ASX boards.

One of those is Deep Yellow Limited (ASX: DYL), which has deep pockets following a recent capital raising.

These funds will be used to advance the development of its flagship Tumas Project in Namibia, as well as progress the development activities at the Mulga Rock Project in Western Australia.

Is this an ASX 300 uranium stock to buy?

The team at Bell Potter was pleased with the capital raising and believes it makes the company a great option for investors that are wanting to gain exposure to uranium. It commented:

DYL has gone hard early, which we believe puts the company in a better position to negotiate offtake with utilities, ultimately feeding into debt negotiations. We estimate the capital requirement to bring Tumas into production at $657m, which following the $250m allocation to Tumas in the recent capital raise, leaves $407m to be sourced. We suspect DYL will look to source traditional debt for most of the remaining balance, however other options include pre-production sales and as a failsafe option, strategic equity.

In response to the capital raising, the broker has reaffirmed its speculative buy rating and lifted its price target on the ASX 300 uranium stock by 5% to $1.90 (from $1.81).

Based on its current share price of $1.31, this implies potential upside of 45% for investors over the next 12 months.

Though, it is worth noting that it has a speculative rating. This makes it a higher risk option that may not be suitable for all investors.

The broker concludes:

Further upside in uranium remains, as limited near-term supply spurs the spot market whilst the global path to decarbonisation shapes the role of nuclear over the longer-term. Following the merger with VMY (Vimy – de-listed), DYL has a Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) of 431mlbs U3O8, and an Ore Reserve of 110mlbs U3O8. We see DYL as being attractively positioned in a rising uranium bull market, capable of delivering the next wave of supply into an increasingly tight market.

Overall, this could make it a good option if you’re bullish on uranium and have a high tolerance for risk.

The post Why this ASX 300 uranium stock could rocket 45% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• Why Beach, Clinuvel, Deep Yellow, and EML shares are charging higher today
• Why is this ASX 300 uranium stock avoiding the market selloff and racing higher?
• The ASX uranium shares to buy just coming out of a trading halt
• What’s happening with ASX uranium shares today?

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 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 been a fairly pleasant, if volatile, day for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and most ASX 200 shares so far this Wednesday. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 has added 0.16% up to 7,716 points after rising as high as 7,738 points earlier this morning. But let’s talk about four top ASX exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that are doing even better.

This session has seen no fewer than four ASX ETFs clock new record highs.

There’s the Vanguard US Total Market Shares Index ETF (ASX: VTS), which hit a new high of $393 per unit this morning.

That was followed by the Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS). This ETF reached up as high as $123.76 per unit just before midday.

The VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (ASX: MOAT) joined in just after market open this morning, clocking a new record of $128.35 per unit.

Finally, we have the iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV). This index fund delighted investors with a new all-time high just before midday of $52.97.

You might notice that none of these ASX ETFs actually track ASX shares though. In fact, all four have heavy exposure to the US markets. As such, it’s relatively simple to explain why every member of this quartet has almost simultaneously hit a new record today.

Why are these top ASX ETFs at new record highs today?

The US markets as a whole have been on a tear over March thus far.

Last night’s trading over on the American markets, for instance, was a momentous one. Yet again, we saw the flagship US stock market index – the S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX) – hit a new high. Well, it was a closing high. Last night’s session saw the S&P 500 Index close at its highest level ever at 5,178.51 points after rising 0.56%. That doesn’t quite equal this index’s all-time record of 5,189.26. But it’s mighty close.

All four of the ASX ETFs listed above exclusively hold US shares, with the exception of the Vanguard International Shares ETF. Approximately 70% of this fund’s portfolio is tilted towards the United States.

Last night saw ‘magnificent seven’ stocks like Apple, NVIDIA, Microsoft and Amazon all pushing higher. As such, it’s no surprise to see these ASX exchange-traded funds, most of which count these seven shares as major holdings, follow suit.

Also assisting would be the continued weakness of the Australian dollar against the US dollar. All of these ETFs are on the ASX, and as such are priced in Australian dollars. So when our dollar is weak, it boosts the value of American assets when translated into our local currency on the ASX.

This latest push higher for these ETFs is just the latest in a parade of stonking returns that ASX investors have enjoyed though. The best performer of the bunch – the iShares S&P 500 ETF – is now up a whopping 34.94% over just the past 12 months.

The post 4 top ASX exchange-traded funds smashing record highs on Wednesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• How I’d invest my first $1,000 in ASX shares in 2024
• Give your portfolio a big boost with these high-quality ASX ETFs
• 3 Australian shares to buy and hold forever in your ASX portfolio
• The best ASX shares to invest $500 in right now
• 2 ASX ETFs that have made investors rich

John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, and iShares S&P 500 ETF. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon, Apple, Nvidia, VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF, Vanguard Msci Index International Shares ETF, 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.

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S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) mining shares are racing ahead of the benchmark in early afternoon trade on Wednesday.

Here’s how the big three mining stocks are tracking at the time of writing:

• Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX: FMG) shares are up 2.02%
• BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) shares are up 0.8%
• Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) shares are up 1.5%

For some context, the ASX 200 is up 0.3% at this same time.

Here’s what’s boosting the Aussie mining stocks today.

What’s lifting the ASX 200 mining shares?

Iron ore counts as the top revenue earner for all three ASX 200 mining shares.

And copper also brings in many billions of dollars in revenue each year.

After falling below US$100 per tonne on Friday, iron ore has been rallying this week. The steel-making metal gained 3.2% overnight to trade at US$107.20 per tonne.

Copper is also enjoying a strong run. The red metal is trading for US$8,976.50 per tonne, up from US$8,434.50 per tonne a month ago.

The iron ore price has spent much of 2024 retreating, having kicked off the year trading for US$145 per tonne.

Much of that retrace was due to concerns over China’s sluggish economic growth outlook impacting the nation’s voracious appetite for the steel-making metal.

This week’s rebound in the iron ore price – and today’s outperformance by the ASX 200 mining shares – follows better-than-expected economic data out of China, released over the weekend.

AS CNBC notes, over the first two months of 2024, Chinese retail sales increased by 5.5%. That topped the 5.2% boost forecast in a Reuters poll.

Importantly for the iron ore market, industrial production was up 7% year on year, far outpacing the consensus estimates of a 5% increase.

In a broader sign that China’s economy may be turning the corner, online retail sales of physical goods leapt by 14.4% in January and February compared to 2023 sales.

Commenting on the Chinese data that’s offering some tailwinds for ASX 200 mining shares, Goldman Sachs analysts said:

We believe China’s sequential growth momentum remained solid in Q1 despite notable divergence across sectors. However, to secure the ambitious ‘around 5%’ growth target this year, more policy easing is still necessary, especially on the demand-side (eg fiscal, housing and consumption).

Indeed, the data showed real estate investment in China declined 9% in the first two months of 2024 compared to the prior year.

But I expect we’ll see more stimulus measures rolled out by the Chinese government to bolster the nation’s critical real estate sector.

Any fresh news on that front should support iron ore and copper prices, offering additional tailwinds for the big three ASX 200 mining shares.

The post Why are ASX 200 mining shares are smashing the benchmark on Wednesday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Rio Tinto shares higher on $535 million lithium news
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Shares vs. property: Which Australian states and ASX stocks are delivering the best passive income?
• Buying BHP shares? You’ll want to read this
• 3 ASX 200 mining shares to buy now with less than $1,000

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben 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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