Category: Stock Market

While there are many different views about what will happen to S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares in 2023, most experts agree on one thing — the global economy will have a rough year.

Interest rates rose rapidly through the developed world last year, and that is starting to bite consumers and businesses alike. The full impact will be felt in 2023, with some countries even plunging into recession.

During such times, it’s not a bad idea to search for ASX shares to buy that represent businesses that have resilient earnings. Some companies produce goods or services that people simply can’t do without, even in tough economic times. 

Here are two stocks exactly in this position that have been rated as buys this week:

‘A bright outlook’

Endeavour Group Ltd (ASX: EDV) is both an alcohol retailer and an operator of hotels and pubs.

Ord Minnett senior investment advisor Tony Paterno reckons it’s a stock worth buying at the moment.

“Endeavour operates liquor outlets, hotels and gaming facilities. Recent electronic machine gaming has been strong in Victoria, Queensland and South Australia,” Paterno told The Bull.

Buying Endeavour stocks now would be backing the idea that Australians will still have a drink through the tougher part of the economic cycle.

Paterno is pleased with the direction the business is heading.

“Group sales in the first quarter of fiscal year 2023 were up 3.1% on the prior corresponding period,” he said.

“The company offers diversified revenue streams and a bright outlook.”

The Endeavour share price has been up and down over the past year but is now 3.8% up. The stock pays out a dividend yield of 2.36%.

Paterno’s peers are somewhat divided on the alcohol retail giant though. According to CMC Markets, five of nine analysts are rating it as a buy but three others are urging investors to sell.

Demand for decades

If you want evidence of how the world can change rapidly in just one year, you just need to take a look at coal mining stocks.

Only 12 months ago, ASX shares related to coal were untouchables. The theory was that, sooner or later, environmental imperatives would catch up with these companies, so avoid them like the plague.

But after a war in Ukraine and energy prices spiking up like this generation has never experienced, coal producers have gained remarkable popularity.

Paterno’s current pick, New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC), has seen its share price gain a whopping 160.8% over the past year.

The party will continue, as far as Paterno is concerned.

“Asia is expected to remain a relative bright spot for coal demand in coming decades,” he said.

“Near-term thermal coal prices remain high on supply concerns, as the war in Ukraine reinforces the need for energy security.”

High coal prices have allowed New Hope to “generate strong free cash flow and return cash to shareholders via fully franked dividends”, said Pateno.

“We expect an attractive dividend yield this financial year based on the current share price.”

The post 2 ASX 200 shares to buy even as the world slips into recession appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 4 ASX All Ords shares insiders have been buying up in January
• With a 30% forecast yield, is this dividend stock the biggest bargain on the ASX 200?
• Why did ASX 200 coal share New Hope Corporation sink 9% today?
• Guess which ASX 200 share is projected to pay the biggest dividend yield in FY24?
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo 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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Ask A Fund Manager

The Motley Fool chats with the best in the industry so that you can get an insight into how the professionals think. In this edition, Schroders portfolio manager Ray David picks the two ASX shares he would buy right now, although he actually mentions three.

Hottest ASX shares

The Motley Fool: What are the two best stock buys right now?

Ray David: Two favourites, and these make up two big positions of the fund. 

The first one is Ramsay Health Care Ltd (ASX: RHC). Ramsay is the largest provider of private hospital services in Australia and France, and also third largest player in the UK. 

During COVID, private hospitals were hit hard by elective surgery cancellations and also had cost blowouts because of nurses having to isolate. And then Ramsay having to effectively backfill those nurses with high-cost agency staff. So you had revenue declining and costs going up and profitability really took a hit. 

But that’s all behind us now. We think the outlook for elective surgery volumes looks really strong because there’s quite a big backlog. And those cost headwinds associated with COVID are really abating. So we expect Ramsay to deliver pretty strong earnings growth in ’23 and ’24 that’s well above market growth.

In addition to that, during the pandemic, Ramsay invested over $2.7 billion to upgrade its facilities and expand its facilities, which it really hasn’t had any benefit from. So it’s positioned quite well to come out of this COVID period with extra capacity to cater for the backlog. 

In the longer run, they’ve got positive demographic trends. So they’ve got increasing healthcare utilisation, [an] ageing population, and pretty strong support [from] the government for a private healthcare system. 

Outlook looks really strong and the valuation looks incredibly cheap. 

What really highlighted how cheap the stock was, [private equity firm] KKR came in and bid for the stock around $88 per share and it really shone a light on Ramsay Health Care’s freehold property.

[Ramsay] basically owns a significant or most of all their Australian properties — hospital sites. Based on our analysis, we think if you were to spin off the property, that accounts for about $30 a share compared to the stock where it’s trading in the mid-$60s. 

So it’s a company that’s got strong tailwinds and a good earnings outlook and there’s a big property freehold there that’s supportive of the valuation. Management have recently announced that they are looking at freeing up some of those properties for sale and lease back some of the tier-three properties. We think it’s a pretty good investment right now.

MF: It’s interesting you mentioned Ramsay as a stock to buy because earlier you mentioned healthcare as one of the sectors that might be overvalued?

RD: That’s right. Yeah, Ramsay has probably been one of the poorest-performing healthcare stocks over that three-year period compared to the big names like CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) and ResMed CDI (ASX: RMD). Mainly because Ramsay was a COVID loser because of all those issues it faced.

MF: Your second buy?

RD: The second one is News Corporation CDI (ASX: NWS). 

It’s got about a $10 billion valuation but, to us, it’s probably one of the highest-quality businesses on the ASX. 

If we look at News Corp’s key assets, it’s mainly digital media assets, and the print exposure is quite small and modest. The largest asset that New Corp holds is the 61% holding in REA Group Limited (ASX: REA), which is listed realestate.com.au. That’s the number one property classifieds portal in Australia. They’ve got around a 70% market share and they’ve got significant amount of pricing power. They’re effectively putting up prices by high single-digits, but there’s new products that they’re rolling out, which they call Premier Plus. It’s going to add another 6% to revenue growth. 

So it’s a really monopoly-type business that’s got high returns on capital, high margins, generates a lot of cash flow, and News Corp owns 60% of [REA], which forms part of the News Corp valuation.

MF: Whenever a fund manager picks News Corp and mentions the REA ownership, readers often ask why wouldn’t they just own REA?

RD: We own REA in the fund as well.

If you back out REA’s 61% holding from News Corp, basically you’re implying an earnings multiple of six times for the rest of the other assets. And those other assets are just as good quality. 

News Corp also owns the Dow Jones business, which is basically the Wall Street Journal, a flagship newspaper. That business has been growing its top line by low double-digits, and about 70% of that revenue is now digital. So it’s not as exposed to the traditional advertising cycle as what newspapers used to be. 

And the Journal‘s a fantastic masthead. The costs are well under control because unlike a Spotify Technology SA (NYSE: SPOT) or a Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX) where you have to acquire third-party content, the Wall Street Journal creates all its own content through journalists, such as yourself, for example.

The third large business within News Corp is the HarperCollins book publishing business. They are basically the second-largest publisher globally. And it’s a pretty stable business. Book sales have been growing at three to 4% per annum, and that’s even with audiobook growth and ebook growth. Physical books are still in high demand, but the kicker for HarperCollins is 60% of the revenue comes from the back catalogue. That’s titles that have been published many, many decades ago. So it is like an annuity revenue business.

When you back out News Corp’s holding of REA, you’re actually getting HarperCollins and the Wall Street Journal for about six times earnings. And there’s a whole heap of other businesses that they own which aren’t that material, such as Foxtel and the Australian newspapers. But the other two businesses are high quality. 

For us, it’s undervalued. It’s got a good balance sheet. The management team and board have recognised a disconnect between their view of valuation and the market price. Governance is improving and they’re looking at ways to increase shareholder value.

MF: I am slightly surprised that your fund owns REA because we think of Schroders as the flag bearer for value investing. Investors don’t typically think of REA as a value stock.

RD: Yeah, REA, we recently added to the portfolio. It would’ve been the third quarter of last year. So it got down to a level of just over $100 or under $100. The stock had really been belted.

What we saw was a multiple which wasn’t cheap by any standards, but a pretty decent discount from its historic valuations. And we saw a pretty strong growth profile relative to the rest of the economy. 

So we haven’t owned it for long, but there was a moment there in the market sell-off where REA was getting sold off progressively with the rest of the tech sell-off. And to us, REA is a great business. It makes its own in cash. It’s pretty durable, which is why it’s made its way into the fund.

The post ‘Incredibly cheap’: 2 ‘strong’ ASX shares expert would pounce on right now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why Brainchip, IAG, Metcash, and ResMed shares are sinking today
• ResMed share price sinks 7%: Is this a buying opportunity?
• Add some oomph to your portfolio with these ASX growth shares: analysts
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• $20,000 invested in these ASX shares 10 years ago is worth how much now?

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo has positions in CSL and ResMed. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended CSL, Netflix, ResMed, and Spotify Technology. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended ResMed. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Netflix and REA 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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On Monday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) started the week in a subdued fashion. The benchmark index fell 0.15% to 7,481.7 points.

Will the market be able to bounce back from this on Tuesday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to edge higher

The Australian share market looks set to edge higher on Tuesday despite a poor start to the week on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to open the day 3 points higher. In late trade in the United States, the Dow Jones is down 0.55%, the S&P 500 is down 1%, and the NASDAQ is down 1.6%. Rate hike jitters are weighing on the US market.

Oil prices tumble

Energy shares Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) could have a difficult day after oil prices tumbled overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 2% to US$78.09 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is down 2% to US$84.92 a barrel. Oil prices fell after data showed that Russian exports remain strong.

Core Lithium rated as a sell

The Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) share price remains overvalued according to analysts at Goldman Sachs. Although the broker was pleased with the progress the lithium developer is making at the Finniss project, it has reiterated its sell rating and 95 cents price target. Goldman said: “DMS construction progressing, but valuation remains well ahead of peers.”

Gold price falls

It could be a tough day for gold miners Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL) after the gold price dropped overnight. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is down 0.4% to US$1,937.5 an ounce. Traders have been selling gold ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s rate decision later this week.

Newcrest upgraded

One gold miner that could have a better day is Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM). That’s because Morgans has upgraded the company’s shares to an add rating with a $25.70 price target. It said: “Trailing its smaller gold peers, we see an emerging value proposition on offer in NCM, which benefits from mine diversification, solid margins, and long-life reserves.”

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

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More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Monday
• Why lithium prices could be ‘higher for longer’: Macquarie
• Investing in ASX 200 energy shares? Here’s why the oil price may already have hit its 2023 lows
• Why Block, Core Lithium, Lynas, and Xero 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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If you’re new to investing and aren’t sure which ASX shares to buy, then you could consider exchange traded funds (ETFs) instead.

ETFs provide an easy way to invest in a large number of shares through a single investment, allowing investors to create a diverse portfolio with relative ease.

But which ETFs would be top options for beginners in 2023? Two that could be worth considering are listed below:

BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ)

The first ETF that could be a great option for beginners is the BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF.

This ETF provides investors with access to 100 of the largest (non-financial) companies listed on the famous NASDAQ exchange.

Among the high quality shares that you’ll be buying a slice of are global giants such as Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, Meta (Facebook), Microsoft, Netflix, Nvidia, and Tesla. BetaShares highlights that this provides investors with access to a high-growth potential sector that is under-represented on the Australian share market.

VanEck Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (ASX: MOAT)

Another ETF that could be a great option for beginner investors is the VanEck Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat ETF.

This ETF could be particularly good if you’re a fan of Warren Buffett and want to follow his investment style.

That’s because this Buffett-inspired ETF gives investors access to a group of fairly valued companies that have sustainable competitive advantages (or moats). These are qualities that Buffett looks for when identifying investments.

There are approximately 50 shares included in the index at any given time. At present, this includes the likes of Adobe, Alphabet, Etsy, Kellogg Co, Salesforce, and Walt Disney.

The post 2 of the best ETFs for beginner investors to buy now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 3 ASX ETFs you might not know pay dividends
• 3 popular ETFs that could be top picks right now
• 2 ASX ETFs I’d buy for a tech rebound in 2023
• 3 wonderful ETFs for ASX investors to buy next week
• The Netflix share price just popped. Here’s one way to buy in on the ASX

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat 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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It only takes a little bit of investing knowledge and common sense to know if some ASX exchange-traded funds (ETFs) pay out dividend distribution.

For example, it would be a pretty safe bet that the Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF (ASX: VHY) or the iShares S&P/ASX Dividend Opportunities ETF (ASX: IHD) are dividend payers by virtue of their names alone.

And most investors know that many, if not most, ASX shares are dividend payers, so it would also be a relatively safe assumption that an ASX-based index fund like the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS) would also dole out periodic income to its investors.

But let’s talk about some ASX ETFs that might not be such prominent dividend payers but still give their investors plenty of income.

BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ)

This ETF from BetaShares is an index fund that tracks America’s NASDAQ-100 Index (NASDAQ: NDX). This index comprises the 100 largest companies that list on the NASDAQ exchange, excluding financial shares. The NASDAQ is known for housing most of the US tech shares. So you’ll find the likes of Apple, Alphabet, Tesla and Amazon dominating this ETF.

Many US tech shares, including Apple and Microsoft, pay dividends. As such, so too does this ETF. Over the past 12 months, this ETF has given its unit holders a total of $2.04 per unit of dividend distribution income. That gives this ETF an impressive trailing yield of 7.7%.

BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF (ASX: HACK)

Another ETF from provider BetaShares, this one covers a specific sector in cybersecurity. Its portfolio is dominated by US shares. But there are companies from Israel, India, France and Japan in there too. Some of the fund’s top holdings include Okta, Broadcom, Fortinet and Cisco Systems.

Just like with our last ETF, this fund also houses dividend payers, which include Cisco and Broadcom. Its last dividend distribution came to 68 cents per unit, which gives this fund a trailing yield of 8.74% on current prices.

Global X FANG+ ETF (ASX: FANG)

Last but not least, we have another tech-focused ETF from provider Global X. This ETF is a relatively concentrated one, holding just 10 shares in its portfolio. These include the FANG stocks that give the fund its name: Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook), Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Alphabet (owner of Google).

But you’ll also get Snowflake, Microsoft, Tesla, NVIDIA and AMD (the ‘+’). This ETF’s last distribution was the 68.64 cents per share payment from July last year. That gives the Global X FANG+ ETF a trailing yield of 5.58% on current pricing.

The post 3 ASX ETFs you might not know pay dividends appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Looking for ASX growth shares? I rate these 2 as buys
• Time to return to tech? Here are 2 ASX tech ETFs to buy
• 3 popular ETFs that could be top picks right now
• 2 ASX ETFs I’d buy for a tech rebound in 2023
• Top ASX growth shares to buy in 2023

Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. 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 Alphabet, Amazon.com, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Netflix, Tesla and Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Advanced Micro Devices, Alphabet, Amazon.com, Apple, BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF, BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Netflix, Nvidia, Snowflake, and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long March 2023 $120 calls on Apple and short March 2023 $130 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF and BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet, Amazon.com, Apple, Meta Platforms, Netflix, Nvidia, and Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield 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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Today was a wobbly one for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). It jumped in and out of the green over the course of Monday before ultimately closing 0.16% lower at 7,481.7 points.

That was despite a 2.3% gain posted by the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ). The sector’s strong performance followed a 1% overnight lift from the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC).

Also trading in the green was the S&P/ASX 200 Communication Index (ASX: XTJ). It rose 1.1% led by the Seek Ltd (ASX: SEK) share price’s 4.5% surge.

Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 Health Care Index (ASX: XHJ) weighed heavy, falling 0.7%. Its biggest fall was posted by the ResMed Inc (ASX: RMD) share price, which dropped 6.8% on the back of the company’s latest quarterly update.

But while the broader ASX 200 struggled on Monday, some of its constituents soared. Let’s take a look at the 10 shares that outperformed all others today.

Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown

Today’s top-performing ASX 200 share was none other than favourite Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO).

Stock in the company soared 8.85% to close at $1.23 on the release of its quarterly update.

These shares made today’s biggest gains:

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO)	$1.23	8.85%
Novonix Ltd (ASX: NVX)	$1.935	7.5%
Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC)	$9.71	6.94%
Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN)	$0.86	6.83%
Lake Resources N.L. (ASX: LKE)	$0.875	6.06%
Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA)	$0.295	5.36%
WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC)	$60.59	5.23%
Seek Ltd (ASX: SEK)	$24.39	4.5%
Domain Holdings Australia Ltd (ASX: DHG)	$3.24	4.18%
Block Inc (ASX: SQ2)	$116.70	3.83%

Our top 10 shares countdown is a recurring end-of-day summary to let you know which companies were making big moves on the day. Check in at Fool.com.au after the weekday market closes to see which stocks make the countdown.

The post Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares 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 lithium prices could be ‘higher for longer’: Macquarie
• Why Block, Core Lithium, Lynas, and Xero shares are charging higher today
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• Core Lithium share price marches higher as key quarterly milestones achieved

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 positions in and has recommended Block, ResMed, and WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Block, ResMed, and WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Seek. 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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There are arguably two types of Australians: Those that relish the nine-to-five grind and those that don’t. For those in the latter group, living a never-ending weekend while raking in a ‘wage’ probably sounds like a dream come true. Fortunately, ASX dividend shares can offer such passive income.

And building a ‘wage’ through investing in Aussie stocks need not be overly expensive.

I believe that by regularly setting aside funds to buy undervalued, high-quality ASX dividend shares, I could begin preparing an early retirement (or second wage) in 2023. Here’s how.

How much do I need to invest to see my wage in dividends?

As of August 2022, the average Australian employee was paid $1,250 each week, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. That’s around $65,000 annually, pre-tax. So, let’s use that as our base.

If one was to realise a notable – but not impossible – annual dividend yield of 8%, one would need an $815,000 portfolio to receive around $65,000 each year in dividend income.

If you’re anything like me, that’s far from pocket change! Fortunately, it doesn’t need to be invested all at once. Here’s how I would build it up over the years.

Building a portfolio using compounding

If I were aiming to build a portfolio of dividend shares capable of growing to be worth $815,000, I’d focus on compounding my earnings for now.

By reinvesting any dividend income in shares, I could build up my holdings without forking out extra cash.

I think I could put $250 of the average $1,250 weekly wage aside to invest.

If I did so, and I could realise an 8% yield while reinvesting all my dividends, my portfolio could be worth around $815,000 in under 24 years. That could feasibly see me retiring by 2047.

If I made some lifestyle changes, I could potentially stretch my wage further.

By investing $500 a week, I could reach my goal in under 17 years. That could potentially allow me to kick back for the remainder of my ‘working’ days from 2040.

Identifying ASX dividend shares to buy

Of course, realising a consistent 8% dividend yield is a hard – but not impossible – ask.

Right now, S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) companies like BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS), and Cromwell Property Group (ASX: CMW) each offer yields of around 8%.

Though, higher yields can also come with greater risks. On the other hand, a lower yield would increase the time it would take to reach my goal.

Fortunately, I think there’s a middle ground. An investor buying ASX value shares that are also capable of paying dividends may find themselves receiving higher returns when their investment’s true worth is realised.

Identifying value shares is notoriously tricky. And it’s likely made trickier if one is seeking passive income on top. However, it can be done.

If that was my aim, I would analyse a company’s business, its true value, balance sheet, and strengths and weaknesses to assess whether it might be able to grow its valuation and payouts in the future.

Still, even the most considered investment can’t be guaranteed to provide either dividends or capital gains.

The post Sick of the grind? Here’s how I’d aim to replace my wage with dividend income in 2023 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Investing in ASX 200 energy shares? Here’s why the oil price may already have hit its 2023 lows
• Why is the BHP share price slipping on Monday?
• Is now the time to load up on Woodside shares?
• Invested $5,000 in BHP shares 5 years ago? Here’s how much passive income you’ve earned
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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) seems to have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. After briefly opening in positive territory at the start of today’s session, the ASX 200 is now firmly in the red so far this Monday. At present, the index has slipped by 0.04% to just over 7,490 points.

But rather than trying to figure all of that out, let’s now take a look at the ASX 200 shares currently topping the share market’s trading volume charts, according to investing.com.

The 3 most traded ASX 200 shares by volume this Monday

Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG)

ASX 200 insurance purveyor IAG is our first share worth taking a gander at this Monday. So far this session, a notable 7.34 million IAG shares have been swapped. This is almost certainly a result of the gloomy announcement IAG made to the markets this morning.

The insurer told investors that it had received a large number of claims relating to the recent devastating floods in New Zealand. As a result, the IAG share price had shed a nasty 3.44% down to $4.90 at present, after dropping as low as $4.78 this morning. It’s these factors that have probably resulted in so many IAG shares finding a new home today.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

Next up we have a familiar face in ASX 200 lithium share Pilbara Minerals. This Monday has seen a hefty 10.6 million Pilbara shares phoned in for trading. We haven’t seen any fresh news out of Pilbara so far this week. But that hasn’t stopped Pilbara shares from defying the market and shooting up by a healthy 2.65% so far today to $5.03 a share. This is the likely cause of the high volumes we see. Perhaps investors were reacting to some recent bullish comments from more than one ASX expert.

Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO)

Third and finally today we have another ASX 200 lithium stock in Core Lithium. This session has had a sizeable 25.22 million Core Lithium shares trade hands as it currently stands. This one isn’t too hard to work out.

Core Lithium shares are soaring in value today after the company released its latest quarterly production figures. As we went through this morning, Core Lithium has now delivered its first shipment of dry lithium ore. Amid this announcement, the Core Lithium share price has shot higher by a whopping 7.96% so far today to $1.22 a share. No wonder so many shares have been traded.

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 lithium prices could be ‘higher for longer’: Macquarie
• Why Brainchip, IAG, Metcash, and ResMed shares are sinking today
• Why Block, Core Lithium, Lynas, and Xero shares are charging higher today
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• Why is the IAG share price tumbling 4% on Monday?

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 positions in and has recommended Insurance Australia 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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Lithium prices could remain elevated for longer according to analysts at Macquarie equities.

ASX 200 lithium explorers include Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS), Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN), Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) and IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO).

Pilbara shares are rising 2.14% today, while Core Lithium shares are leaping 4.20%. Mineral Resources shares are climbing 0.02%, while IGO shares are descending 0.63%.

Let’s take a look at the outlook for the lithium price.

What’s ahead?

Lithium prices can weigh on company earnings and hence the share price of ASX 200 lithium shares.

Analysts at Macquarie Bank Ltd (ASX: MBLPC) are optimistic lower lithium supply amid development delays and capex upgrades could be a positive for the lithium price, The Australian reported.

Macquarie’s team is positive on ASX 200 lithium shares Mineral Resources and IGO, while it is also impressed with Pilbara’s “full lithium exposure” via its Pilgangoora operation in WA.

Commenting on lithium supply, the Macquarie equities team said:

A struggling lithium supply could keep lithium prices higher for longer, a silver lining for the lithium industry.

Pilbara delivered a 10% increase in spodumene concentration production in the December quarter to 162,151 dry metric tonnes, as my Foolish colleague James reported last week.

Meanwhile, Argosy Minerals Ltd (ASX: AGY) has also shared an upbeat outlook for lithium in today’s quarterly activities report.

In comments today, Argosy highlighted the “growing expectations across the market that supply will remain tight over 2023”.

Significant growth in EV sales remains the most material driver for future lithium demand.

Share price snapshot

Pilbara Minerals shares have surged 56% in the last year, while Core Lithium shares have soared nearly 61%.

IGO shares have leapt 33% in the last year, while Mineral Resources shares have exploded 71%.

For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) has soared nearly 14% in the last year.

The post Why lithium prices could be ‘higher for longer’: Macquarie appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why Block, Core Lithium, Lynas, and Xero shares are charging higher today
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• Core Lithium share price marches higher as key quarterly milestones achieved
• Pilbara Minerals share price ‘offers strong growth potential’: expert
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week

Motley Fool contributor Monica O’Shea 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 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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S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) oil and gas stocks were among the biggest beneficiaries of soaring energy prices in the first half of 2022.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, crude oil prices rocketed. By 10 June, West Texas International (WTI) crude had topped US$120 per barrel, up from US$75 per barrel at the beginning of the year.

As you’d expect, that offered some strong tailwinds for ASX 200 energy shares Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS).

By 10 June 2022, Woodside shares had gained 59% over the calendar year. Santos shares were up 35% over that same period.

But with a warmer-than-average European winter and China remaining stuck in COVID lockdowns, the second half of 2022 saw reduced demand and oil and gas prices retraced.

WTI traded as low as US$71 per barrel on 9 December.

And both the Santos and Woodside share price fell right alongside crude prices.

What’s happening with the oil price in 2023?

That’s what happened with the crude oil price and these ASX 200 energy shares in 2022.

So far in 2023, WTI hit a low of US$72.84 per barrel on 4 January. At the time of writing, that same barrel is worth US$79.85.

That’s helped boost the Santos share price by 4.3% since the opening bell on 5 January, while the Woodside share price has gained 7.8%.

The question now is, what can investors expect from the oil price for the rest of 2023?

The answer will largely come down to global demand. Which brings us back to China and its long overdue reopening from the COVID lockdowns.

RBC Capital Markets LLC analyst Michael Tran believes that investors haven’t properly priced in that reopening yet. RBC forecasts an average price for WTI of US$92 per barrel in 2023 and may already have hit its lows for the year.

According to Tran (quoted by Bloomberg):

China‘s reopening is hardly being priced into the oil market, yet. We would not be the least bit surprised if the lows of the year end up being the $72-a-barrel print that we saw three weeks ago, on the second trading day of the year.

Indeed, China’s State Council has stressed the importance of consumption to spur China’s economy back into high gear.

How have these ASX 200 energy shares been performing?

The Santos share price is up 1% over the past 12 months while rival ASX 200 energy share Woodside has gained 46%.

The post Investing in ASX 200 energy shares? Here’s why the oil price may already have hit its 2023 lows appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Is now the time to load up on Woodside shares?
• Two ASX sectors to buy right now (and two to avoid like the plague): fundie
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• Consumer spending defies logic as inflation rages higher, locking in yet another interest rate hike in February

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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