Category: Stock Market

Key points

• Heuristics are mental shortcuts that humans use to make daily tasks easier
• But such cognitive biases can hurt our investments
• An investment firm has outlined 4 common mental biases and the solution for each

---

Your own brain could be sabotaging your ASX share portfolio.

Heuristics are mental shortcuts that humans use every day to get through all the tasks that we need to do.

But these cognitive biases can make us behave irrationally, which is the bane of investing.

Ophir Asset Management stated in a blog post that how an investor behaves often has a bigger impact on returns than their level of knowledge.

“This is more relevant than ever given the abundance of information that’s out there nowadays prompting investment action, combined with a dramatic [increase] in the ease at which investors can trade.”

The investment team stated that if investors can be more self-aware of the psychological traps that can lure even the professionals, it will help them make fewer mistakes.

“But they will also be better placed to exploit the mistakes of other investors, including picking up undervalued stocks, and gain a massive competitive edge in building their wealth.”

Here are 4 common mental biases and the solution for each:

Loss aversion

This is the irrational tendency for humans to feel much more distressed at losing money than the level of joy gained from winning the same amount.

For example, if you buy $1,000 worth of a particular stock, many people feel a lot sadder when it goes down to $500 compared to the happiness they feel when it rises to $1,500.

According to Ophir, the biggest investment mistake borne out of loss aversion is the unwillingness to cut losers.

“Even if they do not see any prospect for a turnaround, they wait to ‘get even’ on the position before selling.”

Conversely, loss aversion also causes investors to sell out too early when a stock rises.

The remedy to the loss aversion bias is to stay invested for the long term, according to the Ophir team.

“Day to day, share markets have only a slightly better than 50% chance of going up and a slightly less than 50% chance of going down,” the blog post read.

“But over longer periods like a month or a year, the odds significantly fall below 50% that your share portfolio will have gone down.”

So looking at your ASX share portfolio less regularly is the most practical action to take. That’ll cause less temptation to sell a winner too early or sell a loser too late.

Mental accounting

This is the habit of putting money into separate mental buckets, to be treated and valued differently.

For example, if an investor buys $10,000 worth of shares and it makes a $5,000 gain, the person may take more risks with the $5,000 compared to the original outlay.

“But a dollar is a dollar is a dollar. That is to say, money is ‘fungible’ — it is all the same no matter where it came from or how you earned it,” stated the Ophir team.

“Taking greater risk with the portion gained by treating it as ‘house money’ violates the fact that all money is interchangeable.”

The best way to combat this bias is to concentrate on the total return for a portfolio.

Confirmation bias

This psychological effect results in accepting information that confirms already-held assumptions and rejecting data that doesn’t.

“This one stems from the fact that it’s easier to digest information that accords with how we already view the world,” the Ophir team wrote.

“The cognitive load is much higher when we have to try and integrate new contradictory information into our worldview.”

To overcome this bias, investors should seek out advice that contradicts their current beliefs.

“At Ophir, we actively ask how we could be wrong in our views and seek out people or broker analysts that hold differing views to ours,” the blog stated.

“Someone having a differing view does not necessarily mean you are wrong, but it can help stress test your position to hopefully provide a more balanced view.”

Overconfidence

A common trap for investors is to think that they are better than they are.

Even professionals, who devote all their working hours to company research and portfolio construction, have trouble consistently beating the market.

But a cognitive bias causes many amateurs to think that they can do it.

“Surveys routinely show that more than 80% of people think they are better than average for a whole list of things — including driving, intelligence, and even looks.”

In stock investing, this means many people trade too often and underestimate risks. They buy expensive ASX shares and sell cheap stocks.

Similar to confirmation bias, plurality is the solution to this bias.

“At Ophir, we try to fight overconfidence by stress testing all our stock ideas in a team environment where everyone else acts as devil’s advocate,” the blog read.

“We also explicitly consider how the stock would perform in a GFC-style scenario.”

The post 4 mental biases stopping you from making money in ASX shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Brokers name 2 ASX 200 dividend shares to buy
• Is Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) about to buy Greencross?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Centuria Industrial Reit (ASX:CIP) share price rises after six more acquisitions
• 2 buy-rated ASX dividend shares

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 Bruce Jackson.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3FE7hNP

There is market speculation that Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) could be in the hunt for the Greencross.

For readers that don’t know, Greencross is a business that operates both the Greencross Vets and Petbarn businesses.

According to reporting by the Australian Financial Review, the retail conglomerate Wesfarmers is a leading player in the race to buy the pet business.

Is Wesfarmers going to buy Greencross?

Greencross is currently going through a process of a potential sale or another form of corporate action.

The AFR’s Street Talk reported that Wesfarmers is “firmly in the chasing pack” and is “getting serious about entering the pets sector in what would be a big way”.

Greencross’ owner, the private equity owner TPG, has been collecting interest from potential bidders. It has reportedly been in communication with these possible suitors to bring the review to a conclusion.

A sale of the business isn’t the only option. TPG could decide to break up Greencross or possibly go through an initial public offering (IPO) process.

According to the reporting, Greencross is now making profit of around $300 million a year, which is around three times bigger than when it was acquired three years ago.

This potential acquisition comes at an interesting time considering Wesfarmers is currently going through a process of trying to buy the pharmacy business Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ASX: API). Wesfarmers sees API as an opportunity to start a health, beauty and wellness division. Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) recently pulled back from its bid for API.

Would Wesfarmers have enough funding to afford to acquire API, Greencross and pay its dividend?

It was noted by the AFR that analysts think the company is financially strong with a net cash position of $109 million at the end of FY21 and annual cashflow generation of a couple of billion dollars.

How is Wesfarmers performing?

The Wesfarmers share price climbed 2.5% yesterday after giving a trading update, though it’s still down around 8% since the start of 2022.

In that trading update, it said it’s expecting to report net profit after tax (NPAT) of between $1.18 billion to $1.24 billion, which is in line with current consensus expectations for the first half of FY22.

This performance was supported by “pleasing” results in Bunnings as well as the Wesfarmers chemicals, energy and fertilisers division.

However, both Kmart Group and Officeworks have seen impacts from COVID disruptions and costs.

Kmart and Target trading in the first half was impacted by COVID-19 restrictions, with almost 25% of store trading days lost due to lockdowns.

Trading conditions improved as restrictions eased during the second quarter of the 2022 financial year, but customer traffic to stores was impacted by rising community transmissions of COVID-19 in some states, particularly during the Christmas period.

For the six months to 31 December 2021, Kmart and Target sales were down 10.3% year on year and down 5.2% compared to two years ago. However, Catch’s gross transaction value was up 1% year on year and increased 97.5% over two years.

Wesfarmers said that it has managed the global supply chain issues well, with the decision to hold extra inventory domestically. High levels of COVID-related impacts on staff in NSW and Victoria meant that distribution centres were impacted on the delivery of stock to stores in line with customer demand.

The ASX share talked about higher wage costs, commitments to paying team members through these difficult times, rising supply chain costs and higher stocking holding costs.

Retail trading conditions weakened in the last two weeks of 2021, with customer traffic subdued in the first half of January 2022.

The post Is Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) about to buy Greencross? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why Adbri, Australian Ethical, JB Hi-Fi, and Wesfarmers shares are racing higher
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Wesfarmers’ update, energy shares rise
• Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price higher despite guiding to first half profit decline
• An ASX XI to take on the world
• Why did the Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price have such a great year in 2021?

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 no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Wesfarmers Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3GEMjjg

On Monday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) started the week in a positive fashion. The benchmark index rose 0.3% to 7,417.3 points.

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

ASX 200 expected to rise again

The Australian share market looks set to continue its ascent on Tuesday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 24 points or 0.3% higher this morning. The US market was closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr Day. In Europe the Dax rose 0.3% and the FTSE stormed 0.9% higher.

Rio Tinto quarterly update

The Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) share price will be on watch today when it releases its fourth quarter update. According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, it expects iron ore shipments of 88.9Mt and 133kt of mined copper for the quarter. The broker is also expecting the mining giant to provide FY 2022 guidance. It is forecasting Pilbara shipments of 330Mt (+10Mt YoY) and mined copper production of 550kt (+70kt YoY).

Oil prices rise

Energy producers such as Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could have a good day after oil prices rose again. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 0.6% to US$84.30 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has risen 0.5% to US$86.52 a barrel. Oil prices rose amid tightening supply and easing Omicron concerns.

Gold price edges higher

Gold miners Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) will be on watch after the gold price edged higher. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is up 0.1% to US$1,818.90 an ounce. Traders appear undecided where gold is heading due to the Hawkish Fed.

South32 shares rated as a buy

The South32 Ltd (ASX: S32) share price remains a conviction buy with a $4.60 price target according to the team at Goldman Sachs. This follows the release of its pre-feasibility study on the Hermosa project. While the capital expenditure estimate was higher than it expected, Goldman believes the free cash flow and valuation story remains intact.

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

More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• Why Beforepay, Firefinch, Kogan, and South32 shares are dropping
• These 3 ASX 200 shares are topping the volume charts on Monday
• The Beach Energy (ASX:BPT) share price is trading at an 11-week high. Here’s why
• Is this driving Santos (ASX:STO) and Woodside (ASX:WPL) shares 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 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 Bruce Jackson.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3nvIVzp

Key points

• The ASX’s largest domestic pure play industrial REIT has made more acquisitions
• Centuria Industrial Reit is spending $132.4 million on six properties that come with an initial yield of 4%
• One of the properties, in Campbellfield, is an eight-hectare site where a brand new, sustainable industrial estate of 44,000 sqm will be delivered

---

Centuria Industrial Reit (ASX: CIP), a leading property business, announced the acquisition of six more properties today.

This business is the largest domestic pure play industrial real estate investment trust (REIT). It owns properties across Australia, predominately in urban locations.

Centuria Industrial Reit portfolio gets bigger

The REIT has announced $132.4 million of acquisitions to buy six high-quality assets in urban, infill markets.

It includes a five-unit Campbellfield development which will have a completion value of $104 million. This is an eight-hectare site in north Melbourne which has a short-term lease. When that lease expires, a project delivery agreement will take effect and a brand new, sustainable industrial estate of 44,000 sqm will be delivered.

Three of the acquisitions adjoin existing Centuria Industrial Reit assets, consolidating larger sites in land constrained markets.

Four of the properties are in Victoria, with one in NSW and one in Queensland. These locations are in high demand from e-commerce operators seeking close proximity to densely populated areas to improve supply chain efficiencies.

The total gross lettable area being acquired is around 41,000 sqm. The average initial yield across the acquisitions is 4% with a capitalisation rate of 4.2%. All of the properties are 100% occupied and the weighted average lease expiry (WALE) is 4.7 years.

Why did the REIT buy these properties?

Centuria Industrial Reit says that one of its strategic focuses is to provide investors with exposure to urban infill industrial locations that cater to last-mile e-commerce operators.

The business says that the urban infill locations of these eastern suburban acquisitions provide a favourable leasing outlook for rental growth, underpinned by near zero vacancy, buoyant tenant demand and limited land supply. These conditions provide opportunities to extract outsized returns from the assets, according to the REIT.

The fund manager of Centuria Industrial Reit, Jesse Curtis, said:

The purchase of this portfolio marks a strong start to 2022 and continues to demonstrate Centuria Industrial Reit’s management capability to source and execute on strategic acquisitions.

The Campbellfield site provides a rare, value-add opportunity to deliver a much-needed new and sustainable multi-unit industrial estate to attract high-quality tenant customers and premium rents.

The other acquisitions’ WALE and rent review structures provide rental upside opportunities. The acquisitions adjoining existing Centuria Industrial Reit-owned assets create future development sites of scale in desirable and land constrained urban infill markets.

These acquisitions increase Centuria Industrial Reit’s total portfolio to be worth around $4 billion and will be funded by new and existing debt facilities.

The post Centuria Industrial Reit (ASX:CIP) share price rises after six more acquisitions appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Analysts name 2 ASX dividend shares to buy
• Here are 2 top ASX dividend shares with attractive yields
• 2 excellent ASX 200 dividend shares to buy now
• Got money to invest for income? Here are 2 ASX dividend shares that could be buys

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 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 Bruce Jackson.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3tEdVBv

Although the outlook for interest rates is improving, it still looks likely to be some time until rates are at a level sufficient to generate a passive income.

In light of this, dividend shares could be one of the better ways to achieve a passive income for a little while to come.

But which dividend shares should you buy? Two that analysts rate highly right now are listed below:

BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)

The first ASX dividend share to look at is this mining giant. It could be a top option due to its world class portfolio of operations globally and favourable commodity prices.

This is expected to underpin significant free cash flow in FY 2022. So much so, the team at Macquarie is forecasting very generous dividend payments this year and in the future. For example, iys analysts have pencilled in fully franked dividends of ~$3.86 per share in FY 2022 and ~$2.86 per share in FY 2023.

Based on the current BHP share price of $46.15, this will mean yields of 8.4% and 6.2%, respectively.

Macquarie also sees decent upside for BHP shares and has an outperform rating and $52.00 price target.

Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG)

Another ASX dividend share to consider is investment bank Macquarie. Although its shares have been very strong performers over the last 12 months, the team at Citi still see value in them and expect attractive yields in the near term.

The broker currently has a buy rating and $226.00 price target on the company’s shares. As for dividends, Citi is forecasting dividends per share of $6.42 in FY 2022 and then $6.10 in FY 2023.

Based on the current Macquarie share price of $207.61, this will mean yields of 3.1% and 2.9%, respectively, over the next couple of years.

The post 2 buy-rated ASX dividend shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• Is the iron ore price set to slide?
• Does the BHP London share price perform the same as the company’s ASX:BHP listing?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• The BHP (ASX:BHP) unification vote is next week and not everyone is happy

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 recommended Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/326eyrX

There are a lot of options for investors to choose from on the ASX 200. Two that could be in the buy zone right now are listed below.

Here’s why analysts rate them as buys:

Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL)

The first ASX 200 share to look at is Aristocrat Leisure. It is one of the world’s leading gaming technology companies responsible for many of the most popular pokie machines globally. In addition to this, the company has a growing digital business with a portfolio of hugely popular mobile games such as RAID: Shadow Legends. It is also in the process of acquiring UK listed real money gaming business Playtech for $3.9 billion.

Morgans is a fan of the company and currently has an add rating and $52.00 price target on its shares.

It commented: “We reiterate our ADD rating. In our opinion, the acquisition of PTEC gives ALL the opportunity to get to scale quickly in a market segment forecast to grow at a double-digit rate over the next five years. We expect the strong sector growth to be driven by a North America market growing at a CAGR of close to 50% as more US states liberalise and allow online iGaming and online sports betting.”

CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)

Another ASX 200 share that could be in the buy zone is CSL. It is one of the world’s leading biotechnology companies, comprising the CSL Behring and Seqirus businesses. Both are leaders in their respective fields – plasma therapies and vaccines.

Citi is bullish on the company, particularly following its Vifor Pharma acquisition announcement, and appears to see the weakness in the CSL share price as a buying opportunity for investors. It has a buy rating and $340.00 price target on its shares.

Citi said: “CSL has announced that the acquisition of Vifor Pharma – it is acquiring the company at CHF165.5 (US$179.25), a ~65% premium to where the stock was trading pre bid discussion and a ~37% premium to the three-month VWAP. We calculate the acquisition to be ~9% accretive to NPATA per share (NPAT before acquisition-related amortization) – a proxy for cash flow.”

The post 2 outstanding ASX 200 shares to buy this month according to analysts appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why did the CSL (ASX:CSL) share price have such a lousy year in 2021?
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week
• 3 top ASX 200 shares to buy in January
• Experts tip the ASX sectors that are set to outperform in 2022
• Own CSL (ASX:CSL) shares? Here’s how the $17bn Vifor Pharma acquisition will boost its growth

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. owns and has recommended CSL Ltd. 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 Bruce Jackson.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3A73x6h

Before 2020, Transurban Group (ASX: TCL) was an ASX 200 share that had a reputation as one of the most resilient ASX dividend shares on the market. With its primary business of providing inflation-indexed toll roads, it had the perfect business model for providing a rising stream of dividend income to its yield-hungry investors. Or at least, that’s what many people thought. As it turned out, a global pandemic was the Transurban dividend’s kryptonite.

Until 2020, Transurban was one of the ASX companies that managed to deliver an annual dividend increase every year since 2009. Back in ’09, Transurban forked out a total of 11 cents per share in dividends. 2019 saw the company dole out 61 cents per share. That’s a very healthy increase of 527% over that decade.

When the car tolls (or not)…

But alas, 2020 was a dire year for the company as many would-be motorists stopped commuting and travelling, stayed home and left Transurban’s network of tolled roads bare. To illustrate, the company’s last posted quarterly update for the 3 months to 30 September showed its overall daily traffic volumes came in at 34.5% below the same quarter in 2019.

So it was perhaps no surprise that Transurban only paid out a total of 31 cents per share in dividends in 2020. The picture was slightly brighter last year though, with the company upping its output to 36.5 cents per share. But even that metric is far below the company’s 2019 high watermark of 61 cents per share. As it stands today, the Transurban share price is offering a yield of 2.74%. That comes from its closing share price of $13.24 and the 36.5 cents per share in dividends it paid out over 2021.

So what does 2022 hold in store for income investors who own Transurban shares? Will it be a return to the glory days?

What are experts saying about Transurban’s dividend outlook?

Well, we don’t know for sure yet, of course. But we can take note of what some expert investors are predicting. As my Fool colleague James covered earlier this month, broker Morgans reckons the company will be able to keep ramping its dividends up, but in a slow-but-steady manner.

It is expecting the company to fork out 35 cents per share in FY2022, followed by payments worth 55.3 cents per share by FY2023. The latter would equate to a forward yield of 4.18% on current pricing. So it might be a while until Transurban’s glory days are back, if this analysis is to be believed. But no doubt shareholders will appreciate the progress the company has made on the income front since 2020 nonetheless.

The post Own Transurban (ASX:TCL) shares? Here’s what its 2022 dividends might look like appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 top ASX shares for a retirement portfolio
• Why analysts slapped buy ratings on these ASX shares
• Morgans names 2 ASX 200 dividend shares to buy
• Why Afterpay, Healius, IDP Education, and Transurban shares are falling
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: CBA rises, Sandfire’s MATSA update

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 Bruce Jackson.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3I6cdfS

Key points

• The Flight Centre share price surged 3.87% on Monday, closing at $17.97
• On Sunday, the company’s CEO Graham ‘Skroo’ Turner was quoted as saying Queensland’s international re-opening could signal the final stage of the pandemic
• Turner also said he expects Flight Centre will receive an influx of bookings from the state, starting in April

---

The Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price soared on Monday. The gains have come after the company’s CEO Graham ‘Skroo’ Turner said he’s positive the travel industry has overcome the worst of the pandemic.

As of Monday’s close, the Flight Centre share price is $17.97. That’s 3.87% higher than it was at the end of Friday’s session.

For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) also finished the day in the green having gained 0.32%.

Let’s look at why the travel agent’s boss is predicting the return to normality.

Flight Centre share price gains amid boss’ optimism

The Flight Centre share price recovered today after tumbling 4.5% on Friday.

Meanwhile, Turner has been quoted by Queensland’s Courier-Mail as saying the state’s reopening could be the “beginning of the end” of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Queensland is expected to open its international borders without restrictions to fully vaccinated travellers once 90% of the state’s residents have received at least two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk expects that target will be met around the end of this week. As of today, 88.7% of Queenslanders have been double jabbed.

However, Turner predicts demand for travel won’t pick up until current outbreaks have subsided. The Courier-Mail quoted Turner as saying:

The only dampener now has been Omicron because it’s far more widespread than Delta ever was…

As soon as the peak is reached and people see it’s coming back to normal that’s when people will be booking for April, May and June – I’m pretty optimistic.

The final hurdle for Queensland may come less than a week after the state removed restrictions on domestic arrivals.

Previously, those travelling from declared hot spots had to provide a negative COVID-19 test. That was relaxed to allow a negative rapid antigen test before being scrapped altogether on Saturday.

Queensland’s chief health officer Dr John Gerrard commented on the lifting of domestic border restrictions, saying:

The border restrictions have served their purpose which is to allow every Queenslander access to the vaccine, they have achieved that.

Right now, the Flight Centre share price is up 2% year to date. Though, it’s gained 6.7% over the last month.

The post Flight Centre (ASX:FLT) share price gains after boss anticipates ‘beginning of the end’ of COVID appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• Why did the Flight Centre (ASX:FLT) share price slump on Thursday?
• Why did the Flight Centre (ASX:FLT) share price have such a volatile year in 2021?
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• Buying ASX shares in 2022? Here’s what you need to know: expert

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 recommended Flight Centre Travel Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3fuioy2

Today, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) put its best foot forward to start this new week off. At the end of the session, the benchmark index finished 0.32% into the green at 7,417.3 points.

A poor session for materials and property shares wasn’t enough to put a dampener on the market today. Despite consumer discretionary giant Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) warning of impacts from Omicron, investors paid more attention to the reaffirmed net profit guidance of between $1.18 billion to $1.24 billion for the first half. Other ASX consumer discretionary shares followed in tow today as the sector jumped 2.42%.

However, the question is: which shares delivered the biggest returns to investors on the ASX today? Here are the top ten stocks that came through for investors:

Top 10 ASX shares countdown today

Looking at the top 200 listed companies, Pendal Group Ltd (ASX: PDL) was the biggest gainer today. Shares in the global investment company regained 7.80% after its fall on Friday following the announcement of its chair, James Evans, retiring. Find out more about Pendal Group here.

The next biggest gaining ASX share today was Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC). The coal-producing company rallied 4.29% despite there being no new announcements. Uncover the latest Whitehaven Coal details here.

Today’s top 10 biggest gains were made in these ASX shares:

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
Pendal Group Ltd (ASX: PDL)	$5.39	7.80%
Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC)	$2.92	4.29%
Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG)	$20.48	4.22%
Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT)	$1.455	3.93%
Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT)	$17.97	3.87%
Wisetech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC)	$54.09	3.76%
Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP)	$106.88	3.42%
JB Hi-Fi Ltd (ASX: JBH)	$46.64	3.37%
Worley Ltd (ASX: WOR)	$11.78	3.15%
Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX: PME)	$47.84	2.68%

Our top 10 ASX shares today countdown is a recurring end-of-day summary to ensure you know which companies were making big moves on the day. Check-in at Fool.com.au after the market has closed during weekdays to see which stocks make the countdown.

The post Here are the top 10 ASX shares today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why the Pendal Group (ASX:PDL) share roared 8% higher on Monday?
• These 3 ASX 200 shares are topping the volume charts on Monday
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Wesfarmers’ update, energy shares rise
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler owns Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Pro Medicus Ltd. and WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Pro Medicus Ltd., Wesfarmers Limited, and WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Dominos Pizza Enterprises Limited and Flight Centre Travel Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3FBqO1s

Key points

• ASX 200 tech shares finished the day in the green on Monday
• Afterpay closed slightly in the red after recovering from a steep fall earlier in the day
• Technology shares followed the performance of the tech shares on US markets

---

ASX 200 tech shares finished in the green today after their NASDAQ counterparts rebounded at the end of last week.

The S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) closed up 0.68% today, while the S&P/ASX 200 Info Tech (ASX:XIJ) index finished 0.75% higher.

Let’s take a look at what happened to ASX 200 tech shares today.

Why are tech shares in the green?

ASX tech shares seemed to be following in the footsteps of the tech rally in the United States on Friday.

The NASDAQ-100 Technology Sector Index (NASDAQ: NDXT) finished up 1.41% on Friday night in the US. This often sets the pace for Australian tech shares, as my Foolish colleague James noted this morning.

The Megaport (ASX: MP1) share price closed 1.15% higher, trading at $18.41. Meanwhile, software provider TechnologyOne (ASX: TNE) also had a good day, up 2.06%.

Artificial Intelligence data provider Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) jumped 0.2% while Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) rose 0.43%. Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) gained 1.54% while telecommunications provider Chorus Limited (ASX: CNU) closed the session 1.23% higher.

One ASX 200 tech company that had a roller-coaster day is Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT). The buy now, pay later company’s shares closed slightly lower, down 0.84% to $68.45.

However, earlier this morning, Afterpay shares dropped 2.79% from Friday’s close to an intraday low of $67.10. This may be because Block Inc (NYSE: SQ) also fell 2.67% on Wall Street on Friday night. Afterpay will trade on the ASX for the final time on 19 January pending its takeover by Block.

Today’s gains for ASX 200 tech shares follow a sell-off on Friday when the All Technology Index dropped 2.56%. Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 Info Tech Index fell 3.94% on the final day of last week.

The post How did ASX 200 tech shares perform on the market today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Zip (ASX:Z1P) will become the largest pureplay BNPL on the ASX this week. What might this mean for shareholders?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• Why Afterpay, BWX, Pendal, and Temple & Webster shares are sinking
• Is the slide in BNPL shares like Zip (ASX:Z1P) just getting started?
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Qantas cuts capacity, Afterpay hits 52-week low

The 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. owns and has recommended Afterpay Limited, Altium, Appen Ltd, Block, Inc., and MEGAPORT FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Afterpay Limited and Appen Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended MEGAPORT FPO. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3qxvtNn