Category: Stock Market

BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) grabs a lot of investor attention, partly because it’s the biggest company on the ASX by market capitalisation, but also due to the size of the dividends it pays out. However, I believe there’s a lot more to reliable passive income than just the current dividend yield. I think it takes a certain level of stability for a stock to be regarded as a reliable ASX dividend titan.

If an investor is seeking dependable passive income, I believe they’d benefit from owning ASX shares that can continue paying decent dividends through all economic conditions. For example, it can be very distressing for an investor’s dividends to dry up precisely when they most need them to flow during times of recession.

Admittedly, BHP’s profits and dividends are not intrinsically linked to Australia’s economic performance, but they are, to a significant extent, reliant on iron ore prices. And the iron ore price can be extremely volatile – it’s down by over 20% so far this year. This may not bode well for BHP’s dividends to be maintained at their current levels.

Where I’d look for defensive passive income

I believe ASX healthcare stock Sonic Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SHL) could be a better pick than BHP shares for long-term dividends.

For starters, Sonic Healthcare’s board has a ‘progressive dividend policy’. In other words, the directors are focused on growing the dividend, if the company can afford to do so.

Furthermore, healthcare is a sector that can deliver defensive earnings, in my opinion. After all, we don’t choose when to get sick, and most people place a high value on their health.

Sonic provides pathology services in multiple countries including Australia, Germany, the UK, the USA, and Switzerland. The company could benefit from ongoing population growth in those countries, technological advancements and geographic expansion. Sonic has also made a number of acquisitions in the last few years to boost its scale.

Impressively, the company has grown its dividend almost every year for the last 30 years, with only a handful of years when the dividend was maintained during that period.

Sonic has grown its annual dividend every year since 2013, so it has delivered a sustained decade of dividend growth.

What is this ASX dividend titan’s yield?

Excluding franking credits, the last two dividends declared by Sonic amount to a dividend yield of 4.05%.

According to Commsec, the company’s dividend is expected to keep growing. The projection translates into a dividend yield of 4.1% in FY26.

I think that’s a solid starting yield, with room for long-term growth.

The post An ASX dividend titan I’d buy over BHP shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s what the iron ore price will be this time next year: Westpac
• Why is the BHP share price starting the week with a whimper?
• Best 5 ASX 200 energy shares for price growth in FY24
• Why are BHP shares trudging lower on Friday?
• Buy BHP and these ASX dividend shares

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has positions in Sonic Healthcare. 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 Sonic Healthcare. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price was on form on Tuesday.

The telco giant’s shares ended the day 2% higher at $3.73.

Why did the Telstra share price rise?

Investors were buying Telstra’s shares after it announced an increase to its mobile prices.

The changes will see prices on most Telstra mobile plans increase by between $2 to $4 per month. Management noted that these changes aimed to balance cost of living pressures “with its need to continue to invest to manage technology evolution and continued strong customer demand on its mobile network.”

Based on its share price performance yesterday, it seems that the market believes the company has got it just right with these increases.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs appear to believe this is the case. They also see the price increases as a sign that competition in the telco market remains rational. The broker commented:

These plan changes highlight: (1) mobile market rationality remains (particularly when combined with the recent Optus increase); (2) TLS mobile earnings growth remains strong, driven by subscribers and ARPU, despite the uncertainty created by TLS May-24 update; (3) flexibility benefits of a non-CPI linked pricing mechanism (i.e. greater than CPI price rises on core plans, but no price increase on the more price sensitive Starter plans, which we believe should also help mitigate any concerns around price gauging); (4) Telstra TLS FY25 guidance should likely be narrowed to $8.5-$8.7bn at its Aug-24 result (from $8.4-8.7bn) which would be its typical $200mn range, now the company has much greater certainty around its mobile pricing outlook.

Goldman estimates that the changes will have a positive impact on its average revenue per user metric (ARPU) and its earnings and dividends per share. Its analysts add:

We estimate the postpaid plan changes to drive a blended A$2.50 ARPU increase for Telstra. Adjusting for GST, consumer mix (i.e. 2/3 of base) and c.9 month impact, we expect this to contribute $1.14 of ARPU growth, before any potential spin-down. When combined with the significant JB-HiFi and smaller Belong mobile plan changes (noting that JB-HiFi plan changes take significant time to wash-through the base), we now expect $1.20 ARPU growth (from $0.80) and marginally stronger mobile ARPU trends into FY26 (GSe Postpaid +1.5% growth, from +1.0%, Prepaid +1.0%, from 0%). Collectively, this drives our FY25 EBITDA to $8,595mn, FY25/26 EPS +1/3% and DPS to 19.0/20.0c (from 18.5/19.5c).

Time to buy?

The broker thinks that this is another signal to buy the company’s shares and continues to see a lot of value in the Telstra share price.

In response to the update, Goldman has retained its buy rating and lifted its price target to $4.30. This implies potential upside of 15% for investors over the next 12 months. It also expects dividend yields of 5.1% in FY 2025 and then 5.35% in FY 2026.

The post Is the Telstra share price good value in July? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• How much cash do you need to quit work and live off ASX dividend income?
• Why DroneShield, GenusPlus, Monadelphous, and Telstra shares are roaring higher today
• Telstra share price lifts off alongside its mobile pricing plans

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

The iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV) smashed the returns delivered by the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) in the financial year just past.

Shares in the exchange-traded fund (ETF) closed out FY 2023 trading at $44.45. On 28 June, the last trading day of FY 2024, shares were swapping hands for $55.43.

That saw the IVV share price up an impressive 24.7% over the financial year, racing ahead of the 7.8% gains posted by the ASX 200 over this same time.

And these strong gains don’t include the 66 cents a share in unfranked dividends the ASX ETF paid out in four quarterly instalments over the year. These see IVV currently trading on an unfranked trailing dividend yield of 1.2%.

So, how did the ETF manage to reward shareholders so well?

I’m glad you asked!

Why did the IVV share price outpace the ASX 200 in FY 2024?

As its name implies, the iShares S&P 500 ETF aims to track the performance of the S&P 500 Index (INDEXSP: .INX).

And it did a very good job of it, with the S&P 500 gaining 22.7% during FY 2024.

IVV currently holds 503 United States listed stocks, with the US tech giants making up its biggest holdings.

At the time of writing, the ASX ETF’s top five holdings are:

• Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT)
• Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL)
• Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA)
• Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN)
• Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: META)

A look at these five stocks alone goes a long way to explaining IVV’s strong showing over the past financial year.

These tech giants are at the forefront of the global artificial intelligence (AI) revolution that’s been grabbing global and ASX investor interest.

But it’s not just companies like Nvidia and Apple that stand to benefit from the efficiencies delivered by AI. The rapidly evolving tech has been credited for much of the big boost enjoyed by many of the companies listed on the S&P 500.

Adding in that inflation in the US is cooling faster than here in Australia, and investors have been upping their bets of at least one interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve in 2024.

That’s also helped the S&P 500 and, by connection, the IVV share price race ahead of the ASX, with the US benchmark notching a lengthy series of new record highs over the past months.

As for FY 2025, the iShares S&P 500 ETF share price is currently down 0.52% half-way into week two of the new financial year.

The post How did the iShares S&P 500 ETF (IVV) race ahead of the ASX 200 in FY 2024? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why it’s a big day for ASX ETFs
• Own the iShares S&P 500 ETF (IVV)? Here’s your next ASX dividend
• The iShares S&P 500 ETF (IVV) is slowly becoming a dividend powerhouse. Here’s why
• 4 of the best ASX ETFs to buy and hold for a decade
• Looking to ‘get rich quick’? Use the Warren Buffett approach instead

John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. 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. 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 positions in and has recommended Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, 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, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, and iShares S&P 500 ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) share price just finished a rather dismal financial year.

Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) supermarket giant closed out FY 2023 trading for $39.73. On 28 June, the final trading day of FY 2024, shares ended the day changing hands for $33.79 apiece.

That saw the Woolworths share price down a painful 14.9% over the 12 months.

For some context, the ASX 200 gained 7.8% over this same period.

Now the 14.9% loss doesn’t include the $1.05 a share in fully franked dividends Woolies paid out over the 2024 financial year. Woolworth stock currently trades on a fully franked trailing dividend yield of 3.09%.

Here’s what put the ASX 200 supermarket under selling pressure.

Why did the Woolworths share price tank in FY 2024?

The Woolworths share price was in a downtrend for much of FY 2024, with inflation impacting customer shopping habits while also driving up the costs of doing business.

ASX 200 investors have also been mulling over the possibility that the government could force Coles and Woolworths to split off some of their businesses in a bid to increase the competitive landscape among Australia’s oligopolistic supermarket operators.

But as you may have noted in the price chart up top, a big part of the pain for the Woolworths share price came on 21 February.

That’s when Woolies reported its half-year results and announced the unexpected departure of long-serving CEO Brad Banducci. Banducci will be replaced by top Woolies executive Amanda Bardwell on 1 September.

Among the positives in those financial results, revenue for the six months was up by 4.4% year on year to $34.64 billion.

However, losses after significant items were $781 million, down from a profit of $845 million in the prior corresponding half-year. Much of that was due to a $1.5 billion non-cash write-down of the supermarket’s New Zealand business.

And management reported that with inflationary pressures making customers more cautious, sales over the first seven weeks of Q3 had continued to moderate.

Investors responded by sending the Woolworths share price down 6.6% on the day.

Fast forwarding to that third-quarter update, released on 2 May, and Woolies reported achieving a 2.8% increase in total sales to $16.8 billion.

But with consumers tightening their belts, the company’s Big W business saw sales fall 4.1% over the three months.

Outgoing CEO Brad Banducci admitted that conditions were challenging.

“It was a challenging quarter across the group with a noticeable shift in customer sentiment and shopping behaviours since Christmas,” he said on the day.

Looking ahead, Banducci added:

We expect trading conditions to be challenging for the next 12 months due to competition for customer shopping baskets and as inflation returns to a very low single digit range.

As for FY 2025, the Woolworths share price is up 0.44% in the nascent new financial year, currently at $33.94.

The post Why did the Woolworths share price sink 15% in FY 2024? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• How much cash do you need to quit work and live off ASX dividend income?
• 2 ASX shares to buy for a retirement portfolio in FY25
• 10 ASX shares to buy in FY25
• This retail giant could be one of the best ASX value shares around!
• Buy Woolworths and these ASX dividend stocks

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.

The S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) moved 8.27% higher in FY24, which is a perfectly respectable return. But it ain’t nothin’ compared to these superstar ASX small-cap shares.

ASX small-cap shares have a market capitalisation ranging from a few hundred million to $2 billion. 

They are typically younger, growing companies. They can offer ASX investors potentially superior share price growth (if all goes well). But the trade-off is higher risk given their early business development.

Let’s check out three of the best performers among the ASX All Ords small-cap shares in FY24.

3 ASX small-caps that rocketed in FY24

Clarity Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: CU6)

ASX small-cap healthcare share Clarity Pharmaceuticals has a market cap of $1.59 billion.

The Clarity Pharmaceuticals share price went stratospheric in FY24, rising by 674.29%. Investors are keen to be part of Clarity’s story as it continues to have success with its highly targeted radiopharmaceuticals in the diagnosis and treatment of serious diseases, including cancer.

Among the company’s highlights in FY24 was the first patient ever to be dosed with two cycles of 67Cu-SAR-bisPSMA at 8GBq maintaining undetectable levels of prostate cancer for almost six months.

Droneshield (ASX: DRO)

ASX small-cap defence share Droneshield has a market cap of $1.53 billion.

Droneshield shares certainly flew in FY24, rising 647.83%. The share price got a big kick in January after the company launched its Expeditionary Fixed-Site (EFS) Kit for the DroneSentry-X Mk2.

Another piece of news that moved the Droneshield share price substantially higher was a repeat order of A$5.7 million from a US Government customer for several of its CUxS (Counter-UxS) systems in May.

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP)

ASX small-cap buy now, pay later (BNPL) share Zip has a market cap of $1.96 billion.

The Zip share price lurched 256.1% higher during FY24. This was welcome news for long-term investors who have held on through some very difficult years. The company has undergone a major transformation since abandoning plans for global growth in order to focus on growing revenue in a few key markets.

First-quarter results and the half-year update gave the ASX small-cap stock some exciting price boosts.

What are the trends among ASX small-cap shares right now?

In a recent update, the portfolio managers of the Blackwattle Small Cap Quality Fund said there were opportunities to buy high-quality industrial small caps in today’s choppy market.

Robert Hawkesford and Daniel Broeren wrote:

As investors digest the likelihood of fewer (if any) rate cuts in 2024, we expect equity markets to remain choppy.

Many cyclical sectors have already seen meaningful corrections from the very elevated valuations at the end of February.

We are now seeing opportunities to selectively increase exposure to good-quality industrial businesses that are performing well.

The portfolio managers said the fund remained overweight in ASX small-cap mining shares. But they have banked some profits from big gains in the prices of some ASX gold and copper stocks.

The post 3 ASX small-cap shares that soared 250% to 675% in FY24 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Up 327% in a year, the Zip share price just smashed new multi-year highs!
• Why DroneShield, GenusPlus, Monadelphous, and Telstra shares are roaring higher today
• Zip shares FY24 recap: Up 256%, what’s next for FY25?
• Guess which 2 ASX All Ordinaries shares were the best and worst performers of FY24?
• What will it take for DroneShield shares to enter the ASX 200?

Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has positions in Zip Co. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended DroneShield and Zip Co. 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.

If you’re wanting to generate passive income from the share market, then the ASX dividend shares listed below could be good options.

They have been rated as buys by analysts and tipped to provide investors with great dividend yields. Here’s what you need to know about them:

QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE)

Analysts at Goldman Sachs are feeling very positive about this insurance giant and see it as an ASX dividend share to buy this month.

The broker has named five reasons why it thinks investors should be buying QBE’s shares. This includes its exposure to the commercial rate cycle and its improving performance in North America. It said:

QBE is a global commercial insurer with three main geographical operations across Australia Pacific, International (encompassing Europe) and North America. We are Buy-rated on QBE because 1) QBE has the strongest exposure to the commercial rate cycle. 2) QBE’s achieved rate increases continue to be strong & ahead of loss cost inflation. 3) North America on a pathway to improved profitability. 4) Valuation not demanding. 5) Strong ROE.

As for passive income, Goldman is forecasting dividends per share of 60 US cents (89 Australian cents) in FY 2024 and 63 US cents (93.5 Australian cents) in FY 2025. Based on the current QBE share price of $16.93, this equates to dividend yields of 5.25% and 5.5%, respectively.

Its analysts also see plenty of upside for investors. They have a buy rating and $20.60 price target on its shares.

Transurban Group (ASX: TCL)

Another ASX dividend share that could be a good option for passive income investors is Transurban. It manages and develops urban toll road networks in Australia and North America.

Bell Potter likes the company. This is due to its development pipeline, positive exposure to inflation, and low risk cashflows. It said:

We believe the current inflationary environment is favourable for Transurban given its inflation-linked revenue stream with annual escalators. Moreover, TCL provides low risk cash flows over the long term, with long concession duration (30+ years), and relative traffic/income resilience. The group’s current pipeline of growth projects is $3.3 billion (TCL’s share of total project cost) and further huge development opportunities are expected over the next few decades, supported by population and economic growth.

In respect to passive income, Bell Potter is forecasting dividends per share of 63.6 cents in FY 2024 and then 65.1 cents in FY 2025. Based on the current Transurban share price of $12.43, this will mean dividend yields of 5.1% and 5.2%, respectively.

The broker has a buy rating and $15.50 price target on its shares.

The post Buy these quality ASX dividend shares for passive income appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• How much cash do you need to quit work and live off ASX dividend income?
• 3 ASX 200 passive income stocks to buy in July
• 5 ASX dividend shares to buy next week
• The best ASX 200 shares to buy when interest rates fall
• 3 strong ASX dividend stocks for income investors to buy

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 Goldman Sachs Group and Transurban Group. 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.

If you are fortunate enough to have $3,000 in your Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) savings account and no plans for it, I think it could be worth using it to start investing today.

While it will be gaining interest in your savings account, that will barely be enough to keep up with inflation in the current environment.

Whereas the share market has traditionally provided investors with an average total return of approximately 10% per annum over the long term.

This is vastly superior to savings accounts and could compound your money into something significant in the future if you are willing to be patient.

Let’s look at what $3,000 could become if you were to start investing it into ASX shares.

Start investing with $3,000 of savings

As mentioned above, the share market has achieved a return of approximately 10% per annum over the long term.

And while there is no guarantee that this will be the case in the future, I believe it is fair to base our assumptions on this level of return.

With that in mind, a single $3,000 investment into ASX shares would grow to become worth almost $8,000 in 10 years if you matched the market return.

But if you leave it to compound further, then it would grow to approximately $20,000 after 20 years, then $52,000 after 30 years, and $135,000 after 40 years.

And that is just a single investment. Chances are, over the years you will have extra funds that you can invest into ASX shares. Doing this could have a huge impact on your wealth.

Contributing more

Let’s imagine that when you start investing you add an extra $3,000 to your investment portfolio every year instead of just a one-off investment.

If you did this and matched the market return, you would have a portfolio valued at approximately $60,000 after 10 years.

And if we keep going with this investment strategy for longer, you would have approximately $200,000 after 20 years, $600,000 after 30 years, and a whopping $1.6 million after 40 years.

The latter means that someone in their early twenties that starts investing today could potentially have a million-dollar ASX share portfolio before they retire.

Overall, this demonstrates that making consistent investments into ASX shares has the potential to generate significant wealth. The key is to have a plan and stick with it over the years.

The post $3,000 in savings? Here’s how I’d use that to start investing today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• CBA shares hit new record amid higher revised predictions for home price growth
• How much cash do you need to quit work and live off ASX dividend income?
• Are ASX 200 bank shares too expensive to buy right now?
• Are Macquarie or CBA shares a better buy?
• Forget CBA and buy these ASX dividend stocks

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.

If you were invested in ASX 200 shares vs. property in FY24 then you probably did pretty well.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) rose by 7.83% in FY24, and if we add dividends on top, the total return was a median 12.1%.

Meanwhile, the national median property price rose by 8%. If we add rental income to that capital growth, the total return for investors was a median 12.2%, according to CoreLogic data.

But these are just median figures, right?

As all investors know, returns can differ markedly depending on which individual ASX stocks you are invested in and the location of your real estate investments.

So, shall we get specific?

Best performing city and regional property markets of FY24

Home price growth across the city and regional property markets of Australia varied in FY24.

Home values in most markets went up. The Perth property market was an absolute screamer, with 23.6% growth over the 12 months. Two other mid-tier capital cities — Brisbane and Adelaide — also stood out.

But we have a couple of buyers’ markets in play right now, too. They are Melbourne and Hobart, along with their regional counterparts.

Let’s review the data from CoreLogic.

In short, investors holding properties in Perth and regional Western Australia did best in FY24.

Property market	Capital growth in FY24 (all homes)
Perth	23.6%
Regional Western Australia	16.6%
Brisbane	15.8%
Adelaide	15.4%
Regional Queensland	12.2%
Regional South Australia	11.3%
National	8%
Sydney	6.3%
Regional New South Wales	4.1%
Darwin	2.4%
Canberra	2.2%
Melbourne	1.3%
Regional Tasmania	0.7%
Hobart	(0.1%)
Regional Victoria	(0.5%)

Want to get even more specific?

Suburb-level data for price growth in FY24 is not publicly available from CoreLogic yet. However, we can report the best price growth among SA3 districts across Australia’s eight capital cities.

An SA3 is a location metric used by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The ABS defines SA3s as “often the functional areas of regional towns and cities with a population in excess of 20,000 or clusters of related suburbs …”.

The top 10 SA3 areas for price growth nationally were all in Greater Perth and experienced between 26% and 33.19% capital growth.

In order, they were Kwinana, Armadale, Gosnells, Rockingham, Mandurah, Canning, Cockburn, Swan, Wanneroo and Serpentine-Jarrahdale.

Here are the No. 1 SA3s for home price growth in each of the greater capital city areas.

Best-performing SA3 areas for home price growth in FY24

Capital city	No. 1 SA3 district	Capital growth (all homes)
Sydney	Mount Druitt	13.96%
Melbourne	Moreland-North	4.71%
Brisbane	Springwood-Kingston	25.55%
Perth	Kwinana	33.19%
Adelaide	Playford	19.94%
Canberra	Weston Creek	5.24%
Hobart	Sorell-Dodges Ferry	2.78%
Darwin	Litchfield	3.21%

Top performing ASX 200 shares of FY24

Now we can compare the capital growth of the top 10 ASX 200 shares vs. property in FY24.

ASX 200 shares	Capital growth in FY24
Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME)	118.3%
Life360 Inc (ASX: 360)	115.4%
Red 5 Limited (ASX: RED)	89.5%
West African Resources Ltd (ASX: WAF)	86.1%
Altium Ltd (ASX: ALU)	84.3%
Hub24 Ltd (ASX: HUB)	82.9%
Deep Yellow Limited (ASX: DYL)	77.5%
SiteMinder Ltd (ASX: SDR)	74.3%
Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: NEU)	73.6%
Goodman Group (ASX: GMG)	73.1%

What’s the outlook for home values?

The CBA economics team has just revised its forecast for home price growth in the calendar year of 2024.

Senior economist Belinda Allen said the forecast had increased from 5% growth to 7% growth nationwide. The upward revision is primarily due to strong demand and a low supply of homes for sale.

Looking ahead to the calendar year 2025, CBA expects another 5% lift nationwide, with the mid-tier capital cities of Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide continuing to outperform Sydney and Melbourne.

The post Shares vs. property: Which stocks and suburbs delivered the best growth in FY24? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• 5 ASX growth shares that could rise 10% to 40%
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Here’s the 3 best ASX artificial intelligence (AI) shares of FY24

Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has positions in Goodman Group. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Altium, Goodman Group, Hub24, Life360, Pro Medicus, and SiteMinder. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended SiteMinder. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Goodman Group, Hub24, and Pro Medicus. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

On Tuesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was back on form and charged higher. The benchmark index rose 0.85% to 7,829.7 points.

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

ASX 200 expected to fall

It looks set to be a tough day for the Australian share market on Wednesday despite another positive session in the United States. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 46 points or 0.6% lower. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones was down 0.1%, but the S&P 500 rose 0.1% and the Nasdaq climbed 0.15%. The latter two closed at record highs after the US Fed suggested that holding rates high for too long could impact economic growth.

Oil prices fall

ASX 200 energy shares such as Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) could have a poor session after oil prices dropped again overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 0.85% to US$81.62 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is down 1.1% to US$84.84 a barrel. Easing concerns about Tropical Storm Beryl weighed on prices.

Buy Telstra shares

The Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price could be good value according to analysts at Goldman Sachs. In response to news that the telco giant is lifting its mobile prices by $2 to $4, the broker has reiterated its buy rating with an improved price target of $4.30. It commented: “We estimate the postpaid plan changes to drive a blended A$2.50 ARPU [average revenue per user] increase for Telstra. Adjusting for GST, consumer mix (i.e. 2/3 of base) and c.9 month impact, we expect this to contribute $1.14 of ARPU growth, before any potential spin-down.”

Gold price rises

ASX 200 gold shares Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) will be on watch following a decent night for the gold price. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is up 0.35% to US$2,339.5 an ounce. Optimism over interest rate cuts in the United States boosted the precious metal.

Insignia shares on watch

Insignia Financial Ltd (ASX: IFL) shares will be on watch today after the financial services company denied media speculation that it was a private equity target. The company, formerly known as IOOF, saw its shares close almost 14% higher on Tuesday, prompting a price query by the ASX. In response to the query, Insignia commented: “Recent press article published Tuesday 9 July 2024 at 12:45pm in AFR Street Talk “Insignia calls in Citi as PE circles: Geoff Lloyd around the hoop” written by Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport. Citi has not been engaged to field any offers and the company is not aware of any offer.”

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

More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Analysts love Woodside and these ASX dividend stocks
• How much cash do you need to quit work and live off ASX dividend income?
• Goldman Sachs says these ASX gold stocks are buys
• Why DroneShield, GenusPlus, Monadelphous, and Telstra shares are roaring higher today

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Woodside Energy Group. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Goldman Sachs Group. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Telstra Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG) shares have seen a fair amount of volatility in 2024 to date, down by nearly 26%, as shown on the chart below. However, with the much-reduced valuation, an expert spies an opportunity.

The short-term success of a commodity business is often linked to the price of the commodity. If the iron ore price falls, then it can significantly cut into that year’s profitability.

At the start of 2024, the iron ore price was above US$140 per tonne, but it has since dropped to around US$110 per tonne, according to Trading Economics.

Optimistic view on Fortescue shares

Writing on The Bull, Michael Gable from Fairmont Equities has called the ASX mining share a buy. He pointed out that the Fortescue share price has fallen from $27.30 on 22 May 2024 to around $21.80 now, a decline of around 20%.

Gable and his team suggest that this is an “attractive entry level”. The expert noted that the weaker iron ore price has led to the Fortescue share price fall. But, in past years, Fortescue “has often been oversold on weaker iron ore prices only to bounce back”.

The Fairmont Equities expert suggests that the Fortescue share price could “move higher from these oversold levels.”

What’s happening to the iron ore price?

According to Trading Economics, iron ore recently pulled back from a one-month high as data points to “rising iron ore inventories” at Chinese ports, which is signalling “weaker demand from steel mills for metal production.”

Markets are now focusing on the upcoming Third Plenum, which will be held later in July. Leading Chinese officials are expected to tackle plans to “comprehensively deepen reform and advance Chinese modernisation.”

Some analysts are now seeking further policy support for the Chinese property sector.

Trading Economics also noted that weak US economic data increased bets that the US Federal Reserve could start cutting interest rates as early as September. If US rates are reduced, then this could boost global economic growth and overall demand, supporting commodity prices.

It’s possible that the growing economies of other Asian countries could lead to increased demand for Australian iron ore beyond China. Indian steel demand is expected to keep rising, according to one of the largest steel mills in the world’s most populous country.

Fortescue share price snapshot

Despite all of the volatility, the Fortescue share price is actually up nearly 3% in the last 12 months.

The post It’s a buy! Expert says Fortescue shares are oversold appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s what the iron ore price will be this time next year: Westpac
• These 5 ASX dividend shares had the highest yields in FY24
• Fortescue shares: Here are the must-know highlights from FY24
• Fortescue shares red-hot as court reveals company espionage
• What is the outlook for ASX 200 dividend shares in FY25?

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has positions in Fortescue. 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.