The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) slipped lower on Friday, falling 0.19% to close at 6,955.2 points. That leaves the index 0.57% lower week on week.

It came on the back of rate hikes in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Norway overnight.

 Leading the ASX 200’s downturn on Friday was the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ). It dropped 1.1%.

Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) slumped 0.2% amid a disastrous performance from the Block Inc (ASX: SQ2) share price. The stock dumped 18.4% following a short seller attack.

Outperforming all others was the S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ), which jumped 0.7%.

But which ASX 200 share ended the week by posting the index’s biggest gain? Let’s take a look.

Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown

Today’s top-performing ASX 200 share was Brainchip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN). It gained 6.1% to close at 43.5 cents despite only silence from the neuromorphic computing company.

These shares made today’s biggest gains:

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
Brainchip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN)	$0.435	6.1%
AGL Energy Limited (ASX: AGL)	$7.45	5.97%
Lake Resources NL (ASX: LKE)	$0.48	5.49%
Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR)	$1.49	4.2%
Perseus Mining Limited (ASX: PRU)	$2.33	4.02%
Imugene Limited (ASX: IMU)	$0.13	4%
Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)	$3.56	3.79%
Ramelius Resources Ltd (ASX: RMS)	$1.115	3.59%
Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO)	$0.785	3.29%
Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN)	$2.95	2.79%

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

• Is the AFIC share price a standout investment right now?
• Why Core Lithium, Estia Health, Kingsgate, and St Barbara shares are charging higher
• Passive income hack: 3 simple steps to help you get rich and retire early
• Investing in ASX 200 shares? Don’t bank on an RBA rate pause in April
• The first-ever Pilbara Minerals dividend is being paid today. Here’s what to expect

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. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Block. 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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Australian Foundation Investment Co Ltd (ASX: AFI) (AFIC) has seen its share price fall more than 4% since 9 March 2023.

While that’s not exactly a major plummet, it adds to the decline the listed investment company (LIC) has seen over the last 12 months. It’s now down by close to 13%.

When an attractive business falls more than 10%, I think it’s worthwhile considering whether that investment is now good value.

While it is cheaper, I think investors also need to pay attention to how the AFIC share price is valued compared to its net tangible assets (NTA).

NTA premium?

A LIC’s job is to invest in other shares and assets. But, the value of its portfolio may not be the same as what the share price is trading at.

Imagine a LIC owns a portfolio of shares worth $100 million. The market capitalisation of the LIC could be $90 million, suggesting that it’s valued at a 10% discount to its assets. Or the market capitalisation could be $110 million – a 10% premium. The premium would mean people are buying a basket of shares for more than they buy those individual investments separately.

Sometimes we can see premiums or discounts in the LIC world of more than 20%, though that doesn’t happen with AFIC.

However, the latest update indicated that the AFIC share price for February was trading at a premium of around 5%. That’s one of the lower monthly premiums since the start of COVID-19, but it’s still a premium.

Sometimes investors may decide that it’s worthwhile to pay a premium for the NTA if they think the investment returns are going to outperform the share market.

But, at February 2023, AFIC’s net asset per share growth, plus dividends and franking, had underperformed the S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation Index (ASX: XAOA), including franking, by 2.7% over the prior year and 0.7% over the prior decade. The last three and five years showed an underperformance of the benchmark of 0.2% per annum.

However, the index returns don’t include management expenses or tax, which may be applicable if an investor chooses an exchange-traded fund (ETF) focused on the ASX 200 (or something similar).

What about the dividends?

LICs have the ability to smooth out dividend payments, in contrast to the potential volatility of distributions from ASX shares.

AFIC’s annual ordinary dividend had been 24 cents per share for a number of years. But, it decided to increase the FY23 interim dividend by 10% to 11 cents per share. So, that’s a positive.

It has been a consistent dividend payer for many years. There aren’t many ASX shares that have achieved that level of consistency.

How much is a consistent dividend worth? For investors in the accumulation phase of their life, I’d suggest it’s not an integral factor. But, for retirees, it’s a useful attribute.

Is the AFIC share price a good buy?

It owns a portfolio of ASX blue chip shares that may be able to deliver suitable total returns, including Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), CSL Limited (ASX: CSL), Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG), Transurban Group (ASX: TCL), Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) and so on.

I think its returns could continue to be pretty similar to the ASX 200 Accumulation Index while paying a resilient dividend.

But, with investors being able to buy individual ASX shares or an ETF for the actual cost rather than a premium, I don’t think it’s the best choice for total return growth.

The post Is the AFIC share price a standout investment right now? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Passive income hack: 3 simple steps to help you get rich and retire early
• Investing in ASX 200 shares? Don’t bank on an RBA rate pause in April
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• Telstra shares: Bull vs. Bear
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended CSL. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Macquarie Group and Wesfarmers. 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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BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) might not be the first share one thinks of when it comes to sustainability.

But the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) iron ore giant is taking a leap towards lowering its value chain emissions. It announced yesterday it’s considering building an electric smelting furnace (ESF) pilot plant in Australia.

The Big Australian has signed with engineering firm Hatch to design a demonstration facility capable of producing steel using renewable energy and hydrogen rather than coal.

Let’s take a look at what the news might mean for Pilbara-mined iron ore.

The BHP share price is $43.63 at the time of writing.

BHP moves to make steelmaking more sustainable

Own BHP shares? You might be interested in the monolith’s latest sustainability move – a planned ESF plant capable of lowering emissions associated with Pilbara iron ore’s journey to becoming steel.

The company is aiming to build a demonstration plant to test and optimise iron production from the ESF.

It hopes the small-scale plant will be used to collaborate with steel producers and technology providers, ultimately helping to speed up the scale-up of ESF plant designs.  

The technology is able to produce steel from renewable energy sources when combined with a direct reduced iron (DRI) step.

The ESF allows for greater flexibility in raw materials – a barrier to the adoption of other lower emissions production methods. It also has the potential to be integrated into a steel plant’s existing downstream production units, BHP noted.

It’s estimated that, by switching to the technology, conventional steelmakers – like many of BHP’s customers – could reduce their emissions by more than 80%.

BHP will consider several Australian locations for the facility.

News of the move comes as the ASX 200 giant works to reach net zero operational and value chain emissions by 2050. It also comes alongside news that iron ore rival Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX: FMG) has made progress in producing ‘green iron’.

Commenting on the agreement, BHP chief commercial officer Vandita Pant said:

We see the ESF process as a critical breakthrough in significantly reducing the carbon emissions intensity of steel production and one that provides an opportunity for iron ore from our Pilbara mines. 

BHP share price snapshot

This year has been a rough one so far for the BHP share price.

The stock has fallen around 4% since its first close of 2023. Though, it’s trading relatively flat over the last 12 months.

Comparatively, the ASX 200 is trading flat year to date and has fallen 6% since this time last year.

The post Own BHP shares? Here’s how the iron ore giant is cleaning up steelmaking’s act appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why is the BHP share price in the red today?
• Out with coal, in with nickel: Could BHP shares soon face a flurry of M&A activity?
• The Mincor Resources share price is skyrocketing 42%, what could be next for this ASX mining share?
• Here’s how much I’d need to invest in BHP shares to generate a $250 monthly income
• Could buying BHP shares under $44 make me rich?

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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In late afternoon trade, the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price is on course to end the week in the red.

At the time of writing, the banking giant’s shares are down 0.8% to $21.16.

This latest decline means the Westpac share price is now down over 6% since the start of the month.

Should you buy the Westpac share price dip?

If the broker community is to be believed, this recent pullback could be a great buying opportunity for investors.

For example, analysts at Citi currently have a buy rating and $30.00 price target on the bank’s shares. Based on the current Westpac share price, this implies potential upside of almost 42% for investors over the next 12 months.

In response to its first-quarter update, Citi said:

It is difficult to draw definitive conclusions from a Pillar 3 release, but we conclude that WBC is tracking broadly in-line with Citi’s and consensus expectations.

Elsewhere, Goldman Sachs currently has a conviction buy rating and $27.74 price target on its shares. This suggests potential upside of 31% for investors. Goldman believes Westpac is well-placed for growth thanks to rising interest rates and its cost cutting. It said:

WBC’s shorter-duration replicating portfolio, and current balance sheet performance, should see its NIM outperform peers, [and] despite WBC recently revising its FY24E cost target to A$8.6 bn (from A$8.0 bn), the bank’s performance on cost management remains strong in this inflationary environment with a 9% step down in underlying costs expected over the next two years.

Finally, Morgans is positive and has an add rating and $25.80 price target, implying potential upside of 22%. It commented:

We view WBC as having the greatest potential for return on equity improvement amongst the major banks if its business transformation initiatives prove successful.

The post The Westpac share price is down 6% this month, should you buy the dip? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Want passive income? Analysts say you can get 6%+ yields with these ASX dividend shares
• Should ASX 200 banks pay more for this implicit government backstop?
• ASX big four bank shares close the day ahead as financial fears linger
• Why New Hope, Pilbara Minerals, Westpac, and Zip shares are pushing higher
• Goldman ‘remains confident in the health’ of ASX 200 bank shares and names it top pick

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Westpac Banking. 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 Westpac Banking. 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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What a great week it’s been for the New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC) share price.

The ASX 200 coal share is up 9% after dropping a great set of results for 1H FY23 earlier in the week.

This compares to a 0.2% bump for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) this week.

The miner doubled its profits and seriously upsized its dividend by 76% to a new record level.

As my colleague Bernd points out, New Hope is now paying a dividend yield of 17.6%.

That’s nuts.

The coal miner will pay an interim dividend of 30 cents per share fully franked. It will also pay a special dividend of 10 cents per share fully franked.

If you’re not currently an investor and you want a piece of those divvies, you’ll have to buy New Hope shares before the ex-dividend date.

But that’s not til 17 April.

So, if that’s your strategy, maybe it’s worth waiting to see if the New Hope share price drops back a bit following all this market exuberance this week.

By the way, that river of black gold dividends won’t be stopping there, if broker Morgans has it right.

The broker forecasts a fully franked annual dividend of $1 per share in FY23. That’s another massive 18% payout based on the current share price. It forecasts a 90-cent dividend in FY24, which is a 16% yield.

Case closed: New Hope ends the week on a high

The New Hope share price may be slightly in the red today, down 0.35%, but the company is ending the week on a positive note.

New Hope released an update today in relation to legal proceedings brought against it by the liquidators of its subsidiary companies Northern Energy Corporation (NEC) and Colton Coal.

The Supreme Court of NSW dismissed the case after the parties agreed to a settlement.

The deal will cost New Hope $38.5 million.

The company said:

Consistent with the provision raised by the Company and outlined in the Financial Statements for the half year ended 31 January 2023, the economic outflow from the Group arising from the settlement is A$38.5 million.

New Hope has denied any wrongdoing in previous statements on the matter.

What was that all about?

To recap, NEC and Colton Coal were subsidiaries of New Hope. They were placed into voluntary administration in October 2018. Creditors then appointed liquidators in July 2019.

The liquidators investigated whether there were any potential claims to be made against New Hope or the former directors and officers of the subsidiary businesses. They reportedly looked into alleged voidable transactions, insolvent trading, asset transfers, and breaches of directors’ duties.

In a statement back in March 2021, New Hope said that according to media reports that day, the liquidators had estimated the value of the claims at $174.1 million plus interest and costs.

The post Why is the New Hope share price up 9% this week? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Do New Hope shares really pay a 17.6% dividend yield?
• Passive income hack: 3 simple steps to help you get rich and retire early
• Investing in ASX 200 shares? Don’t bank on an RBA rate pause in April
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• Telstra shares: Bull vs. Bear

Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen 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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Looking for a growth share or maybe two to buy? If you are, you may want to look at the two listed below.

Here’s why these ASX growth shares are rated highly right now:

Lovisa Holdings Limited (ASX: LOV)

This fast-fashion jewellery retailer could be a top option for growth investors right now.

Morgans is very positive on the company and believes it is well-placed for growth over the long term thanks to its global expansion. Its analysts commented:

LOV continues to impress us with the rate at which it opens new stores and expands into new markets. As we have said before, LOV may just prove to be one of the biggest success stories in Australian retail. LOV is showing every sign of becoming a global brand.

The broker currently has an add rating and $28.50 price target on its shares.

Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB)

Another ASX growth share that has been named as a buy is online travel booking company Webjet.

Goldman Sachs is positive on the company. It believes Webjet has come out of the pandemic as a significantly stronger company and expects this to lead to strong earnings growth over the coming years. It commented:

We have the stock on our Conviction List as we believe WEB’s Bedbanks business offers a structural growth opportunity which is expected to drive scale benefits and see an improved cost structure with system changes and ERP upgrades which will only be realized as WEB goes through the recovery cycles. […] We note that upside remains thin on this name vs. our Target Price, but consensus expectations for group margins continue to be well below GSe for FY24/25 implying potential consensus upgrades in our view.

Goldman has a conviction buy rating and price target of $7.20 on its shares.

The post Jewellery and travel: Analysts say these ASX growth shares are buys appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Buy these 3 ASX retail shares: Morgans
• Up 8% in 2023, is right now the time to buy back into Webjet shares?
• Why analysts are very bullish on these ASX growth shares
• Here’s why experts rate these ASX 200 growth shares as buys

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 Lovisa. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Lovisa. 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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Another week, another bank collapse?

Hopefully not this week… we’ve had enough of those, thank you very much.

The RBA’s next rates call gets tougher

And it seems the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England (among others) are suitably confident that there’s no looming crisis that they actually decided to raise rates over the last couple of days.

Either that… or they’re so worried about inflation, that they’re prepared to take the risk!

In all likelihood, it’s probably some combination of both.

And that means the RBA has a tough call to make.

They want to tamp down on inflation.

And they know that if the others go, and we don’t, it’ll push the dollar down and import more inflation.

So those are the cases for increasing rates.

On the other hand, they seem concerned about ‘mixed’ data, and the million-odd fixed rate loans that will convert to variable over the next 20 months will do a lot of the heavy lifting for them – long after they’ve stopped raising rates.

I haven’t seen the month-by-month fixed-to-variable rollovers, but if they’re going to happen soon enough – and keep happening – I’d reckon that’d be enough for me to sit pat if I was in Governor’s chair. If the bulk of those rollovers are too far away, I think I’d press the ‘up’ button.

Of course, you might be surprised that Phil Lowe doesn’t consult me on rates decisions. Who’d have thought, right?

So, like the rest of the country, I’ll just wait and see. And wish him luck.

Another day, another hack

Apparently Rio Tinto Limited‘s (ASX: RIO) employee details were accessed by a hacker this week.

That’s on the back of Latitude Group Holdings’s (ASX: LFS) customer data breach last week.

And Optus, Medibank Private Ltd (ASX: MPL) and plenty more over the past few months.

This is the new normal.

I still don’t reckon companies have come to grips with what customer data they should (and shouldn’t) retail.

I still don’t reckon they’ve come to grips with the challenges of effective cybersecurity.

And I still don’t reckon governments have a good framework for preventing, dealing with, and punishing these things.

Investors? I think we should expect that any/every company we own will be hacked at some point. It’ll hurt share prices, temporarily at least. But there’s no way to know who’ll be next, so it’s a case of being ready, then grinning and bearing it.

As Spock (didn’t really) tell Captain Kirk, ‘It’s life, Jim, but not as we know it’.

We’d better get used to it.

Buy Now Pretend Later?

Good news, Australia.

We – private and public alike – are now debt free.

No, seriously.

See, Afterpay has decided that what it offers isn’t really ‘credit’ but ‘working capital’, as reported in today’s AFR.

So, I’ve taken their very impressive lead and reclassified all Australian debt – government debt, mortgage loans, bank overdrafts, credit card debt… the lot! – as working capital.

And just like that, we no longer have any debt.

You’re welcome. Take the weekend off!

(Yes, apparently they seriously said that. And yes, of course that’s absolute tripe. Well, it would be tripe, but I’ve decided that tripe isn’t really an animal’s stomach lining. It’s caviar. You’re – again – welcome.)

Quick takes

Overblown: Predictions. Especially about interest rates. People can have a view on what the RBA should do. But trying to guess what it will do is a mug’s game. The board will make its own decision, based on its own collective judgement. Predictions are a parlour game – sometimes fun, but always useless.

Underappreciated: Quality. Yes, seriously. Now, I mean proper business quality, not just what everyone agrees are ‘blue chips’ (plenty of those have done very poorly). Great businesses tend to win. And their shareholders most often do, too.

Fascinating: It’s too complex to go deeply into for this little space, but Credit Suisse bondholders got wiped out, while shareholders got (some) value for their shares. That’s the opposite of how these things are supposed to go. Why did it happen? Because the people buying bonds couldn’t imagine a scenario in which it would happen, even though it was there in the contract. Buyer beware, indeed.

Where I’ve been looking: For quality (see above). If you have a long term perspective, I reckon you should be putting quality above (almost) everything. Price matters, of course, but what if you could identify quality companies with long term growth potential, available at a decent price. That search is what I’ve been focused on this week.

Quote: “Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken” – Warren Buffett

Fool on!

The post The RBA’s job just got harder appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy now
• Little Green Pharma share price shoots 13% higher after capital raise
• Why Block, Mincor, Race Oncology, and Weebit Nano shares are sinking today
• Why is ASX All Ords healthcare share Race Oncology plummeting 10% today?
• Why Core Lithium, Estia Health, Kingsgate, and St Barbara shares are charging higher

Motley Fool contributor Scott Phillips has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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It has been another busy week for Australia’s top brokers. This has led to the release of a large number of broker notes.

Three broker buy ratings that you might want to know more about are summarised below. Here’s why brokers think these ASX shares are in the buy zone:

Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL)

According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts have retained their buy rating and $42.80 price target on this gaming technology company’s shares. This follows the company’s investor round table event. Goldman was pleased with what it heard and remains very positive on its outlook and iGaming opportunity. The Aristocrat share price is trading at $36.38 this afternoon

Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW)

A note out of Morgans reveals that its analysts have retained their add rating on the building products company’s shares with an improved price target to $26.25. This follows the release of its first-half result this week. Although its result was short of expectations, Morgans remains positive due to it trading at a sizeable discount to its net tangible assets (NTA). The broker estimates this to be $35.00 per share. And while it doesn’t expect this discount to close entirely, it sees scope for it to narrow. The Brickworks share price is fetching $22.92 today.

Readytech Holdings Ltd (ASX: RDY)

Analysts at Macquarie have resumed coverage on this enterprise software company’s shares with an outperform rating and $4.00 price target. The broker is positive on Readytech and appears to believe it can achieve its revenue target thanks to its high conviction pipeline and market share gains. The Readytech share price is trading at $3.21 on Friday afternoon.

The post Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 Brickworks and ReadyTech. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Brickworks. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended ReadyTech. 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 Little Green Pharma Ltd (ASX: LGP) share price is smokin’ hot today, up 13.2% to 22 cents on news of an oversubscribed capital raise.

The ASX All Ords cannabis share came out of a trading halt this morning after the company announced a successful $5 million institutional placement.

Let’s look into the details.

Little Green Pharma share price soaring

In a statement, Little Green Pharma said it has secured “firm commitments” for a $5 million placement.

These commitments are from new and existing institutional and sophisticated investors.

Just over 27 million new shares will be issued at a price of 18 cents per share.

The funds will be used to repay a loan note, which “refreshes the company’s balance sheet for future growth”.

Little Green Pharm hopes to reach break-even point soon by executing current and proposed supply agreements in Europe and driving more sales in Australia.

The company is also working on reducing operational costs.

Little Green Pharma CEO Fleta Solomon said:

We are confident the business’s current momentum will allow it to continue growing sales and leveraging domestic and international medicinal cannabis market opportunities.

The new Little Green Pharma shares will start trading on 31 March.

Other news nudging this ASX cannabis share higher

We first heard about the trading halt and proposed capital raise on Wednesday.

That same day Little Green Pharma announced a “strategic alliance” between its psychedelics subsidiary, Reset Mind Sciences, and Health Insurance Fund of Australia (HIF).

Reset and HIF plan to build a proof-of-concept mental health treatment facility.

The facility will provide psychedelics and psychotherapy to eligible patients.

Reset and HIF will conduct a study to help HIF decide whether to provide member coverage for the treatment.

This follows the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) down-classifying two psychedelics to enable their use in treating mental illness.

The psychedelics are MDMA for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and psilocybin for treatment-resistant major depressive disorder.

Only a psychiatrist can prescribe the psychedelics. The new rules come into effect on 1 July.

In a statement, Little Green Pharma said the TGA’s ‘down-scheduling’ of MDMA and psilocybin means Australia “will become the first market in the world to recognise psychedelics as medicines … “.

The news caused the Little Green Pharma share price to skyrocket by 46%, as we covered on the day.

Reset Mind Sciences CEO Shaun Duffy said the TGA’s decision was “truly groundbreaking”.

He elaborated:

There is a significant body of research emerging in Australia and globally for the use of psychedelics to treat mental health conditions and this decision allows the use of these drugs for the mental health conditions that have demonstrated the most potential in the research.

Last month, Little Green Pharma received Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) approval for a clinical trial in the use of psilocybin for patients with treatment-resistant depression.

The post Little Green Pharma share price shoots 13% higher after capital raise appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is having another red day on Friday. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is down 0.3% to 6,947.6 points.

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

Block Inc (ASX: SQ2)

The Block share price has crashed 19% to $88.60. Investors have been selling this payments company’s shares after it was the subject of a short seller attack. Hindenburg Research alleges that Block’s flagship Cash App product facilitates crime and lacks strong compliance controls. It also claims that Block is inflating user metrics.

Mincor Resources NL (ASX: MCR)

The Mincor share price is down 2% to $1.51. This may have been driven by a combination of profit taking from investors and a broker downgrade. In respect to the latter, the team at Bell Potter has downgraded the nickel miner’s shares to a hold rating with a $1.70 price target. It believes Wyloo Metals’ takeover approach is opportunistic.

Race Oncology Ltd (ASX: RAC)

The Race Oncology share price is down 8% to $1.84. This morning the oncology company announced a surprise change to its leadership team. Race Oncology revealed that Dr Daniel Tillett has stepped down from his roles of executive director and chief scientific officer.

Weebit Nano Ltd (ASX: WBT)

The Weebit Nano share price is down over 10% to $4.97. This has been driven by the semiconductor company completing an institutional placement this morning. Weebit Nano has raised $45 million via a fully underwritten institutional placement at a 9.7% discount of $5.00 per new share. The proceeds will be used to fund the further development and commercial roll-out of Weebit Nano’s ReRAM technology.

The post Why Block, Mincor, Race Oncology, and Weebit Nano shares are sinking today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why is ASX All Ords healthcare share Race Oncology plummeting 10% today?
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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 Block. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Block. 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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