On Thursday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was back on form and charged higher. The benchmark index rose 0.8% to 6,648 points.

Will the market be able to build on this on Friday and end the week on a high? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to rise again

The Australian share market looks set to end the week on a positive note following a strong night of trade on Wall Street.  According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open 52 points or 0.8% higher this morning. In the United States, the Dow Jones rose 1.1%, the S&P 500 climbed 1.5%, and the Nasdaq stormed 2.3% higher.

Oil prices rebound

Energy producers including Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) could have a good finish to the week after oil prices rebounded. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 3.7% to US$102.24 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 3.4% to US$104.13 a barrel. Supply concerns offset recession fears and drove prices higher.

Chalice rated as a buy

The Chalice Mining Ltd (ASX: CHN) share price could be great value according to analysts at Bell Potter. According to a note, the broker has retained its speculative buy rating and $11.10 price target on the mineral exploration company’s shares. Bell Potter believes recent drilling results at the Dampier target are exciting. It said: “These results are a very exciting development for CHN and are the strongest indication yet of further mineralisation at Julimar and for potential repeats of the Gonneville deposit.”

Gold price edges higher

Gold miners Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) and St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) will be on watch after the gold price edged higher overnight. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is up 0.15% to US$1,739.10 an ounce. The gold price was boosted by a softer US dollar.

Pro Medicus shares upgraded

The Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME) share price is now around fair value according to analysts at Goldman Sachs. The has upgraded its shares to neutral from sell with a $42.90 price target. Goldman is bullish on its AI opportunity in radiology. It said: “Although still early days, we believe PME is better positioned than most to commercialise AI, as integration with its established Visage 7 Viewer provides a strong differentiation to the competition.”

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

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More reading

• What’s the outlook for ASX 200 dividend shares in FY23?
• Could rising rates hurt ASX 200 bank shares in the longer run?
• It’s been a crazy year for Core Lithium shares so far. What’s next?
• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Thursday

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

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If you’re wanting to build a strong portfolio, owning a few blue chips could be a good starting point.

Blue chips are generally large companies that have been operating for many years, have stable cash flows, and experienced management teams. This tends to make them lower risk options and a good foundation to build a portfolio from.

But which blue chip shares should you consider buying? Two that analysts rate highly are listed below:

CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)

The first blue chip ASX 200 share to look at is leading biotechnology company CSL.

It is the name behind the CSL Behring plasma therapies business and the Seqirus vaccine business. In addition, the company is in the process of acquiring Vifor Pharma for $16.4 billion.

Vifor Pharma has a focus on iron deficiency, nephrology, and cardio-renal therapies. It also has a research and development (R&D) pipeline that complements CSL’s existing R&D activities and should be supportive of long term growth.

Citi is bullish on the company and has a buy rating and $330.00 price target on its shares. It said:

With plasma collections now back to pre-pandemic levels, we expect the market to shift its focus to the strong underlying plasma product demand. This should lead to strength in the CSL share price.

Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES)

Another ASX 200 blue chip share that could be a top option for investors is Wesfarmers.

It is the company behind retail brands such as Bunnings, Kmart, and Priceline Pharmacy, and a collection of chemicals businesses. Combined with its strong management team and equally strong balance sheet, which provides further M&A opportunities, the future looks bright for Wesfarmers.

Morgans certainly believes that to be the case. So much so, it has add rating with a price target of $58.40. It commented:

We continue to see WES as a long-term, core portfolio holding with a strong mix of businesses, highly regarded management team and a healthy balance sheet.

The post Analysts name 2 ASX 200 blue chip shares to buy appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• What’s the outlook for ASX 200 dividend shares in FY23?
• 5 worst ASX energy shares of FY22
• Here’s how ASX healthcare shares performed in FY22
• Analysts name 2 excellent ASX dividend shares for income investors to buy
• Beating the benchmark: Why this broker is betting on the CSL share price for outperformance

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 CSL Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Wesfarmers Limited. 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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Exchange traded funds (ETFs) continue to grow in popularity with investors and it isn’t hard to see why.

ETFs give investors easy access to a large number of different shares that they wouldn’t ordinarily have access to. This can be a great way to invest diversely on a limited budget.

With that in mind, listed below are two ETFs that could be top options for investors today:

Betashares Global Sustainability Leaders ETF (ASX: ETHI)

The Betashares Global Sustainability Leaders ETF could be an ETF to consider. This popular ETF gives investors exposure to large global stocks that have been identified as “Climate Leaders.”

BetaShares highlights that the ETF brings together positive climate leadership screens with a broad set of ESG criteria. It feels this offers investors a true-to-label ethical investment solution. Among the shares that you’ll be investing in are the likes of Adobe, Apple, Home Depot, Nvidia, Toyota, and Visa.

Shaw and Partners’ Felicity Thomas is a fan of this ETF and recently rated it as a buy. She told Livewire: “This is one of my favourites, so it’s definitely a buy for me. I really like that they do positive carbon screening.”

Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS)

Another ETF for investors to consider is the Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF.

It is one of the most popular ETFs on the Australian share market. That’s not overly surprising given that the Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF provides investors with exposure to over 1,500 of the world’s largest listed companies. All through just a single investment. This makes it a great way to instantly diversify a portfolio.

Among the companies you’ll be owning a slice of with this ETF are giants such as Apple, Johnson & Johnson, Nestle, Procter & Gamble, and Visa.

The post Here are 2 top ETFs to boost your portfolio appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Here are 2 top ETFs for ASX investors next week
• What dividend yield is the Vanguard MSCI Index ETF offering to ASX investors?
• What do you get when you invest in the VGS ETF?
• 3 popular ETFs for ASX investors to buy now
• 3 ASX ETFs for investors to buy next week

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 Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Imugene Limited (ASX: IMU) share price has steamed ahead in the past week following positive media coverage and the appointment of a new executive director.

Imugene shares have soared 33% since market close on 30 June and are now trading at 24 cents.

So why has the Imugene share price soared higher this week?

New executive scientist

Imugene is an immuno-oncology company developing treatments to activate the immune system of cancer patients.

Early this week, Imugene advised it has appointed a new executive director and clinical scientist.

Dr Sharon Yavrom, with close to 20 years of industry experience, has now commenced in the role. She has taken the lead role in multiple clinical trials for cancer treatments in the past.

Commenting on the appointment, managing director and CEO Leslie Chong said:

We are excited to welcome Sharon to the Imugene management team. She is a well-respected and highly skilled clinical scientist.

Her experience with emerging pharmaceutical companies and oncology therapeutics makes her an ideal addition to our leadership team as we bring our clinical pipeline to fruition.

Imugene also received positive coverage on Sydney’s 2GB radio this week. Chong spoke to the outlet about its immunotherapy for stomach cancer. She highlighted that the treatment increased survival rates in patients. Speaking on the trial, she told 2GB:

It most certainly was a success…we have a patient that is going on 900 days of living.

On 27 June, the company reported the results of a phase 2 trial for the use of HER-Vaxx to treat advanced gastric cancer. The trial showed a median overall survival of 13.9 months for patients treated with HER-Vaxx and chemotherapy. This compared to a survival rate of just 8.3 months in those patients who only received chemotherapy treatment.

Imugene share price snapshot

Imugene shares have lost 28% in the past year, however, they have jumped 41% in the past month.

In comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has shed nearly 10% in the past year.

Imugene has a market capitalisation of about $1.4 billion based on its current share price.

The post Up 33% in a week, what’s helping the Imugene share price higher? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• ASX 200 midday update: Regis Resources jump, big four banks fall ahead of RBA meeting
• Why Carsales, EOS, Imugene, and Tyro shares are sinking today
• ASX 200 midday update: Carsales sinks, Liontown jumps on Ford agreements
• Why Appen, BWX, Imugene, and Wesfarmers shares are dropping
• ASX 200 midday update: Tech shares tumble, Collins Foods jumps

Motley Fool contributor Monica O’Shea has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has 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 last six months has seen ASX share market volatility flare up. Are things looking up for S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) dividend shares, or is there worse to come?

There are plenty of businesses in the ASX 200 known for paying large dividends.

Names like BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO), National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB), Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ), Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) may spring to mind.

Some readers may have realised that these are many of the largest businesses on the ASX.

On the whole, the ASX 200 is known for paying a larger dividend yield than many other indices.

So let’s have a look at the outlook for some of these segments of the market.

Banks

The big four ASX banks have a large collective position in the ASX 200.

In the context of rising interest rates, it’s widely expected that central banks increasing rates will help bank net interest margins (NIMs).

The NIM is an essential bank profitability measure because it shows how much profit a bank is making compared to the cost of that funding money. One of the main costs for banks is the interest they pay to savers with savings accounts.

However, while the NIM may rise, some brokers such as Macquarie suggest that banks could suffer from lower lending growth as well as higher bad debt charges.

But, brokers like Macquarie do think that the big four ASX banks can grow the dividend over the next couple of financial years.

Resources

The outlook for each commodity and ASX mining share can be different. But, miners can generate strong cash flow, turning them into leading ASX 200 dividend shares.

However, the future may be becoming a bit more uncertain for BHP, Fortescue and Rio Tinto as the iron ore price falls, with Chinese demand seemingly not coming back strongly (yet) after the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Some brokers like UBS are not convinced. UBS is neutral on Rio Tinto and BHP, with price targets implying there won’t be material capital growth over the next 12 months. It is neutral on Fortescue as well, though the price target is $18.70 – this is a potential upside of around 10%.

Inflation and interest rates

The investment environment has become trickier with inflation and supply chain difficulties impacting many areas of the economy, while interest rate hikes can have negative impacts on asset values.

It will be interesting to see what happens next, though there are other ASX 200 dividend shares I’d be personally more interested in including Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) and Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS).

The post What’s the outlook for ASX 200 dividend shares in FY23? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Could rising rates hurt ASX 200 bank shares in the longer run?
• It’s been a crazy year for Core Lithium shares so far. What’s next?
• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• Fortescue share price lifts with Australia’s record high trade surplus
• Why did the Telstra share price beat the market in FY22?

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has positions in Fortescue Metals Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Telstra Corporation Limited and Wesfarmers Limited. 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 Scott Phillips.

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S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) bank shares have been flying high on investor radars since the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) changed its tune on the timing and pace of interest rate rises early this year.

While ASX 200 bank shares haven’t been immune to the wider selling pressures impacting markets this year, they’ve held up far better than the average.

All four of the big banks are slightly back in the green in 2022, while the ASX 200 remains down almost 13%.

Drilling into the price action this week, here’s how the banks stacked up to the benchmark index following the RBA’s latest 0.50% increase, announced at 2:30pm AEST on Tuesday. 

ASX 200 banks outperforming since Tuesday’s rate hike

At the time of writing, since 2:30 on Tuesday:

• The ASX 200 is up 0.3%
• Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares are up 1.9%
• The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) share price is up 3.3%
• Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) shares are up 1.7%
• The National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price is up 2.1%

While that’s encouraging early data for ASX 200 bank shares, dig a little deeper and you’ll find that higher rates can both help and hinder their outlook.

What the experts are saying

On the plus side for ASX 200 bank shares, while all have passed on the RBA’s rate hike to their variable rate holders, they’ve been slower to boost the interest paid on deposit accounts, focusing first on boosting longer-term deposits while leaving rates on transaction accounts in the cellar, for now.

Commenting on the interest rate hikes, Jarden chief economist Carlos Cacho believes it’s a bonus for ASX 200 bank shares, at least in the shorter term.

According to Cacho (courtesy of The Australian):

I think definitely in the near term it’s a big positive. We’ve obviously seen the banks be pretty fast at putting the rate hikes through to the variable rate mortgages … you’re definitely going to see a positive margin expansion in the near term.

On the deposit side we’re seeing pretty selective deposit repricing so far from the majors. The repricing of term deposits has so far been focused on the less popular long-dated ones, so think things like the 12 month-plus term deposits. You haven’t really seen much repricing in the three to six-month products which tend to be more popular, so that’s going to give them a tailwind.

Morgan Stanley also highlighted the better margins as a positive for ASX 200 bank shares, for now (quoted by The Australian):

Higher cash rates and the steep yield curve are shaping up as drivers of a meaningful margin tailwind for the banks. However, the potential for a shift in the deposit mix from low-cost transaction accounts back to higher-cost term deposits and an increase in term deposit rates relative to the cash rate are likely headwinds.

Over the longer term, there are also concerns that the Aussie house market will slow under the pressure of higher rates, reducing loan originations for the banks.

Then there’s the competition amongst the ASX 200 banks that could see them come under some pressure.

“Competition in mortgages is going to be pretty intense; we’re going to start seeing, over time, that competition in the deposit space is going to increase,” Cacho said. “I think probably surprises above expectations at the margin, but then going into next year we’re probably seeing a bit of that potentially being given back or being offset by higher competition.” 

The post Could rising rates hurt ASX 200 bank shares in the longer run? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• It’s been a crazy year for Core Lithium shares so far. What’s next?
• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Thursday
• These ASX 200 mining shares are bouncing back on Thursday
• ASX 200 midday update: Chalice Mining jumps, Zip sinks on bearish broker note

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 recommended Westpac Banking Corporation. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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A single word is all that is needed to sum up the year that Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) shares have had in 2022 thus far: Crazy. It’s been a crazy year for this ASX 200 lithium share, no two ways about it.

This ASX lithium stock started 2022 at a share price of 63 cents. Today, it has closed at 95 cents a share, up a pleasing 51% year to date. However, Core Lithium was trading far higher just a few months ago.

Back in April, this company hit an all-time high of $1.68 per share. That means that even though Core Lithium shares are up 51% year to date, they are also down more than 40% from that high watermark.

The craziness continues if we dig even deeper.

The incredible volatility that Core Lithium shares have endured over the year so far has extended into recent weeks. Over June alone, Core Lithium lost 31.4% of its value.

So what might be next for this eye-catching share now that we are in July?

What’s next for the Core Lithium share price?

Well, as you might have gathered from that rundown of Core Lithium’s 2022 performance, this is not an easy share to make predictions on.

But much of the woes this company has seen over the past month seem to have been sparked by concerns over the price of lithium itself.

Early last month, we covered how ASX broker Goldman Sachs declared “the battery metals bull market … over for now“. Goldman stated that it sees “prices on a downward trajectory over the course of the next two years, with a sharp correction in lithium …”.

This bearish statement sent Core Lithium shares tumbling, among many others.

Lithium stocks have also been hit by the weakness of the ASX share market in general. June was not a pleasant month for ASX shares, with the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) losing 8.9%.

Lithium shares tend to be placed on the pointy end of the ‘risk-on’ spectrum of ASX shares by investors. Thus, they often (but not always) outperform the market on good days, but underperform on bad days. So it’s perhaps no surprise to see that Core Lithium had a terrible month.

But if the market has a cracking July, we could well see a significant bounceback in the Core Lithium share price. So if an investor is a keen follower of Core Lithium shares, it might be worth keeping an eye on lithium prices themselves, as well as what the broader market is doing, over the rest of the month.

At the current Core Lithium share price, this ASX lithium stock has a market capitalisation of $1.64 billion.

The post It’s been a crazy year for Core Lithium shares so far. What’s next? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Thursday
• These ASX 200 mining shares are bouncing back on Thursday
• ASX 200 midday update: Chalice Mining jumps, Zip sinks on bearish broker note
• 5 best ASX All Ords mining shares in FY22

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

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The A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) share price was out of form again in the 2022 financial year.

During the 12 months, the struggling infant formula company’s shares dropped 27%.

This meant that the A2 Milk share price had lost almost 80% of its value over the last two years.

What happened to the A2 Milk share price in FY22?

Investors were selling down the A2 Milk share price after its miserable performance continued.

The selling pressure began in August when the company released its full-year results and reported a 30% decline in revenue to NZ$1.21 billion.

Things were even worse for its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), which fell 77.6% year on year to NZ$123 million. This earnings result includes the impact of a massive NZ$109 million write-down of inventory after some very poor inventory management.

And while this very costly write-down has sorted out its inventory issues, it hasn’t stopped its sales and earnings from continuing to decline during the current financial year.

In February, A2 Milk released its half-year results and revealed a 2.5% decline in revenue to NZ$661 million and a 45.3% decline in EBITDA to NZ$98 million. Management blamed its poor performance on a number of factors, including the lower birth rate and rapidly changing market dynamics in China.

And while it believes that its revenue could be stronger in the second half, this won’t necessarily lead to stronger earnings.

A2 Milk’s outlook statement said:

The Company’s outlook for 2H22 revenue has improved. It is still expected to be significantly higher than 2H21, and with growth now expected on 1H22 and for FY22, ahead of initial expectations due mainly to growth in China label and English label IMF. However, this revenue improvement is not expected to translate into higher earnings as the Company significantly increases brand and other reinvestment consistent with its growth strategy.

Next month’s full-year results certainly will be one of the more interesting releases.

The post Here’s why the A2 Milk share price crashed 27% lower in FY22 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• What percentage of A2 Milk shares are owned by institutions?
• 9 ASX 200 shares now trading at ‘significant discounts’: broker
• Why A2 Milk, Bubs, Evolution, and Zip shares are rising despite the selloff
• Here’s why the A2 Milk share price is defying the market selloff on Friday

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 A2 Milk. 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) poised a recovery today, driven by materials shares. The index was 0.81% higher at 6,648.0 points at the closing bell.

The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) brought the market’s biggest gains on Thursday, lifting more than 2%. That came despite commodity prices continuing to retreat overnight.

Iron ore futures slipped 1% during Wednesday’s session overseas to reach US$112.33 a tonne. Meanwhile, copper and nickel fell 2% and 3.6% respectively and gold futures slumped 1.6% to US$1,736.50 an ounce.

Meanwhile, ASX 200 industrial and tech shares suffered as their respective sectors plunged lower. The S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ) fell 0.8% while the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) slid 0.5%.

The latter was likely weighed down by rising bond yields. US 10-year yields rose to near 2.93% overnight.

At the end of today’s session, four of the ASX 200’s 11 sectors were in the green.

All that considered, let’s take a gander at which stocks came in as the top 10 best performing ASX shares on Thursday.

Top 10 ASX shares countdown

Looking at the 200 biggest ASX shares by market capitalisation, one stood out as a clear winner today.

The Chalice Mining Ltd (ASX: CHN) share price launched 6.6% on the back of exploration results. Find out more about what Chalice has been up to here.  

And coming in second-best was Link Administration Holdings Ltd (ASX: LNK). Its share price gained 6.1% after a suitor increased its takeover offer for the company. Read more about the takeover bid’s evolution here.

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

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
Chalice Mining Ltd (ASX: CHN)	$4.00	6.67%
Link Administration Holdings Ltd (ASX: LNK)	$4.065	6.14%
South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)	$3.695	4.67%
Boral Limited (ASX: BLD)	$2.63	4.37%
HUB24 Ltd (ASX: HUB)	$23.02	3.83%
Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO)	$96.93	3.81%
Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG)	$17.10	3.76%
Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE)	$9.96	3.75%
Eagers Automotive Ltd (ASX: APE)	$10.58	3.42%
Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN)	$44.28	3.24%

Data as at 3:59 pm AEST.

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.

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More reading

• Fortescue share price lifts with Australia’s record high trade surplus
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Thursday
• 5 worst ASX energy shares of FY22
• Is now the time to be buying beaten down ASX 200 mining shares?
• Why Chalice Mining, Damstra, Link, and Pinnacle shares are storming higher

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 Hub24 Ltd and Link Administration Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Hub24 Ltd. 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 was a mildly positive day for ASX shares on Thursday. At the closing bell, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) had risen by a decent 0.8% to just over 6,830 points. But it was a bit more of a mixed bag for ASX coal shares.

The ASX’s largest pure-play coal share – Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) – had a corker. It finished up a healthy 1.7% at $4.73 a share.

But other coal shares weren’t as fortunate. Take New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC). New Hope shares took a 1.43% tumble back to $3.44.

But that stands in stark contrast to Yancoal Australia Ltd (ASX: YAL). It even beat Whitehaven, rising by a pleasing 3.99% to $4.95 a share at the close.

So why this mixed bag? Well, it’s not clear. But we did get some significant news today that covers all ASX coal shares. And it’s news that one would think would give investors in this space a surge of confidence.

ABS data shows ASX coal shares’ exports are surging

According to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today, Australia’s trade surplus has widened considerably. The surplus increased by $2.717 billion over May to reach a total of $15.965 billion.

The country’s trade surplus (or deficit) is determined by the total value of the nation’s exports, minus the value of its imports. A trade surplus means we are exporting more than we are importing (a deficit being the opposite).

Imports rose by 5.8% to $42.44 billion over May, driven mainly by higher fuel costs, but exports surged by even more, up 9.5% to $58.4 billion. The ABS tells us that this rise was propelled by “rises in exports of coal, coke and briquettes and other mineral fuels”.

Indeed, reporting from the Australian Financial Review (AFR) reveals that “in dollar terms the value of coal exports were larger than the value of iron ore exports in May for the first time since April 2009”, largely thanks to surging coal prices in the wake of the war in Ukraine.

This is obviously fairly momentous news for ASX coal shares. One might think that topping iron ore in exports for the first time in 23 years might be good news for ASX coal share prices. But it seems the good news only flowed through to some ASX coal shares on the market today. Go figure.

The post Becoming Australia’s biggest export failed to ignite ASX coal shares today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why I think these 2 ASX All Ords shares are at bargain prices in July
• 5 worst ASX energy shares of FY22
• 2 appealing ASX All Ords growth shares getting discounted today
• 5 best ASX All Ords mining shares in FY22
• Whitehaven share price takes off despite climate legal challenge

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

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