On Wednesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was back on form and pushed higher. The benchmark index rose 0.3% to 8,696.5 points.

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

ASX 200 expected to drop

It looks set to be a tough session for Australian investors on Thursday following a disappointing night on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 63 points or 0.7% lower this morning. In the United States, the Dow Jones fell 1.2%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.45%, and the Nasdaq was a fraction lower.

ASX 200 shares going ex-dividend

A number of ASX 200 shares are going ex-dividend this morning and could trade lower. This includes A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M), Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT), South32 Ltd (ASX: S32), and West African Resources Ltd (ASX: WAF). Flight Centre is rewarding its shareholders with a 30 cents per share fully franked dividend next month on 16 October.

Oil prices tumble

ASX 200 energy shares Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) could have a poor session after oil prices pulled back overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 3.5% to US$102.07 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is down 3% to US$105.62 a barrel. This follows reports that Saudi Arabia’s damaged pipeline will restart in the coming days.

Dyno Nobel on watch

Dyno Nobel Ltd (ASX: DNL) shares will be on watch today after the explosives company released an investor update. The company revealed that it is performing positively in FY 2026 and is on track to achieve its group guidance for a net profit after tax (before one-offs) of $325 million to $340 million. It also believes it is on track to deliver on its $600 million EBIT ambition in FY 2028. 

Gold price falls

It could be a subdued day for ASX 200 gold shares Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) on Thursday after the gold price fell overnight. According to CNBC, the gold futures price is down 0.7% to US$4,302.2 an ounce. Traders were selling gold after the US Federal Reserve lifted interest rates.

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

More reading

• How much superannuation is enough to retire with a $50,000 income?
• Want the age pension? Here’s the new asset limit you can’t exceed
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Santos, Ramsay Health Care, and AMP shares reach new 52-week highs: Can they keep climbing?
• The ASX 200 is finally rising. Is the sell-off running out of steam?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Woodside Energy Group Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Flight Centre Travel Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Superannuation provides a strong foundation for retirement. However pairing it with high yield ASX dividend stocks is a great way to diversify your income streams, generate additional passive income and potentially build greater financial security over the long term. 

By investing in established companies with a history of paying dividends, investors can potentially benefit from both regular income and long-term capital growth.

The average dividend yield for ASX 300 shares sits at approximately 3.5%. 

This acts as a solid benchmark for dividend investors and retirees to match or beat through ASX dividend stocks. 

Here are three options right now that can help provide passive income alongside superannuation. 

Centuria Industrial REIT (ASX: CIP)

Centuria Industrial REIT is a real estate investment trust that owns around four billion dollars of industrial properties. These include manufacturing facilities, distribution warehouses, and data centres.

As Australia’s largest pure-play industrial property investment vehicle, it has gained a reputation as a high yielding stock. 

It may appeal to income-focused investors because it provides exposure to Australia’s industrial property sector while generating regular rental income from its portfolio. 

It also offers quarterly distributions, providing a more consistent income flow than other stocks. 

The trust also benefits from a portfolio of industrial properties leased to tenants across Australia, with high occupancy and relatively long lease terms supporting the underlying rental income.

At the time of writing it offers a dividend yield of approximately 6%. 

Atlas Arteria Ltd (ASX: ALX)

Atlas Arteria is another option for income investors to consider.

The company provides exposure to a portfolio of long-term infrastructure assets, including major toll roads in France, Germany and the United States. 

The group’s toll-road concessions generate recurring revenue from motorists using these assets, providing a foundation for distributions to investors. 

It is expected to maintain its distribution at 40 cents per share, in line with current-year guidance, which equates to a yield of over 8%. 

BetaShares Australian Top 20 Equities Yield Maximiser Complex ETF (ASX: YMAX)

An alternative to individual ASX dividend stocks is an ASX ETF focused on generating high yields. 

One option is this Betashares fund.

It aims to generate attractive monthly income and reduce the volatility of portfolio returns by implementing an equity income investment strategy over a portfolio of the 20 largest blue-chip shares listed on the ASX. 

This monthly distribution is a great vehicle for passive income for retirees. 

It currently has a 12-month gross distribution yield of over 9%, making it one of the highest-yielding funds available right now. 

The post 3 ASX dividend stocks to provide passive income through retirement  appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• How much superannuation do I need to earn $70,000 per year in passive income?
• 2 ASX blue-chip shares offering big dividend yields
• How much is needed in superannuation to target a $6,500 monthly passive income?
• 3 ASX shares with dividend yields of between 6% and 11%
• How much superannuation do I need to earn $80,000 per year in passive income?

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Bell 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.

Nextdc vs Megaport shares: Which ASX tech growth share looks better?

If you’re exploring fast-growing tech stocks on the ASX, there’s a fair chance that Nextdc Ltd (ASX: NXT) and Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) are on your radar. Both are data and connectivity specialists, but their businesses, growth profiles, and market appeal have some key differences. Here’s how I see Nextdc vs Megaport shares stacking up for investors looking for high-growth exposure to digital infrastructure.

The case for Nextdc

Nextdc is a leader in building and operating data centres across Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia. Its business focuses on co-location services—providing secure spaces, power, cooling, and connectivity for clients to house their servers. Customers can interconnect with each other, as well as global cloud companies and telcos. With more than 1,700 customers as of December 2022, Nextdc enables enterprises of all sizes to boost data security and transfer speeds, all while providing extra options for technical and project support.

A couple of key things jump out at me here:

• Market leadership and scale: With a market cap of $8.54 billion and a huge customer base, Nextdc is a giant in its field domestically.
• Consistent revenue base: While revenue figures aren’t quoted, the physical infrastructure and ‘sticky’ customer relationships suggest recurring income, which I like for business stability.
• Profitability: Nextdc is profitable, posting positive earnings per share of $0.122 and a (lofty) P/E of 95.98.

But, it’s important to point out that the company doesn’t pay a dividend and has actually delivered a negative year-to-date (YTD) return of -5.05%.

The case for Megaport

Megaport is a different kind of tech play. Instead of owning data centres, Megaport is a global network-as-a-service provider, connecting clients to over 1,100 data centres across 31 countries. Its tech lets customers connect to Amazon Web Services, Azure, Google Cloud, and dozens of other cloud platforms quickly, flexibly, and with no long-term lock-ins. Megaport expanded in late 2025 by acquiring Latitude.sh, pushing into on-demand cloud compute and AI GPU infrastructure. Its operations now span the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and EMEA, with a dedicated Compute arm.

Here’s what stands out to me about Megaport:

• Rapid global growth: The company’s reach and ability to provide on-demand, flexible cloud connections is unique among local peers.
• Not (yet) profitable: Megaport still has negative earnings per share (-$0.218).
• Impressive share price momentum: MP1’s year-to-date return is a massive 39.09%—a big contrast with Nextdc.

Dividends are again off the table, with both companies focused squarely on growth.

Valuation comparison

There’s a clear difference in how the market values these two, reflecting their place on the growth–profitability spectrum:

Metric	Nextdc	Megaport
Market Cap	$8.54b	$4.00b
P/E Ratio	95.98	–
EPS	0.122	-0.218
Dividend Yield	0.00%	0.00%
Year-to-Date Return	-5.05%	39.09%

Nextdc is much larger, is profitable (albeit with rich pricing), and trades at a lower P/E. Megaport is far more expensive on a P/E basis, unprofitable, but clearly has the market excited about its expansion and growth prospects.

Recent share price performance

Looking at closing prices as of 15 September 2026 (not live data), there’s a stark difference:

• Nextdc has fallen from $13.81 at the end of August to $11.24—as much as a 4% drop in a single day, and a clear downtrend over these weeks.
• Megaport has shown some volatility, but after a big dip mid-month, quickly bounced and sits at $16.79, up from $16.54 at end of August and up a whopping 39% for the year-to-date. The recent days included an 8.3% one-day fall, but this was swiftly offset by a 2.7% bounce.

I can see investors have recently flocked to Megaport much more enthusiastically than Nextdc.

Which is the better buy?

Comparing Nextdc vs Megaport shares, I’d lean toward Megaport right now if I had to pick just one. Here’s why: its revenue growth and commercial momentum look stronger, even though it’s not yet profitable. Nextdc is solid and profitable but losing momentum, and its negative YTD return is a worry for a growth stock. That said, paying up for Megaport means accepting a lot of future risk—it’s priced for exceptional growth and any slip could hurt. But purely on growth and market momentum, my pick would be Megaport, with the caveat that it’s not for those wanting value or stability.

The post Nextdc vs Megaport: Which ASX tech growth share comes out on top? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• 2 ASX 200 shares tipped by brokers to return 73% and 83%
• Down 32%: 3 reasons to buy the BIG dip in NextDC shares today
• Experts name 3 top ASX shares to buy this week
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday

Motley Fool contributor Laura Stewart 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, Megaport, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips. This article was prepared with the assistance of Large Language Model (LLM) tools for the initial draft. Any content assisted by AI is subject to our robust human-in-the-loop quality control framework, involving thorough review, substantial editing, and fact-checking by our experienced writers and editors holding appropriate credentials. The Motley Fool Australia stands behind the work of our editorial team and takes ultimate responsibility for the content published by The Motley Fool Australia.