If you’re wanting to boost your income with some dividend shares next week, then you might want to consider the ones listed below.

Here’s what you need to know about these dividend shares:

Adairs Ltd (ASX: ADH)

The first ASX dividend share for investors to look at this week is leading furniture and homewares retailer, Adairs.

Although FY 2022 has been very disappointing due to COVID-19 impacts, this weakness is only expected to be temporary. In light of this, the team at Morgans believe the recent selloff of its shares could be a buying opportunity for patient income investors. Particularly given its new national distribution centre (NDC).

It said: “In FY23, we expect Focus to have bedded down and to have started a strategy of improving store economics while expanding its footprint. We expect the NDC to be up and running and delivering efficiencies. We expect Mocka to be making its first steps towards an omni-channel strategy. These factors underpin an expectation of positive earnings growth in FY23 and FY24, which we do not think are reflected in the multiple. ADD.”

Morgans has an add rating and $3.50 price target on its shares. As for dividends, its is forecasting fully franked dividends of 19 cents per share in FY 2022 and 26 cents per share in FY 2023.

Based on the current Adairs share price of $2.90, this will mean yields of 6.55% and 8.2%, respectively, over the next couple of years.

Elders Ltd (ASX: ELD)

Another ASX dividend share for investors to look at this agribusiness company. Elders provides livestock, real estate, feed and processing, wool agency services, financial planning, and grain marketing services to rural and regional customers.

After a difficult period, Elders has recently returned to form thanks to the success of its transformation plan and acquisitions.

The good news is that Goldman Sachs expects this positive form to continue. This is due to the rationalisation of the rural services industry, margin expansion through backward integration, and the benefits of its large scale systems modernisation project.

Goldman currently has a conviction buy rating and $15.65 price target on its shares. In addition, the broker is forecasting fully franked dividends of 40 cents per share in FY 2022 and 42 cents per share in FY 2023. Based on the current Elders share price of $12.02, this will mean yields of 3.3% and 3.5%, respectively, over the next two years.

The post 2 ASX dividend with attractive yields that brokers rate as buys appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• What’s the outlook for ASX retail shares like Kogan (ASX:KGN)?
• 3 ASX shares that could get a slice of a record $81bn farm output this year
• 2 compelling ASX shares that could be buys in March 2022
• Own ASX dividend shares? Here are some of the payouts that have surprised so far this earnings season
• ‘Significant’ COVID-19-related disruptions: Adairs (ASX:ADH) share price sinks 5% following horror first-half results

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended ADAIRS FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended ADAIRS FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Elders Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV) is one of the largest exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on the ASX.

This investment is provided by Blackrock. It gives investors a number of useful benefits, which could make it worthwhile considering.

Very low fees

The IVV ETF has one of the lowest management fees of any investment product on the ASX.

Its annual management fee is just 0.04%, which is almost nothing. Plenty of active investment managers charge a fee of 1%, or even higher.

Every year, a management fee reduces an investment balance. So, the lower the better. It keeps more of the investment money in the investor’s hands, which is better for long-term net returns.

Diversification

As the name of this ETF may suggest, it has a total of 500 holdings.

That means it has 300 more holdings than the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), offering plenty of diversification.

But it’s not just the number of shares that helps the investment, but the shares it holds are also worth knowing about.

Whilst resources and financials are the biggest sectors on the ASX, in the S&P 500 it is the following four industries that have double-digit exposures: IT (27.76%), healthcare (13.55%), consumer discretionary (11.61%) and financials (11.39%).

The technology businesses get the biggest allocation in the S&P 500 ETF portfolio. They are some of the biggest companies in the world.

This ETF gives ASX investors sizeable exposure to these businesses: Apple (6.99%), Microsoft (5.99%), Amazon (3.48%), Alphabet (4.2%), Tesla (1.84%), Berkshire Hathaway (1.62%), Nvidia (1.6%) and Meta Platforms (1.3%).

Of course, there are dozens of other names in there that you may have heard of such as Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, Visa, Home Depot, Mastercard, Pfizer, Walt Disney, Coca Cola, Costco, Adobe, Salesforce, Walmart and McDonalds.

There are plenty of national, or global, leaders in the portfolio.

Returns

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.

However, the IVV ETF has done well for investors as many of the leading businesses grow profits and introduced new products to increase the long-term growth potential further.

Over the past five years the iShares S&P 500 ETF has delivered an average return per annum of 16.2%, showing the strength of the underlying businesses.

But who knows what the next few years are going to look like? But for the long-term, this ETF has pleasing attributes and investments.

The post 3 strengths of the iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX:IVV) appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Think VAS is the best ASX index fund? These ETFs have beaten it over the past decade…

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended iShares Trust – iShares Core S&P 500 ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) had a better week and recovered some of the previous week’s large losses. The benchmark index clawed back 1.6% over the period to end it at 7,110.8 points.

While a good number of shares climbed higher with the market, some rose more than most. Here’s why these were the best performing ASX 200 shares last week:

Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC)

The Whitehaven Coal share price was the best performer on the ASX 200 last week with a 25.1% gain. Investors were scrambling to buy the coal miner’s shares after coal prices surged to record highs. Demand for coal jumped materially after European countries sought alternatives to reduce their exposure to Russian natural gas.

Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL)

The Woodside share price was a strong performer and stormed 12.4% higher over the five days. Investors were bidding the energy producer’s shares higher after the Russia-Ukraine crisis sparked fears of supply constraints in an already tight market. Late in the week, oil prices climbed beyond US$100 a barrel to their highest levels since 2008.

Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC)

The Lynas share price wasn’t far behind with a gain of 12.2% last week. This appears to have been driven by rising rare earth prices and the release of a bullish broker note out of Macquarie on Monday. According to the note, the broker has retained its outperform rating and lifted its price target to $12.60. The Lynas share price ended the week at $10.74.

South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)

The South32 share price was on form and charged 11.9% higher over the period. Once again, this appears to have been driven by rising commodity prices. The aluminium price charged higher last week along with a number of other commodities that South32 has exposure to. In addition, last week Goldman Sachs retained its conviction buy rating and lifted its price target to $5.60. The South32 share price ended the week at $5.17.

The post These were the best performing ASX 200 shares last week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 ASX shares making big news this week
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week
• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• Playing limbo… Magellan (ASX:MFG) share price hits 7-year low
• 2 ASX 200 shares cracking new 52-week highs today

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

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A message from our CIO, Scott Phillips:

“G’day Fools. If you’re like us, you’re dismayed by the events taking place in Ukraine. It is an unnecessary humanitarian tragedy. Times like these remind us that money is important, but other things are far more valuable. And yet the financial markets remain open, shares are trading, and our readers and members are looking to us for guidance. So we’ll do our best to continue to serve you, while also hoping for a swift and peaceful end to war in Ukraine.”

---

It was another busy week of ASX news this week. Whilst the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues to make headlines, there were also some major ASX movements that had nothing to do with the conflict.

Here’s the lowdown on the headline-makers:

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)

The Zip share price fell more than 20% over the week.

It was a busy week for the business. Not only did it announce its FY22 half-year result, but it also announced that it was going to try to take over buy now, pay later rival Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL) for a price of 0.98 Zip shares for each Sezzle share. At the time of the offer, that represented an offer of $491 million for the whole business.

Zip also carried out a $148.7 million capital raising from institutions.

Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO)

The Core Lithium share price jumped 25% this week.

The ASX share announced that it had executed a legally binding term sheet to supply Tesla with lithium from its Finniss lithium project. It will supply up to 110kt of spodumene concentrate to Tesla over four years, with pricing referenced to the market price. Tesla will also support Core with the planned development of lithium chemical processing capacity.

Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC)

Whitehaven Coal is one of the largest coal miners in Australia. The Whitehaven share price surged around 25% higher over the week.

Coal prices have surged 40% to US$440 per tonne amid the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the sanctions and European countries like Germany looking for other energy sources.

Grange Resources Limited (ASX: GRR)

The Grange Resources share price has gone up almost 50% this week. It released its full-year result after the market had closed on Friday, so this week was the first time the market was able to react.

It reported that profit after tax grew to $321.6 million, up from $203.2 million last year. The company said the average realised product price for the iron business was $276.17 per tonne, up from $196.77.

Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN)

The Paladin Energy share price only ended the week down 4.5%, but on Friday it fell by 14.5%.

As covered by my other Motley Fool colleagues, the drop may have been caused by a Russian attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine and the plant “caught fire”. The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this could turn into a “catastrophe” and may have led to damage that was the size of six Chernobyls and would lead to “the end of Europe”

However, the fire has thankfully been extinguished, according to Reuters.

The post 5 ASX shares making big news this week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week
• Why did the Block (ASX:SQ2) share price sink 9% today?
• 2 ASX 200 shares cracking new 52-week highs today
• These 3 ASX 200 shares are topping the volume charts on Friday
• Why is the Paladin Energy (ASX:PDN) share price crashing 14% 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. owns and has recommended ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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A message from our CIO, Scott Phillips:

“G’day Fools. If you’re like us, you’re dismayed by the events taking place in Ukraine. It is an unnecessary humanitarian tragedy. Times like these remind us that money is important, but other things are far more valuable. And yet the financial markets remain open, shares are trading, and our readers and members are looking to us for guidance. So we’ll do our best to continue to serve you, while also hoping for a swift and peaceful end to war in Ukraine.”

————

COVID-19, inflation, rising interest rates, plummeting indices, and now war in Europe.

2022 is off to an awful start not just for ASX shares, but for humanity generally.

It can be hard to summon optimism in times like this. 

If you’re looking for stocks to buy at the moment, many businesses will decline to give a forecast or will reserve their judgement about how the world pans out.

But according to Prime Value portfolio manager Shih Thin Wong, there are some companies out there that will keep doing their thing — regardless of what’s happening outside its walls.

“I can’t predict when the Ukraine-Russian crisis will end — whether it has a fat tail or a number of scenarios,” he told Switzer TV Investing.

“I want to be comfortable owning companies which I think will give me earnings profile growth regardless of the macro environment.”

Bus contracts that get paid regardless of patronage

One Australian business that fits the bill, according to Wong, is Kelsian Group Ltd (ASX: KLS).

What he particularly likes about the company formerly named Sealink is its resilient contracts with local government clients.

“Those services are not dependent on passengers,” Wong said.

“Whether you’ve got one passenger or 30 passengers alighting onto the bus, Kelsian still gets paid — because they’re paid to provide essential services to the community.”

They’re also the types of contracts that will endure different parts of the economic cycle.

The other attraction for potential buyers of Kelsian shares is that Wong reckons it has been oversold in this year’s correction.

The stock has fallen more than 4% so far in 2022, but the loss is close to 30% from its August peak.

“We look at the share price, it’s probably been sold down for the last 6 months,” he said.

“But fundamentally, as a bus business, it’s really solid.”

Kelsian shares closed Friday at $7.12.

Despite the heavy losses in the second half, the stock still rated among the top 5 best ASX 200 travel shares of 2021.

The post The ASX share that’s not worried about what’s happening in the world appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week
• Own Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) shares? Here’s why the miner is ‘closely monitoring’ the Ukraine situation’
• 3 promising small cap ASX shares to watch
• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• Why is the iron ore price hitting 6-month highs?

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

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was on form last week and bounced back from the previous week’s selloff. The benchmark index rose 1.6% over the five days to end the period at 7,110.8 points.

Unfortunately, not all shares were able to climb higher with the market. Here’s why these were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week:

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)

The Zip share price was far and away the worst performer on the ASX 200 last week with a 22.2% decline. This buy now pay later provider’s shares came under pressure for a number of reasons. This includes the completion of a ~$150 million institutional placement at a 14% discount of $1.90 per new share. In addition, the market gave its decision to acquire rival Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL) a lukewarm response, while analysts at UBS downgraded the company’s shares to a sell rating and cut the price target on them by 80% to a lowly $1.00.

Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG)

The Magellan share price was under pressure again last week and dropped 12.9%. Last week the team at UBS responded to Magellan’s latest funds under management (FUM) update by retaining its sell rating and cutting its price target to $15.40. UBS has concerns over its falling FUM, which it fears won’t be helped by its flagship Global Fund being downgraded by a ratings agency.

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (ASX: URW)

The Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield share price wasn’t far behind with a 10.4% decline. On Monday this shopping centre giant revealed that a member of its Supervisory Board had sold ~580,000 euros worth of shares via an on-market trade. In other news, after the market close on Friday, it was announced that Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield would be dumped out of the ASX 200 at the next rebalance. It is possible that some fund managers were anticipating this and sold their shares ahead of the rebalance announcement.

Platinum Asset Management Ltd (ASX: PTM)

The Platinum share price was a poor performer and tumbled 9.2% over the five days. This was despite there being no news out of the fund manager. However, it is worth noting that its shares traded ex-dividend last week. In addition, at the end of the previous week, analysts at Macquarie retained their underperform rating and slashed their price target by 18%.

The post These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• Playing limbo… Magellan (ASX:MFG) share price hits 7-year low
• Why did the Block (ASX:SQ2) share price sink 9% today?
• Why Magellan, Nick Scali, Qantas, and Zip shares are tumbling today
• 5 ASX 200 shares slumping to 52-week lows 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. owns and has recommended ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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A message from our CIO, Scott Phillips:

“G’day Fools. If you’re like us, you’re dismayed by the events taking place in Ukraine. It is an unnecessary humanitarian tragedy. Times like these remind us that money is important, but other things are far more valuable. And yet the financial markets remain open, shares are trading, and our readers and members are looking to us for guidance. So we’ll do our best to continue to serve you, while also hoping for a swift and peaceful end to war in Ukraine.”

---

Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) is watching the Russian invasion of Ukraine closely as the business looks to consider what this means for its business.

The business has indirect dealings with Russia because the Rusal business has a 20% interest in the Queensland Alumina Limited (QAL) business in Australia. When sanctions were implemented in 2018, the miner also noted that it reviewed Rusal’s associated supply and offtake arrangements, bauxite sales to Rusal’s refinery in Ireland and offtake contracts for alumina that are used at Rio Tinto’s smelters.

But that was in 2018.

Right now, there is a global surge of businesses committing to end ties with Russia and its oligarchs.

Rio Tinto is being urged to look at the joint venture to ensure they are blocked from receiving any profit from Australia’s natural resources, according to reporting by The Guardian.

The newspaper quoted Dan Gocher, the director of climate and environment at the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility, who said that companies with links to Russia:

…must immediately review their relationships with companies owned or part-owned by oligarchs aligned with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The world has spoken, and the strategy now is to isolate Russia completely.

Rio Tinto’s ongoing cooperation with oligarch-owned companies legitimises Putin’s regime.

Furthermore, some of the profits from Australian alumina and oil and gas projects will end up in the hands of the people responsible for propping up Putin’s murderous regime.

What does the ASX miner make of this?

The miner is one of the largest resource businesses in the world. Global events can have effects on both its operations and investor ESG sentiment on the business.

The Guardian quoted a spokesman who said the company was:

…closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine and related sanctions. We are confident that we have appropriate structures in place to ensure QAL’s operations will not be disrupted.

Time will tell whether this actually has any impact or changes for Rio Tinto or the QAL business.

Rio Tinto share price snapshot

Since the start of 2022, the Rio Tinto share price has risen by 27%.

The post Own Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) shares? Here’s why the miner is ‘closely monitoring’ the Ukraine situation’ appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why is the iron ore price hitting 6-month highs?
• ASX 200 dives to 4-day low following Ukraine nuclear power plant crisis
• Why Core Lithium, MVP, Rio Tinto, and South32 shares are rising today
• Here’s how these top 3 ASX 200 mining shares performed in February
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Rio Tinto, South32 storm higher, PointsBet sinks

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

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As well as being home to countless blue chip shares, the Australian share market is home to a good number of promising small caps.

Three small cap shares that could be worth adding to your watchlist are listed below. Here’s what you need to know about them:

Adore Beauty Group Limited (ASX: ABY

The first small cap share to look at is Australia’s leading online beauty retailer, Adore Beauty. Although the company has come along way since being founded in a Melbourne garage in 1999, it still only has a modest slice of the Australian beauty and personal care market. This market is estimated to be worth $11.2 billion a year at present, which gives Adore Beauty a long runway for growth. Especially given the structural shift online and its growing customer base, which is approaching 1 million.

UBS remains positive on Adore Beauty. It recently retained its buy rating with a $4.70 price target.

Avita Medical Ltd (ASX: AVH

Another small cap ASX share to look at is Avita Medical. It is a global regenerative medicine company best known for its Recell system. This is a spray-on skin treatment used for burns victims. It is also looking to use its system to treat vitiligo and is working on an interesting project with Houston Methodist Research Institute. That project is essentially looking for the fountain of youth by finding a way to reverse cellular ageing.

Bell Potter is positive on the company. It has a speculative buy rating and $4.60 price target on its shares.

Mach7 Technologies Ltd (ASX: M7T

A final small cap ASX share to watch is Mach7. It is a medical imaging data management solutions provider that allows users to create a clear and complete view of the patient. Operators then use this to help them inform diagnosis, reduce care delivery delays and costs, and improve patient outcomes. It appears well-placed for the future, particularly given how demand for this type of software continues to grow thanks to industry tailwinds such as telehealth.

Morgans is a fan of the company. It currently has an add rating and $1.55 price target on the company’s shares.

The post 3 promising small cap ASX shares to watch appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 ASX growth shares analysts say have 40%+ upside
• Avita Medical (ASX:AVH) share price soars 23% as earnings stage a comeback
• Top ASX shares to buy in March 2022
• Analysts are tipping massive upside potential for these ASX growth shares
• Is now the time to buy these 2 beaten-up ASX shares in March 2022?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Avita Medical Limited and MACH7 FPO. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Adore Beauty Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Adore Beauty Group Limited, Avita Medical Limited, and MACH7 FPO. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Today, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) walked back some of its gains made throughout the week amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine’s largest nuclear power plant. At the end of the session, the benchmark index finished 0.57% lower at 7,110.8 points.

Only two sectors were able to move meaningfully higher during the final session of the week. In a day of uncertainty, investors tended to lean towards more defensive areas of the market, including consumer staples and utilities. In contrast, money was flowing away from hard-hit sectors such as tech shares and retail.

However, the question is: which shares managed to stay in the green on the ASX today? Here are the top ten stocks that pulled through for investors:

Top 10 ASX shares countdown today

Looking at the top 200 listed companies, Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) was the biggest gainer today. Shares in the gold mining company rallied 2.77% as producers of the precious commodity continue to benefit from a rush to, quote on quote, safe havens. Find out more about Newcrest Mining here.

The next biggest gaining ASX share today was Yancoal Australia Ltd (ASX: YAL). The coal producer continues to hit new 52-week highs as countries grapple with finding alternative energy sources outside of Russia. Shares in the company rose 2.74% in another green showing. Uncover the latest Yancoal Australia details here.

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

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM)	$26.02	2.77%
Yancoal Australia Ltd (ASX: YAL)	$4.88	2.74%
Cromwell Property Group (ASX: CMW)	$0.87	2.35%
Meridian Energy Ltd (ASX: MEZ)	$4.80	2.35%
Incitec Pivot Ltd (ASX: IPL)	$3.28	2.18%
Atlas Arteria (ASX: ALX)	$6.43	2.06%
Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW)	$34.81	2.05%
Lendlease Group (ASX: LLC)	$10.32	1.78%
Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST)	$10.12	1.71%
APM Human Services International Ltd (ASX: APM)	$2.90	1.40%

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

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

More reading

• Playing limbo… Magellan (ASX:MFG) share price hits 7-year low
• ASX 200 dives to 4-day low following Ukraine nuclear power plant crisis
• 5 ASX 200 shares slumping to 52-week lows on Friday
• Why Infomedia, Newcrest, Piedmont Lithium, and Woolworths shares are rising today
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Block, Zip tumble, QBE’s asset sale

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

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The price of iron ore surged on Friday amid news China’s strict COVID-19 elimination strategy could soon be relaxed.

That could make way for a surge of infrastructure growth in the nation, which would likely, in turn, increase demand for iron ore.

Of course, that would be good news for producers of the metal such as ASX shares BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO), and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX: FMG).

Let’s take a closer look at the news that boosted the commodity’s price today.

What drove the iron ore price higher today?

China is getting ready to reopen, with plans to scrap parts of its COVID-zero policy in select areas over summer (June to August), according to reporting by the Wall Street Journal.

Following the initial relaxing, a widespread reduction in China’s suppression strategy could begin in spring, sources told the publication.

The country is then expected to return to a more normal reality next year.

China is the world’s biggest importer of iron ore. Thus, an end to its COVID-19 strategy could see it demanding more of the steel-making material.

The iron ore price hit its highest point in six months – US$161.20 per tonne – on Friday, according to the Australian Financial Review (AFR).

Early last month, The Motley Fool Australia reported on the outlook for iron ore producers according to Randal Jenneke, head of Australian equities at T. Rowe Price.

Janneke believes, after the Chinese market fell in 2021, recovery-fuelled growth in China will drive the iron ore price this year.

And such growth was seemingly made evident recently. China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 50.2 in February.

The PMI outlines the health of the nation’s manufacturing sector. Any result above 50 reflects growth in the sector, while results below 50 indicate contractions.

Finally, there could be more good news for the iron ore price next week.

All eyes will be on China over the weekend as the nation’s ‘Two Sessions’ meetings begin.

The meetings will see China’s key economic targets for the year ahead revealed, as well as other important matters, reports Reuters.

The post Why is the iron ore price hitting 6-month highs? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 dives to 4-day low following Ukraine nuclear power plant crisis
• Why BHP (ASX:BHP) is ‘having its time in the sun’: expert
• To infinity and beyond! Here’s why Fortescue (ASX:FMG) is spending $50m developing a brand new toy
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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 Bruce Jackson.

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