On Thursday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) fought hard to grind out a small gain. The benchmark index rose 0.15% to 7,296.2 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 sink

Unfortunately, the Australian share market looks set to end the week in the red after Russian-Ukraine tensions weighed on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 58 points or 0.8% lower this morning. In late trade on Wall Street, the Dow Jones is down 1.4%, the S&P 500 is down 1.6%, and the Nasdaq is down 2.2%.

QBE full year results

The QBE Australia Group Ltd (ASX: QBE) share price will be one to watch on Friday. This morning the insurance giant is due to release its full year results. According to a note out of Morgans, it expects QBE to deliver a below consensus net profit after tax of US$836 million. This compares to the market consensus of US$870 million.

Oil prices lower

Energy producers including Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could have a poor day after oil prices dropped. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 2.5% to US$91.30 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is down 2.4% to US$92.52 a barrel. Oil prices dropped after US-Iran sanction talks progressed.

Gold price rises

Gold miners Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) and St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) could have a good finish to the week after the gold price stormed higher. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is up 1% to US$1,902.50 an ounce. Russia-Ukraine tensions gave the safe haven asset a boost.

Inghams half year results

The Inghams Group Ltd (ASX: ING) share price will be in focus when it hands in its half year results. The poultry company is widely expected to report weak numbers for the half due to the impact of lockdowns on some channels. Morgans commented: “In light of COVID challenges we expect ING to report a weak 1H22 result. With lockdowns in 1Q22 more widespread than the pcp, ING’s higher margin channels were more materially affected, which would have impacted its margins.”

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

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Today, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) managed to eke out another green day after swinging violently to the downside following reports of action on the Ukraine-Russia border. At the end of the session, the benchmark index finished 0.16% higher at 7,296.2 points.

While the Aussie index might have ended higher, there were a few sectors hit hard today. The worst impact landed on the doorstep of the consumer discretionary sector, running 3.4% into the red. Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) was the anchor holding the sector down, revealing the first half being the most disrupted by COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic.

Fortunately, the healthcare was the stitching holding the market together on Thursday. Another big performance from CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) bolstered the index.

However, the question is: which shares delivered the biggest returns to investors on the ASX today? Here are the top ten stocks that came through for investors:

Top 10 ASX shares countdown today

Looking at the top 200 listed companies, Challenger Ltd (ASX: CGF) was the biggest gainer today. Shares in the financial services company rallied 6.65% after reporting a 21% increase in normalised net profit before tax to $238 million in its half-year result. Find out more about Challenger here.

The next biggest gaining ASX share today was Judo Capital Holdings Ltd (ASX: JDO). The specialised small and medium business lender received a 5.69% boost in its share price despite there being no announcements released today. Uncover the latest Imugene details here.

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

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
Challenger Ltd (ASX: CGF)	$6.74	6.65%
Judo Capital Holdings Ltd (ASX: JDO)	$1.95	5.69%
CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)	$277.00	5.05%
Orora Ltd (ASX: ORA)	$3.73	4.78%
Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST)	$9.44	4.43%
Cleanaway Waste Management Ltd (ASX: CWY)	$2.99	4.18%
Woodside Petroleum Ltd (ASX: WPL)	$27.72	4.09%
Tabcorp Holdings Ltd (ASX: TAH)	$5.36	4.08%
EBOS Group Ltd (ASX: EBO)	$38.30	4.08%
Endeavour Group Ltd (ASX: EDV)	$6.59	3.62%

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

• 2 ASX dividend shares with BIG yields
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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. owns and has recommended CSL Ltd. and Judo Capital Holdings Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Wesfarmers Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Challenger 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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Looking for growth shares to buy? Well, here’s some good news! Listed below are two growth shares that have recently been named as buys.

Here’s what you need to know about them:

Nitro Software Ltd (ASX: NTO)

The first ASX growth share to look at is Nitro Software. It is a global document productivity software as a service company.

Thanks to its Nitro Productivity Suite, Nitro is a global player in the eSign and workflow productivity market. It allows organisations to drive better business outcomes through 100% digital document processes and fast, efficient workflows.

At the last count, Nitro had over 3 million licensed users and 13,000+ business customers across 157 countries. This includes over 68% of the Fortune 500 and three of the Fortune 10.

Goldman Sachs is very positive on the company and recently initiated coverage on its shares with a buy rating and $2.95 price target. It believes Nitro’s revenues could explode over the coming years as its market share growth.

It said: “We estimate Nitro can increase its TAM penetration from 0.15% to 1.4% by FY40 implying 9x uplift to Nitro’s current revenue base.”

Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME)

Another ASX growth share that is highly rated is Pro Medicus. It provides industry-leading software that facilitates the clinical assessment of medical images.

Pro Medicus has been growing at a very strong rate in recent years thanks to the rapidly increasing demand for solutions that can process, transfer and store this type of data efficiently. This is particularly the case given that speed and accuracy is fundamentally linked to both treatment success and commercial incentives.

The company’s strong form has continued in FY 2022. This week it released its half year results and reported a 40.3% increase in revenue to $44.3 million and a 52.7% jump in net profit after tax to $20.7 million.

The team at Bell Potter was pleased with this result and appears confident this strong growth can continue. This morning the broker retained its buy rating and $55.00 price target on the company’s shares. Its analysts are forecasting full year revenue growth of 36% in FY 2022, 19% in FY 2023, and then 33% in FY 2024.

The post 2 exciting ASX growth shares analysts are tipping for big things 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. owns and has recommended Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nitro Software 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 Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) share price finished in the red today. Shares in the Australian e-commerce company slipped 1.4% to $6.17.

For three weeks now, the Kogan share price has been roughly bouncing between $6.00 and $6.50. The initial breakdown below $7.00 per share followed the release of its first-half trading update last month.

Disappointingly, active customer growth had slowed to 10% year-on-year (YoY). Likewise, gross sales were up 9% YoY to $698 million. For reference, these metrics are down from 77% and 96%, respectively, in the previous year.

ASX investors might take heed of warnings disclosed by Shopify Inc (NYSE: SHOP) last night. If the situation for the US-based e-commerce company is anything to go by, the Kogan share price might be in for more challenging times.

Let’s take a closer look at what was disclosed in Shopify’s full-year results.

Pandemic-fuelled growth expected to fade in year ahead

Much like ASX-listed Kogan, Shopify posted growth for the latest period across many of its headline figures. These included:

• Revenue up 41% to US$1,380 million in the fourth quarter
• Gross merchandise volume (GMV) growing by 31% to US$54.1 billion
• Monthly recurring revenue increasing 25% to $102 million

However, the forward outlook from the company created some concerns for shareholders. Due to the absence of government stimulus and inflation, Shopify is forecasting some tapering in growth ahead.

The e-commerce giant is now forecasting FY22 revenue growth to be lower than the 57% increase witnessed in FY21. Investors were clearly displeased with the outlook as the Shopify share price tumbled 16% on the news.

On the earnings call, Shopify chief financial officer Amy Shapero said:

For 2022, we expect year-over-year revenue growth to be lowest in the first quarter of 2022 and highest in the fourth quarter of 2022 due to three factors. First, we do not expect the COVID-triggered acceleration of e-commerce in the first half of 2021 from lockdowns and government stimulus to repeat in the first half of 2022.

The other two reasons given by Shapero were more specific to the company’s platform headwinds.

For Kogan shareholders, the uninspiring forecast lands only eight days out from its own earnings call. The local e-commerce company plans to announce its results for the first half of FY22 on Friday, 25 February. At that time, shareholders will find out what ASX-listed Kogan is expecting for its own future.

How has Kogan performed on the ASX?

Unlike Shopify, Kogan has the added strain of managing physical inventory. The challenging environment created by COVID-19 contributed to the company being strapped with excess inventory. This led to higher warehousing costs for the Aussie e-commerce company.

As demand dwindled, while supply was high, investors hammered the sell button on the Kogan share price. In turn, the company’s shares have sunk 62% in the past year. Meanwhile, the Shopify share price is down 47.6% over the same time period.

The post Why Shopify’s latest update could raise red flags for e-commerce shares like Kogan (ASX:KGN) appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler owns shares in Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Kogan.com ltd and Shopify. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Kogan.com ltd. 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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ASX 200 property shares climbed today amid NSW lifting a recommendation to work from home. Victoria also flagged a removal of a mask mandate for office workers could be imminent.

Three ASX 200 property shares with strong office portfolios include the Dexus Property Group (ASX: DXS), Mirvac Group (ASX: MGR), and Abacus Property Group (ASX: ABP).

The Dexus share price gained 1.23% today, Mirvac climbed 1.16%, while Abacus leapt 0.86%.

Let’s take a look at what could be impacting these companies today.

Work-from-home recommendation lifted

In a boost to ASX 200 property shares, the NSW Government announced an easing of COVID-19 restrictions today. The recommendation to work from home will be removed from Friday and it will now be up to the employer to decide where people work. Masks will also no longer be required at the office.

Commenting on the changes, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said:

As we continue to move forward out of the pandemic we are ensuring that we keep people safe and people in jobs so life can return to normal as quickly and safely as possible.

In Victoria, health authorities are set to reconsider requiring workers at the office to wear masks, The Age reported. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said:

We’re confident that we’ll be able to get to a situation next Friday where masks are off in the office and the advice changes — people will then be free and, in fact, we’ll be encouraging them to go back to the office.

Dexus has an office portfolio of $24.9 billion. This includes 52 properties across the major CBDs including Sydney and Melbourne. Despite a difficult operating environment, Dexus reported a 95% occupancy in its office portfolio in its H1 FY22 results on Tuesday.

The Mirvac Group has $8.1 billion of office assets, with 85% of these in Sydney and Melbourne. Mirvac also has a $3.2 billion retail portfolio, which may benefit from more foot traffic in cities. In its H1 FY22 results last week, this ASX 200 property share said its CBD retail assets remain a major drag on performance but “remain will positioned for resumption of immigration, tourism and return to office”.

Finally, Abacus Property Group reported its half-yearly financial results today. The company has a commercial office portfolio worth $1.7 billion, or 36% of its total assets. Its retail portfolio of $485 million represents 11% of its assets.

The company said 96% of office rents were collected during H1 FY22.

ASX 200 property shares recap

The Dexus share price has shed 3.6% year to date, while Mirvac has dived 10.31%. Meanwhile, the Abacus share price has dropped 6.6%.

For perspective, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has fallen 2% year to date.

Dexus has a market capitalisation of $11.5 billion. Mirvac has a $10.3 billion market cap and Abacus is worth $2.9 billion.

The post Return to the office: Did this decision help boost ASX 200 property shares today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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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There are a lot of exchange traded funds (ETFs) funds out there for investors to choose from.

Three top ETFs that you may want to look deeper into are listed below. Here’s what you need to know about them:

BetaShares Cloud Computing ETF (ASX: CLDD)

The first ETF to look at is the BetaShares Cloud Computing ETF. This ETF aims to track the performance of the Indxx Global Cloud Computing Index, which includes leading global companies involved in the delivery of computing services, servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics and other services over the internet. Through this ETF, you’ll be buying a slice of companies that look well-placed to benefit from the ongoing shift to the cloud. This includes the likes of Dropbox, Netflix, Shopify, and Zoom.

BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ)

Another exchange traded fund which could be worth looking at is the BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF. As you might have guessed from its name, this exchange traded fund gives investors exposure to the 100 largest businesses on Wall Street’s technology-focused NASDAQ index. This includes tech giants such as Amazon, Apple, Alphabet, Facebook/Meta, Microsoft, Netflix, and Nvidia. It is worth noting that there are also non-tech shares including Starbucks and PepsiCo.

Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS)

A final ETF for investors to look at is the Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF. This popular ETF provides investors with exposure to the world’s largest listed companies. This means that rather than just investing in the Australian economy, investors can take part in the long term growth potential of international economies. Among the ~1,500 companies included in the ETF are Apple, Johnson & Johnson, JP Morgan, Nestle, and Visa.

The post 3 excellent ETFs that you need to know about 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. owns and has recommended BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS and Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS. 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 Bruce Jackson.

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Every growth investor should want to know about the two ASX shares in this article.

A decade ago, some of the ASX’s current blue chip ASX growth shares were much smaller and have gone through a long growth journey to get to where they are now. Names like REA Group Limited (ASX: REA) and Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) have come a long way in the last several years.

Not many ASX shares will have the same success as the two above-mentioned companies. But there are smaller ones that could keep growing internationally for many years to come:

Airtasker Ltd (ASX: ART)

Airtasker describes itself as Australia’s leading online marketplace for local services, connecting people and businesses who need work done with people who want to work. The company wants to give people very flexible opportunities to work and earn income. Since 2012, it has served more than 1.2 million unique paying customers.

The ASX share is seeing rapid growth and recently upgraded its guidance.

In the second quarter of FY22, gross marketplace volume (GMV) went up 39% quarter on quarter to $48.6 million. Quarterly revenue increased 37.5% quarter on quarter to $8.1 million.

The UK and US are much larger addressable markets than Australia, which is where the business is expanding. UK GMV was up 121% year on year and US task growth was up 71% quarter on quarter. In the US, it’s focused on four key cities – Atlanta, Kansas City, Dallas and Miami.

Second half guidance was upgraded 4.8% by the ASX growth share from $105 million to $110 million due to the underlying GMV growth trajectory and a “clear outlook” on no further lockdowns.

Airtasker achieved a record weekly GMV run rate of $4.5 million in December. ‘Customer acquisition’ was up 8.9% in December. The average task price in the second quarter increased to $255 (up 24% year on year).

The business has a high gross profit margin, which helps cash flow and profitability, allowing it to re-invest heavily for growth.

Morgans rates it as a buy with a price target of $1.27. It thinks that it has long-term growth in Australia and internationally.

Volpara Health Technologies Ltd (ASX: VHT)

The Volpara share price has dropped 26% since the start of the year. But it keeps growing operationally.

Volpara describes itself as a software company that provides clinical functions for screening clinics, providing feedback on breast density, compression, dose and quality. Its enterprise-wide practice-management software helps with productivity, compliance, reimbursement and patient tracking.

The ASX growth share’s revenue and cash flow are rising quickly as it’s benefiting from winning clients and organic average revenue per user (ARPU) growth.

For example, in the latest quarter, for the three months to 31 December 2021, subscription-based receipts rose by 51% year on year. The company says it’s on track to meet revenue guidance for the year of NZ$25 million.

Annual recurring revenue (ARR) has reached NZ$30.4 million, which is rising every quarter.

The company now has a market share of 35% of US women being screened, up from 34% in the prior quarter.

Growing ARPU remains a key strategy for the business. It can offer multiple products/upsell to existing clients. ARPU at the end of the latest quarter across the entire installed base was US$1.47. The average ARPU for deals in the third quarter was US$1.65. Client churn remains low.

Growth can also come from winning larger networks of hospitals offering a wide range of services.

Volpara also has a very high gross profit margin, which is helping profitability as the business invests for growth. It is expanding into lung cancer screening as well.

Management are expecting an announcement from the FDA about breast density. The ASX share is also awaiting further clinical trial results, as well as regulatory clearances.

The post 2 ASX shares every growth investor needs to know about appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 VOLPARA FPO NZ and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Airtasker Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended VOLPARA FPO NZ and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended REA Group 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 National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price inched higher today to finish 0.69% in the green at $30.85.

NAB shares have taken off hard in 2022. They are trading at 52-week highs after a reshuffling of investor capital on the Australian markets since trading began on January 4.

Additionally, the Aussie banking giant is also trading at multi-year highs, surpassing peaks reached in 2018 and 2021. Let’s take a closer look.

What’s happening with NAB?

Investors and analysts have been constructive on the NAB share price since the bank released its first-quarter update earlier this month.

The key standout was the bank smashing estimates on cash earnings and faring better at the net interest margin level than what was expected.

Analysts were immediately onto the gravy train with bullish updates to clients. JP Morgan noted the bank has the run rate to hit 1H profit guidance of $3.2 billion.

The team at Citi was also impressed by the bank’s results, with the broker’s research team highlighting NAB’s “peer-leading” 5% underlying growth.

It expects upgrades to consensus forecasts both in earnings and with respect to valuing the share price.

Goldman Sachs didn’t shy off either and held its buy rating on the stock, valuing the company at $31.33 in the process.

The broker likes NAB among the other majors and reckons it is focused more on customer experience with its recent cost management initiatives.

Meanwhile, the team at Bell Potter agrees, baking in a juicy 4% dividend yield for investors to look forward to over the coming period. Not to mention it values the bank at $32.50 per share.

Not only that, but the bank made headlines recently regarding its Project Carbon, newly renamed Carbonplace, during yesterday’s session.

Market pundits appeared to be impressed by the platform attracting so much institutional interest and the fact that Carbonplace will be trading carbon credits.

With a wave of fundamental momentum behind the company, it appears sentiment is bullish for the NAB share price.

NAB share price snapshot

The NAB share price has gained more than 14% since the start of February. It is also up around 7% this year to date and more than 8% over the past week.

In the last 12 months, NAB shares have gained more than 20%.

The post Why did the NAB (ASX:NAB) share price smash 4-year highs today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Zach Bristow 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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Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) shares have charged ahead over the past 12 months.

Though the share price slipped in late afternoon trade today amid reports the Ukrainian crisis is heating up, Macquarie shares remain up 34% since this time last year.

For some comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has gained 6% in that same period.

Atop the strong share price performance, Macquarie also pays a 3.2% trailing dividend yield, 40% franked. The diversified financial services company’s last dividend of $2.72 per share was paid out to investors on 14 December.

A long-term opportunity

Macquarie shares not only trounced the benchmark over the past 12 months, but the company may have a lot more growth ahead of it.

That’s according to Andrew Martin, portfolio manager at Alphinity Investment Management.

According to Martin (quoted by the Australian Financial Review):

We’ve long been a supporter of Macquarie Group. Initially, the market was completely missing the transformation of the group from what it was pre-GFC to the asset management powerhouse it is today, as well as the benefits from the lower interest rate and high liquidity world we were in post-GFC. Those benefits still exist today, and if anything have been enhanced by the pandemic response from central banks.

Martin is also bullish on Macquarie shares due to the growth outlook for the company’s green investment business. Martin said:

Macquarie has a number of engines to rely on, including the commodities business at the moment, benefitting from disruptions in the energy markets. Going forward, their green investment business is incredibly well-placed to take advantage of the energy transition we are seeing globally. This is a long-term opportunity that may well dwarf what they have already been doing in that space alongside utilities and infrastructure.

How have Macquarie shares performed this year?

After gaining 48% in 2021, Macquarie shares have struggled in the new year, down 7%. That compares to a 4% loss posted by the ASX 200.

The post Macquarie (ASX:MQG) shares have rallied 34% in a year. Here’s why this fundie says there’s more to come appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today

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 Macquarie Group 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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Owners of Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) shares might be in for a pleasant shock next week when the miner releases its earnings for 2021.

One broker has bought into the iron ore-focused resources giant on the belief its results will be better than expected.

Additionally, they think Rio Tinto’s current share price of $119.94 makes its valuation reasonable.

Let’s take a closer look at what the market might expect from Rio Tinto next Wednesday.

Could this help bolster the Rio Tinto share price?

Own Rio Tinto shares? Alphinity Investment Management portfolio manager Andrew Martin is expecting big things from the company’s upcoming full-year results.

The fundie told the Australian Financial Review (AFR) the investment firm decided to buy into Rio Tinto, saying “its earnings are likely to surprise on the upside”.

Additionally, Martin said the company’s reserves of the red metal are “supported by similar reasoning to [BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)]”.

That reasoning, Martin outlined, was that higher Chinese demand for steel could see iron ore prices increasing.

Additionally, Rio Tinto’s exposure to aluminium will likely be bolstered by high energy prices, the fundie told the publication.

A limit imposed on Chinese smelter capacity and demand for decarbonisation could also see its aluminium leg outperforming.  

According to Wood Mackenzie’s Julian Kettle, aluminium is necessary for low-carbon energy supply. However, producing the material has created one of the world’s most carbon-intensive industries.

Fortunately, Rio Tinto is making moves to lower emissions associated with aluminium production.

Its partnership with ELYSIS saw it successfully produce aluminium without direct greenhouse gas emissions in November.

It also invested US$87 million in upping its low carbon aluminium production in Canada last year.

Rio Tinto’s aluminium production for 2021 came to around 3.2 million tonnes – 1% less than that of 2020, the company announced within its fourth-quarter results. It predicts that will be relatively flat for 2022.

Its average realised aluminium price for 2021 came to US$2,899 ­– 49% more than in 2020.

Additionally, the company’s Pilbara iron ore production and shipments were also down 4% and 3% respectively for the full year.

Rio Tinto shares finished Thursday’s trading up 1.16% at $119.94.

The post Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) earnings will ‘surprise on the upside’: fundie appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Strap yourself in: Why ASX 200 shares could continue their wild ride in 2022
• Are ASX mining shares the place to be right now?
• The iron ore price is rising: Time to jump on Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) shares?
• Could opening WA borders expose ASX 200 mining shares to production risks?
• Why IAG, Rio Tinto, Unibail, and Westpac shares are pushing 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 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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