The National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price was a relatively positive performer in September.

What happened to the NAB share price in September?

Although the banking giant’s shares gained just under 0.5%, this was actually much better than the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). The benchmark index lost 2.6% of its value during the month.

Though, one slight disappointment is that the NAB share price was performing far more positively until market volatility hit.

In fact, NAB’s shares were up as much as 4% to a 52-week high of $28.88 at one stage before ultimately giving back most of these gains.

What did brokers say last month?

Interestingly, NAB’s shares were the subject of two very different broker notes last month.

At the very start of the month, the team at Ord Minnett upgraded NAB’s shares to an accumulate rating with a $29.50 price target.

Based on the current NAB share price of $27.27, this implies potential upside of 8% before dividends.

And if you include the $1.36 per share fully franked dividend Ord Minnett is forecasting in FY 2022, this potential return stretches to ~13%.

That’s not a bad return. Especially when you consider that the NAB share price is up a sizeable 19% in 2021.

What else was said?

Elsewhere, in the middle of the month, the team at Credit Suisse downgraded the company’s shares to a neutral rating with a $28.50 price target.

The broker made the move largely on valuation grounds following a strong run by the bank’s shares.

Credit Suisse believes NAB’s improved operating performance is now priced into its shares. It also highlights that its shares traditionally trade at a slight discount to the rest of the big four. However, they were trading in line with them at the time of the broker’s downgrade.

The post How did the NAB (ASX:NAB) share price perform in September? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• The ASX 200 banks may be in danger as half of mortgage-stressed households have “borrowed to the hilt”
• Analysts name 2 ASX dividend shares to buy
• Confirmed: APRA is planning action on home loans, ASX 200 banks drop
• Why these experts think the NAB (ASX:NAB) share price is on the way up
• Why we favour 2 of 4 big bank ASX shares: fund manager

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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The technology sector can be a fertile place to look for opportunities. ASX tech shares may be a good industry to look for good ideas.

Businesses in the tech sector may be able achieve good operating margins because of the intangible nature of it. That intangible part also means that businesses can grow quickly because they can very easily replicate that software.

Here are two ASX tech shares to consider:

ELMO Software Ltd (ASX: ELO)

ELMO Software is a business that offers cloud-based services for small businesses and mid-market organisations to manage people, processes, pay and expenses. It operates a software as a service (SaaS) model across Australia, New Zealand and the UK.

In FY21, it generated revenue of $69.1 million, which was an increase of 38.1%. Its annualised recurring revenue (ARR) increased by 52.1% to $83.8 million.

The last financial year saw the business generate positive earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $0.4 million, up $3.3 million from the prior year. That’s after spending a lot on growth.

ELMO Software sometimes launches a new module for businesses to utilise on top of existing services, which can increase the value to the customer, and increase the revenue from that customer. It recently launched COVIDsecure, which enables businesses to record, monitor and report on their employees COVID vaccination and test status.

Despite the growth and progress that ELMO Software is making, the ASX tech share has seen its share price fall by 32% since the start of the year.

Management say that returning business confidence and the increase in remote based working is driving the adoption of cloud-based business tools, including HR technology. The company said FY22 is shaping up to be a good year for ELMO, across both the mid-market and small business segments.

In FY22 it’s expecting to report revenue of at least $90.5 million and EBITDA of at least $1 million. The ARR is expected to reach between $105 million to $111 million.

Volpara Health Technologies Ltd (ASX: VHT)

Volpara is another ASX tech share that could be worth looking at. It is in the healthcare space, providing breast screening software.

The company has also started making connections in the lung cancer screening space. It has announced partnerships with other leading organisations that can improve its offering and effectiveness including RevealDx and Natera.

Volpara’s breast screening segment is what is currently driving the business revenue higher. It has reached coverage of 33% of US women being screened. The company measures its average revenue per user (ARPU), which it sees as an important driver of future growth. In the first quarter of FY22, the ARPU was US$1.42. The average ARPU in the first quarter was US$1.55. ARPU of up to US$5.87 was achieved at some sites.

Its SaaS church continues to remain low, whilst the gross profit margin is above 90%.

Volpara’s ARR has reached US$19.2 million in the first quarter. In FY22 its focus is risk and genetics. The company said that US states moving more strongly in that direction will continue to help drive and accelerate growth in the Volpara business at very little additional cost to the business itself.

The post 2 ASX tech shares that might be buys in October 2021 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Top ASX shares to buy in October 2021
• 2 growing small cap ASX shares for your watchlist
• Broker names 2 small cap ASX shares to buy
• Volpara (ASX:VHT) share price under spotlight on lung screening expansion
• 4 small cap ASX shares to watch

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 shares of and has recommended Elmo Software and VOLPARA FPO NZ. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Elmo Software and VOLPARA FPO NZ. 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 Carnarvon Petroleum Ltd (ASX: CVN) share price has continued its march higher this week, gaining 17% in the past week of trading.

Shares in the oil and gas explorer finished the week at 31 cents apiece, not too far off their 52-week high of 33.5 cents achieved in January this year.

Let’s investigate further.

What’s been fuelling Carnarvon shares lately?

It seems the elephant in the room is the price of natural gas, which has spiked to 5-year highs of US$6.215 per million British thermal units on 28 September.

The move began on 23 September, spurred on by the energy crisis in Europe in the United Kingdom that has unfolded in recent weeks.

In addition, the price of oil has climbed almost 7% in the past 2 weeks for both major oil contracts, after making a prior jump of 21% from August 20 for crude WTI, and over 20.3% for Brent crude in this time.

Around this time in September, Carnarvon announced a key update to its Buffalo project in the Timor Sea.

The release noted several progress highlights, including that the Buffalo-10 well is set to start spud in early November, and that “mid-case recoverable volume estimate is 31 million barrels”.

Carnarvon said there was a “strong likelihood” the Buffalo-10 well would confirm a “sanctionable development project, based on minimum economic field size”.

Just prior to this, Carnarvon announced that it had contracted the VALARIS JU-107 drilling rig to drill the Buffalo-10 well.

The rig will move to the Buffalo site in early November, once completed its current operations.

The report concludes that Carnarvon expects to ramp up operations at Buffalo-10 from November, but that the final timing will be “subject to the release of the rig from the previous operator… and receiving the necessary joint venture and regulatory approvals”.

What did management say?

Carnarvon managing director and CEO Adrian Cook welcomed the results, saying:

Our preparations for drilling the Buffalo-10 well are in good shape and we’re looking forward to commencing drilling relatively soon.

We continue to work well with and enjoy the support of our joint venture partner, Advance Energy Plc, who have contributed US$20 million towards the cost of the Buffalo-10 well and now hold a 50% interest in the project.

Cook said the company expected to reach the target in around 35 days once drilling started, adding that the well had the potential to be “value transforming” for Carnarvon.

The Carnarvon share price has popped from a low of 25 cents since the announcement on 22 September, to reach its highs of 31.5 cents in afternoon trade today.

Carnarvon share price snapshot

The Carnarvon share price has jumped into the green this past month, gaining 21.5% in this time.

However, it has only climbed 3.3% year to date, behind the S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO)’s return of around 9%.

Despite this, it has beaten the benchmark index over the last 12 months, posting a return of more than 44% in that time.

The post The Carnarvon (ASX:CVN) share price has jumped 17% this week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Did Optus just get a better deal than Telstra (ASX:TLS) for its towers?
• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• The Sezzle (ASX:SZL) share price tumbled 13% in September. Is it a buy?
• Yancoal (ASX:YAL) share price surges 11% to a new 52-week high
• Why is the Nexus Minerals (ASX:NXM) share price rocketing 28% today?

The author Zach Bristow has no positions 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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Many ASX shares faltered amidst the volatile month of September. Especially after the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) tumbled 202 points or 2.69% by month-end.

Despite the broader selling headwinds, these 5 ASX shares (with a market capitalisation greater than $100 million) managed to top the leaderboards.

5 top performing ASX shares in September

1. Kingsgate Consolidated Limited (ASX: KCN)

The Kingsgate share price surged 103% to $1.58 last month on heavy volume after the company came forth with an encouraging update about its Thailand operations.

It is understood that the company’s negotiations with the Royal Thai Government are entering their final stages.

Kingsgate is optimistic about settling a number of actionable awards including:

• The grant of all operating licences and permit applications required to re-start
  and operate the Chatree Gold Mine;
• The renewal/approval of key exploration licence applications to enable access to previously unavailable but highly prospective areas; and
• The examination by Kingsgate of options for the construction of a renewable energy plant at the Chatree Gold Mine;

2. Tuas Ltd (ASX: TUA)

Tuas was a spinoff of TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPM) and its Singapore operations.

Its shares skyrocketed 70.5% to $1.45 in September following the broader strength across ASX shares in the telecommunications sector and an upbeat FY21 results announcement towards the end of the month.

3. Atomo Diagnostics Ltd (ASX: AT1)

Atomo did not announce any market-sensitive news in September but managed to take the spotlight due to its effective rapid antigen test (RAT) for COVID-19.

Its shares surged 54% in September to 35.5 cents after its management told The Australian that it can “bring in up to a million tests a week” to Australia if the demand is there.

4. Camplify Holdings Ltd (ASX: CHL)

The Camplify share price rallied strongly in September despite no market-sensitive announcements made by the company.

Shares in the caravan and campervan-sharing platform surged 65.75% to $3.

This caught the attention of the ASX, which issued a price query on 9 September. In response to its surging share price and volumes, the company pointed to its recent preliminary final report on 23 August as well as recent information by state and federal governments regarding the easing of COVID-19 related restrictions that may have impacted its trading performance.

5. Arafura Resources Limited (ASX: ARU)

The Arafura share price skyrocketed 50% in September following reports from Bloomberg and the Australian Financial Review that the company was in discussions with European manufacturers for offtake agreements for the supply of rare earths.

Interestingly, the news was speculative in nature, as Arafura would later clarify with the ASX that these discussions were not “formal or binding agreements … and negotiations are incomplete”.

The post These were the 5 top performing ASX shares in September appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why Beach, Collins Foods, Origin, & Tuas shares are racing higher
• Tuas (ASX:TUA) share price rockets 30% after TPG spinoff reports strong subs growth in FY21
• Arafura Resources (ASX:ARU) share price rockets 18% on rare earths interest
• Kingsgate (ASX:KCN) share price rockets 45% on Thailand update
• Why the Atomo Diagnostics (ASX:AT1) share price has rallied 15% today

Motley Fool contributor Kerry Sun 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 Telstra Corp Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price has dipped as the end of the week nears. However, the story of the day is the sale of its biggest competitor’s tower network.

In news sure to perk up the ears of telecommunications investors, Optus has sold a 70% interest in its Australian mobile tower network. Interestingly, this is happening a few months after Telstra carried out its own 49% sale of its InfraCo Towers.

Which begs the question, how do the deals stack up against each other?

How does the Optus sale compare to its ASX-listed competitor Telstra?

Yesterday, news broke that Singapore Telecommunications owned Optus had proposed to sell 70% of its shares in Australia Tower Network (ATN). According to the release, the sale of its network consisting of 2,312 towers is to AS Infra, which is owned by Australian Super.

Furthermore, the deal is valued at A$1.9 billion, comprising three payments. Where it gets interesting is the valuation of Optus’ network in comparison to the sale of the towers previously owned by ASX-listed Telstra.

Telstra managed to garner a payout that reflected 28 times the earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA). This was for a 49% interest in the company’s InfraCo Towers which came to a total of $5.9 billion. A consortium of investors including Future Fund, Commonwealth Superannuation, and Sunsuper agreed to cough up the cash.

Meanwhile, 3 months later and Optus has pulled a sale price that represents a much higher EBITDA multiple of 38 times. This is interesting considering the Telstra sale involved around 8,200 towers. That would give it the title of the largest mobile tower infrastructure provider in Australia.

Setting records

In fact, it is understood the earnings multiple for Optus’ assets is a global record for a tower sale, beating out Telstra on the ASX.

Commenting on this, Optus chief executive Kelly Bayer Rosmarin stated:

We obviously think that what we achieved in terms of valuation reflects the strong quality of our assets and relatively high tenancy ratio that we have with room to grow.

The sale of these assets positions Optus well for the future as it provides capital to support core business growth while importantly allowing us to maintain the competitive advantage of our network’s active elements which continue to top independent reports on speed and quality of our network.

While Telstra investors might feel disappointed by its cheaper sale multiple for its tower assets, there is more worth considering.

Potentially, bidders were willing to pay a higher premium for ATN considering it was for a controlling stake. That means Australian Super will now call the shots when it comes to decision-making for the network. Whereas, Telstra sold a minority interest of 49%.

What’s next for Optus?

Following the sale, Optus will lease back the use of the towers from Australian Super. This strategy unlocks a large amount of capital for the Telstra competitor to expand upon its 5G ambitions.

Finally, the transaction is expected to be completed in October. In contrast, ASX-listed Telstra was expected to complete its transaction before the end of September. However, there has not been an announcement to confirm this yet.

The post Did Optus just get a better deal than Telstra (ASX:TLS) for its towers? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 4 ASX shares looking ripe for the picking now
• 3 reasons why the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price could be a buy
• Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price lifts as CFO reiterates confidence in dividend growth
• Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price lower despite retail shareholder update
• 2 ASX dividend shares with attractive 4%+ yields

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 owns shares of and has recommended Telstra Corporation 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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Today, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) suffered a rough end to the week. The benchmark index tumbled 2% to 7,185.5 points.

In stark contrast to yesterday, the only sector that conjured up a positive finish was the utilities. Meanwhile, all other sectors were in the doldrums, with financials dishing out the worst of it.

However, the question is: which shares delivered the biggest returns to investors on the ASX today? Here are the ten stocks that rose to the occasion:

Top 10 ASX shares countdown today

Looking at the top 200 listed companies, Yancoal Australia Ltd (ASX: YAL) was the biggest gainer today. Shares in the Australian coal producer soared 11.52% as fears of an energy shortage build. Find out more about Yancoal Australia here.

The next biggest gaining ASX share today was Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC). Once again, this coal-producing company rallied 3.56% on waning energy supply. Uncover the latest Whitehaven Coal details here.

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

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
Yancoal Australia Ltd (ASX: YAL)	$3.00	11.52%
Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC)	$3.345	3.56%
AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP)	$1.0225	3.28%
Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST)	$8.72	2.59%
Infratil Ltd (ASX: IFT)	$7.79	2.50%
Mercury NZ Ltd (ASX: MCY)	$6.30	2.44%
Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN)	$3.575	2.44%
Contact Energy Ltd (ASX: CEN)	$8.10	2.40%
BSP Financial Group Ltd (ASX: BFL)	$5.10	2.00%
Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT)	$21.84	1.77%

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

• Yancoal (ASX:YAL) share price surges 11% to a new 52-week high
• Which ASX shares are set to finish the week as the top movers on the ASX 300?
• The Flight Centre (ASX:FLT) share price is in the green today. Here’s why
• Why Evolution, Northern Star, Weebit Nano, & Whitehaven Coal are rising
• Why the Webjet (ASX:WEB) share price is on the rise today

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 recommended Flight Centre Travel 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 Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL) share price dropped by 13% in September 2021. Could the buy now, pay later business now be a buy?

In-fact, it has fallen 32% since the middle of August 2021 and 43% from 8 July 2021.

The company itself didn’t make any market sensitive announcements during September, though it was announced that Sezzle would be entering the S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO).

Sezzle’s FY21 half-year result

The latest insight that the business given to the market has been its half-year result which it released in August 2021.

Sezzle reported a lot of growth. Its underlying merchant sales (UMS) increased 156% to US$786.2 million. Active merchants also increased by 150% to 40,274. The active consumers grew 96% to 2.88 million.

Repeat usage by customers was one of the factors that benefited the overall result. In the first six months of FY21 saw the repeat usage increase by 4.1 percentage points from 87.5% to 91.6%. June 2021 was the 30^th consecutive month of improvement of this statistic.

The top 10% of Sezzle’s consumers, based on UMS, transact 49 times per year.

All of the above growth led to total income increasing 159% to US$53.9 million.

Sezzle has been winning larger enterprise merchant partners, such as wins like Target, Lamps Plus and Market America Worldwide.

International growth plans

One of the factors that may influence the future Sezzle share price is its growth plans internationally.

Management said that global expansion remains a priority for the company. It launched operations in Canada in 2019, commenced operations in India and certain countries in Europe in 2020, and are currently in the early stages of expansion into Brazil. It says that will continue to extend its platform into attractive geographies that are “ripe for adoption”.

So far it has focused on entering new markets organically rather than through acquisitions. Its approach involves identifying a “strong, local entrepreneurial team” to lead its expansion. However, this may require significant additional capital to implement its international expansion plans.

Other growth areas

The company has seen growth into a number of new verticals. That is, more than just retail. It has expanded into new categories including health, electronics and travel.

Sezzle is also working on other areas of growth. It has a long-term instalment offering through its bank partnerships with Ally Financial. The BNPL business has in-store capabilities with the Sezzle virtual card. It also has credit building through Sezzle Up offering.

Is the Sezzle share price a buy?

The broker Ord Minnett certainly thinks so. It has a buy rating on Sezzle shares, with a price target of $10. That suggests the broker believes Sezzle could rise by around 80% over the next 12 months. However, the broker is paying attention to the BNPL business’ bad debt levels.

Ord Minnett is expecting Sezzle to continue to spend and invest for growth, whilst reporting statutory losses over FY21 and FY22.

However, the Sezzle share price continues to fall – it’s down 3% today.

The post The Sezzle (ASX:SZL) share price tumbled 13% in September. Is it a buy? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why the Zip share price plunged 6% this morning
• The Sezzle (ASX:SZL) share price is falling 3% today
• ASX tech shares are leading the market’s gains on Thursday
• How have ASX BNPL shares performed during the August 2021 earnings season?
• Is the Sezzle (ASX:SZL) share price a beaten-up buy?

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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Shares in Yancoal Australia Ltd (ASX: YAL) surged to a 52-week high today despite no news from the company.

The Yancoal share price hit $3.08 in intraday trade on Friday – the highest price it has been in the last 12 months.

That also represents a return to its trading level before March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic saw the price of coal tumble as the world came to a halt (or at least stayed home) and China banned Australian coal imports.

In fact, the last time shares in the coal producer reached $3.08 was way back in November 2019.

At the time of writing, the Yancoal share price has retreated slightly from its 52-week high. It is currently trading $2.95, still 9.67% higher than its previous closing price.

Meanwhile, the broader market is experiencing a major sell-off, making today’s Yancoal surge even more impressive.

Right now, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 1.8% while the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) has fallen 1.7%.

Let’s take a look at what might be driving the Yancoal share price higher today.

Yancoal share price takes off on Friday

The Yancoal share price has taken off today despite the company’s silence.

At the same time, the spot price of coal is surging higher, as it has been for the past 11 or so days.

The spot price of a tonne of coal is currently at a record high of US$218.25, according to data from Business Insider. That’s 39% higher than it was this time last month.

It appears the price of the commodity is being pushed higher by increasing demand from China.

China generates more than half of its electricity by burning coal. Right now it needs more of the black rock than it has access to.

According to reporting by the BBC, China is rationing electricity and experiencing power outages amid the shortage and increasing prices.  

Additionally, S&P Global has reported India might soon be affected too. The nation’s domestic coal stockpiles are reportedly starting to look worryingly small.

Of course, the bad news for those living in China and India has been good news for ASX-listed coal producers.

The post Yancoal (ASX:YAL) share price surges 11% to a new 52-week high appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Which ASX shares are set to finish the week as the top movers on the ASX 300?
• ASX 200 energy shares in firing line of United Nations’ climate action

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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The Nexus Minerals Ltd (ASX: NXM) share price is soaring over 28% in afternoon trade today, and is now exchanging hands at 41 cents each.

Nexus shares are on the rise despite there being no market sensitive news for the company, however, September was a great month for the gold exploration company.

Here are the details.

What’s up with the Nexus Minerals share price today?

The Nexus Minerals share price popped from zero to a hundred to walk into September after the company made a key drilling announcement.

At the time, Nexus noted it had intersected a significant new discovery at its Templar gold prospect in Western Australia.

The company’s reverse circulation (RC) drilling program at the site produced high-grade assay results, plus intersected broad and high-grade gold.

The release notes the mineralisation is the “same style as (the) Crusader prospect – 1.2km south”.

As such, the assay results announced effectively “link” the two prospects together, presenting a “mineralised corridor (that) now extends over 1.6km of strike”.

The Nexus Minerals share price soared from 147% from 15 cents to 37 cents in the week after this announcement and has continued its journey northwards since.

Now it appears investors are chasing more of the story, with the price of Gold jumping from US$1,726/t.oz to US$1,751.t.oz from 29 September.

And the trend of the day looks established in the ASX gold basket, with the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold Index (XGD) climbing 1.02% higher so far today, in direct contrast to the broader indices.

For instance, the S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) benchmark index is sliding 2% into the red as we approach the market close today.

Nexus Minerals share price snapshot

The Nexus Minerals share price has soared 207% this year to date, well ahead of its benchmarks.

It rallied 176% over the past month and climbed a further 14% this past week alone.

The post Why is the Nexus Minerals (ASX:NXM) share price rocketing 28% today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• The Nexus Minerals (ASX:NXM) share price is up 34% today and 340% in a month
• Nexus Minerals (ASX:NXM) share price soars 47% on new gold intercepts

The author Zach Bristow has no positions 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) looks like it is set to end the trading week on a low note. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 is down a hefty 2% and is sitting at 7,184 points.

Let’s not dwell too long on that though, and instead check out the ASX 200’s most traded shares by volume so far this Friday, according to investing.com.

The 3 most active ASX 200 shares this Friday

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

Our first ASX 200 share today is the lithium producer Pilbara Minerals. Pilbara has seen a hefty 15.12 million shares trade so far today. There are no major news or announcements out of the company today.

However, the Pilbara share price is having a pretty dreadful time this Friday, to be frank. The company is currently down a nasty 5.51% to $1.94 a share at the time of writing. This is almost certainly what is behind the large volume of shares trading today.

Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT)

Our second share to examine today is ASX 200 energy company Beach. This oil driller has seen a sizeable 15.97 million of its shares find new owners so far today. Much like Pilbara, there are no major news or announcements we can point to.

However, Beach is also a company that has been severely punished by the market today. The Beach Energy share price is currently trading at $1.41, down a painful 6%. We can point to this drop to help explain the large volume of shares trading thus far.

Santos Ltd (ASX: STO)

Another ASX 200 energy share in Santos is our final and most traded ASX 200 share so far this Friday. Today we have seen a whopping 75.84 million Santos shares bought and sold at the time of writing.

As my Fool colleague Mitchell covered earlier today, Santos shares are in some hot water over a major shareholder, the private Chinese energy and investment company ENN Group, unloading a parcel of shares worth approximately $403 million. This is likely the reason why so many Santos shares have been traded this Friday.

The Santos share price is currently trading at $6.94, down 23.21%.

The post Here are the 3 most active ASX 200 shares this Friday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why CBA, Mount Gibson, Pilbara Minerals, & Virgin Money shares are dropping
• Santos (ASX:STO) share price sinks after investor sells $403m stake
• Guess which sector September’s top performing ASX 200 shares all came from
• These were the 5 best performing ASX 200 shares in September
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday

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 Bruce Jackson.

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