With savings accounts and term deposits still offering very low interest rates, the share market arguably remains the best place to earn a passive income.

But which ASX dividend shares should you consider buying? Two to look closely at are listed below:

Charter Hall Social Infrastructure REIT (ASX: CQE)

The Charter Hall Social Infrastructure REIT is a real estate investment trust focused on social infrastructure properties. These include properties such as childcare centres and government sites.

This morning the company released its full year results and revealed a 103% increase in statutory profit to $174.1 million. This was driven by a strong operating performance and further increases in its property valuations.

This allowed the Charter Hall Social Infrastructure REIT to increase its distribution to 19.71 cents per share. This comprises a distribution of 15.7 cents and a special distribution of 4 cents.

Positively, further growth is expected in FY 2022. Management provided guidance for a distribution of 16.7 cents per share, representing a 6.4% increase year on year.

Based on the current Charter Hall Social Infrastructure REIT share price of $3.53, this will mean a yield of 4.7% for investors. Goldman Sachs currently has a buy rating and $3.84 price target on its shares.

Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)

Another ASX dividend share to look at is Westpac. It could be a top option due to its strong performance in FY 2021 and its positive outlook.

In respect to the former, for the six months ended 31 March, Australia’s oldest bank reported cash earnings of $3,537 million. This was up 256% over the prior corresponding period and 119% over the second half of FY 2020.

The team at Goldman Sachs are positive on Westpac as well. The broker currently has a buy rating and $29.03 price target on its shares. This compares to the current Westpac share price of $25.76.

The broker is also forecasting generous dividend yields in the near term. Based on where its shares trade today, Goldman expects yields of ~4.5% and ~4.8% in FY 2021 and FY 2022, respectively.

The post 2 buy-rated ASX dividend shares with very attractive yields appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price lags the big banks’ after NZ ‘formal warning’
• Is now a good time to buy Bendigo and Adelaide Bank (ASX:BEN) shares?
• Top broker gives its verdict on the Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price
• Is the Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price good value right now?
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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of Westpac Banking Corporation. 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) went up slightly to 7,688 points.

Here are some of the highlights from the ASX today:

Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)

The Telstra share price rose by around 3.7% today after the telco announced its FY21 report.

Telstra also announced a $1.35 billion share buy-back. It is returning approximately 50% of the net proceeds from its InfraCo Towers transaction to shareholders with an on-market share buy-back.

Telstra’s board also decided to declare a fully franked full year dividend of 16 cents per share.

The CEO Andrew Penn said that the transaction reinforced the view that Telstra’s infrastructure assets could deliver additional value to shareholders.

In June, Telstra announced a long-term strategic partnership with a consortium that will acquire a 49% interest. The towers business is the largest mobile tower infrastructure provider in Australia with approximately 8,200 towers.

Turning back to the FY21 result, the ASX 200 telco giant said that on a reported basis, total income decreased by 11.6% to $23.1 billion, whilst net profit grew 3.4% to $1.9 billion.

On a guidance basis, underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell 9.7% to $6.7 billion. The underlying EBITDA included an in-year NBN headwind of around $650 million and an estimated $380 million financial impact from COVID-19. Excluding the in-year NBN headwind, underlying EBITDA in FY21 dropped $70 million.

In FY22, Telstra expects to achieve underlying EBITDA of between $7 billion to $7.3 billion, total income of between $21.6 billion to $23.6 billion and free cashflow after lease payments of between $3.5 billion to $3.9 billion.

National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB)

The NAB share price went up 0.2% after the bank released its update for the third quarter of FY21.

The ASX 200 bank said that its cash earnings of $1.7 billion grew 10.3% compared to the prior corresponding period. It also made $1.65 billion of quarterly statutory net profit.

NAB said that its net interest margin (NIM) was broadly stable. Excluding markets and treasury, and higher liquids, the NIM actually increased modestly with lower deposit and funding costs, partly offset by the impact of lower interest rates and home lending competition.

Looking at its loan book, NAB said that the ratio of loans that were over 90 days past due and gross impaired assets to its loan book decreased by 10 basis points over the three months period to 1.13%.

NAB’s management noted that the acquisitions of Citigroup’s Australian consumer business and the neobank 86 400 will “help accelerate” the growth strategy.

Goodman Group (ASX: GMG)

The Goodman share price fell around 2% today after delivering its FY21 result.

The global property business reported that its operating profit increased by 15% over the year to $1.22 billion. That led to operating earnings per share (EPS) growth of 14.1% to 65.6 cents, beating its initial guidance of 9%.

Goodman generated $2.3 billion of statutory profit. This figure includes items like Goodman’s share of valuation gains, non-cash items and so on.

The ASX 200 business finished the financial year with total assets under management (AUM) of $57.9 billion, an increase of 12%.

Goodman paid a total FY21 distribution of 30 cents per security. Management said this was in line with the group’s capital management strategy to maintain an appropriate payout ratio in light of the strong activity levels.

Its net tangible assets (NTA) per security grew 14.4% to $6.68.

In FY22, the ASX 200 share is expecting to maintain its distribution at 30 cents per security, but grow EPS by another 10% to 72.2 cents.

The post ASX 200 edges higher, Telstra climbs, NAB up appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Healthcare, miners among top performing ASX ETFs in July
• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• The ASX reporting wrap-up: Telstra, AGL Energy, Downer
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares this Thursday
• 3 ASX 200 dividend shares lifting to 52-week highs

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 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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If you’re wanting to invest in the small side of the Australian share market, then the three small caps listed below could be worth a closer look.

All three have been tipped for big things in the future. Here’s why these small cap ASX shares could be worth adding to your watchlist:

Adore Beauty Group Limited (ASX: ABY)

The first small cap to watch is Adore Beauty. It is a leading online beauty retailer which has been growing strongly during FY 2021. This has been underpinned by a significant lift in customer numbers thanks to the shift online. The good news is that this shift is only really getting started with the beauty category. This leaves it very well positioned for growth over the long term as penetration rates increase.

Alcidion Group Ltd (ASX: ALC)

Another small cap share to watch is Alcidion. It is a growing informatics solutions company which provides software which has been designed to improve the efficacy and cost of delivering services to patients and reduce hospital-acquired complications. Alcidion appears well-placed for growth in the future thanks to the shift to a paperless environment in the healthcare sector and a number of favourable industry tailwinds.

Serko Ltd (ASX: SKO)

A third small cap to watch Serko is an online travel booking and expense management provider. It offers businesses the Zeno Travel and Zeno Expense platforms. The former provides AI-powered end-to-end travel itineraries, cost control and travel policy compliance to corporate customers. Whereas the Zeno Expense platform allows users to automate and streamline the expense administration function, identify out-of-policy expense claims, and prevent fraud. It recently signed a game-changing deal with travel giant Booking.com.

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

More reading

• 2 exciting ASX tech shares that could be buys
• 3 excellent ASX tech shares
• 5 ASX shares to hold for 5 years
• ASX travel share Serko Ltd (ASX:SKO) higher on COVID business update
• 2 leading ASX e-commerce shares that could be buys in August 2021

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 shares of and has recommended Alcidion Group Ltd and Serko Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Adore Beauty Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alcidion Group Ltd and Serko 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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July was another top month for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). The flagship ASX 200 managed to add a sizeable 1.1% over the month just gone. The popular ASX exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that track the ASX 200 would have naturally given investors similar gains.

But not all ETFs are equal. Some performed worse than this, while others performed better. ETF provider BetaShares has just released its Australian ETF Review for the month of July, and it makes for some interesting reading.

We already covered how ASX ETFs saw record inflows of funds over July yesterday. We also looked at the ETFs that experienced the largest single inflow of funds (looking at you Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS)).

So today, let’s check out the ASX ETFs that performed the best over July.

The top ASX ETFs in July 2021

BetaShares names the top-performing ASX ETFs for July as follows:

1. VanEck Global Healthcare Leaders ETF (ASX: HLTH)
2. BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF (ASX: HACK)
3. BetaShares Australian Resources Sector ETF (ASX: QRE)
4. SPDR S&P/ASX 200 Resources Fund (ASX: OZR)
5. SPDR Dow Jones Global Real Estate Fund (ASX: DJRE)

VanEck’s HLTH global healthcare ETF was the top performer, delivering gains of 8.5% for July.

HACK was next up with 7%, while the remaining ETFs all delivered between 6.5% and 6.7% for the month.

So we can definitely see that sector/thematic ETFs were big winners in July. Particularly those covering the healthcare, cybersecurity and mining sectors.

So let’s dig a little deeper.

VanEck’s HLTH fund has 49 holdings. The top holdings it offers are currently West Pharmaceutical Services Inc (NYSE: WST), ResMed Inc (NYSE: RMD) (which ASX investors might recognise), PerkinElmer Inc (NYSE: PKI) and Waters Corporation (NYSE: WAT). These are all big US healthcare companies, which (as you might imagine) had a ripper of a month in July.

HACK invests in a basket of global cybersecurity shares, again mostly in the US. Some of its current top holdings include Zscaler Inc (NASDAQ: ZS), Crowdstrike Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: CRWD) and Okta Inc (NASDAQ: OKTA). Again, most of these companies experienced a great July, hence the overall ETF’s stellar performance.

Most ASX investors would be familiar with the recent success of ASX resources shares such as BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) and Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS). So it’s no surprise to find these companies well established in all of the ASX resources sector ETFs listed above.

These numbers go to show that all ASX sectors have their time in the sun. Who knows what August’s numbers will give us!

The post Healthcare, miners among top performing ASX ETFs in July appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares this Thursday
• How this ASX ETF is helping protect our school kids
• The Downer (ASX:DOW) share price is driving 4% higher this afternoon
• ASX tech shares lagging the ASX 200 on Thursday

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. owns shares of and has recommended BETA CYBER ETF UNITS and CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended ResMed. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BETA CYBER ETF UNITS. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended ResMed Inc. and 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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Today, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) edged slightly higher after a slowly grinding lower throughout the session. The benchmark index added 0.05%, climbing to 7,588.2 points.

The question is: which shares delivered the most generously 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 again today. Shares in the company increased 8.23% as thermal coal prices push higher. Find out more about Yancoal Australia here.

The next biggest gaining ASX share today was QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE). The insurance company surged 8.12% to $12.51 after reporting strong FY21 results and declaring an interim dividend of 11 cents per share. Uncover the latest QBE Insurance 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)	$2.50	8.23%
QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE)	$12.51	8.12%
Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG)	$5.45	6.03%
Crown Resorts Ltd (ASX: CWN)	$9.15	4.21%
Downer EDI Limited (ASX: DOW)	$5.77	4.15%
Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)	$3.97	3.66%
Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD)	$22.43	3.60%
Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd (ASX: NEC)	$2.82	3.30%
OZ Minerals Limited (ASX: OZL)	$23.20	3.30%
AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP)	$1.115	3.24%

Our top 10 ASX shares 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

• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares this Thursday
• QBE (ASX:QBE) share price leaping 8% higher on results
• Who are the biggest movers on the ASX 300 this Thursday?
• The Downer (ASX:DOW) share price is driving 4% higher this afternoon
• ASX tech shares lagging the ASX 200 on Thursday

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 Corporate Travel Management Limited, Insurance Australia Group Limited, and 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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The Webjet Ltd (ASX: WEB) share price finished the day slightly higher following positive news from the New Zealand government.

The online travel agent’s shares ended Thursday’s trading session up 0.98% to $5.16.

New Zealand prepares to reopen international borders

According to ABC News, the New Zealand government will cautiously open its borders from early next year. This means international travellers will be able to visit New Zealand for both tourist and business purposes.

It could spell good news for the Webjet share price as the country has been closed off since March 2020 when COVID-19 swept the world into lockdown.

To help maintain the outstanding success in beating the virus, authorities will delay the second jab of the Pfizer vaccine. This is in order to speed up the administration of first doses. The wait time for the second jab will increase from 3 weeks to 6 weeks.

The plan is to allow fully-vaccinated travellers from low-risk countries to visit quarantine-free. For passengers who are arriving from medium-risk countries, they will need to conduct some form of quarantine. And lastly, for travellers coming from high-risk countries or who are unvaccinated, a 14-day hotel quarantine would be mandatory.

The New Zealand government is yet to release where each country is ranked on the list.

A new trial is expected to run in October, allowing some business travellers to quarantine at home rather than hotels. If successful, the country will implement this system for medium-risk countries next year.

This is likely to have a positive effect on the Webjet share price. The airline has been in hibernation mode since early last year. However, it still has substantial cash reserves to survive the ongoing crisis that has put the travel industry in a tailspin.

At its most recent update on 19 May, Webjet revealed a strong capital position. Pro forma cash stood at $431 million, with an average cash burn rate of around $5.5 million per month. This provides the company a long runway of running its business without the need to raise additional capital or draw on debt.

Webjet share price summary

Over the past 12 months, Webjet shares have jumped by more than 50% since hitting near COVID-19 lows. The company has gradually been moving on an upwards trend, but is still a fair way off from 2019 levels.

Webjet has a market capitalisation of around $1.95 billion, with approximately 379 million shares outstanding.

The post Webjet (ASX:WEB) share price lifts as New Zealand plans to open up appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• How does the Webjet (ASX:WEB) share price perform during lockdowns?
• Webjet (ASX:WEB) share price tumbles: Is this a buying opportunity?
• Why is the Flight Centre (ASX:FLT) share price slipping 2% today?
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• What’s the outlook for the Webjet (ASX:WEB) share price?

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras 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 Webjet 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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As trading grinds to a halt, we summarise the reporting results from the big-name ASX shares today. It was once again a mixed bag of reactions to some of Australia’s largest companies and their financial results.

We’ll quickly unpack today’s results and then wrap it back up for tomorrow:

Those that delivered today

Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)

Shares in Australia’s largest telecommunications company surged 3.66% to $3.97. This followed the reporting of the telecom giant’s FY21 results on the ASX and the announcement of a $1.35 billion share buyback.

The takeaway points:

• Total income fell 11.6% to $23.1 billion
• Reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell 14.2% to $7.6 billion
• Underlying EBITDA was down 9.7% to $6.7 billion (versus guidance of $6.6 billion to $6.9 billion)
• Net profit after tax increased 3.4% to $1.9 billion
• Fully franked final dividend of 8 cents per share, bringing full year dividend to 16 cents per share
• FY 2022 guidance: Underlying EBITDA growth of 4.5% to 9%
• $1.35 billion on-market share buyback

AGL Energy Ltd (ASX: AGL)

The AGL share price slumped after what management described as a “challenging year” in its FY21 results. The energy company shaved off 5.53% to finish the day at $7.18.

The takeaway points:

• Revenue decreased 10.0% on the prior corresponding period (pcp) to $10.9 billion.
• Underlying profits fell 33.5% to $537 million on the pcp.
• Underlying earnings per share (EPS) dropped 31.6% to 86.2 cents.
• Net operating cash outflow before significant items was $870 million – a 35% drop.
• Full year dividend of 75 cents per share (41 cents interim + 35 cents final). This is down 23.5% on the pcp for a yield of 9.87% on the current AGL share price.

Downer EDI Ltd (ASX: DOW)

Lastly, shares in Downer gained 4.2% to $5.77 today after reporting its earnings on the ASX. Investors reacted positively to the integrated services company’s FY21 results, with Downer swinging from a loss into profit for the full year.

The takeaway points:

• Underlying net profit after tax and amortisation up 21.4% year on year to $261.2 million
• Revenue down 8.8% to $12,234.2 million
• Statutory earnings before interest, tax, and amortisation increased by $371 million to $401 million
• Statutory net profit after tax of $230 million, up from a loss of $105.8 million
• Earnings per share (EPS) of 25.4 cents per share, up from a loss of 26.1 cents per share
• Unfranked final dividend of 12 cents per share, taking full year dividend to 21 cents per share unfranked

ASX shares reporting tomorrow

Unlike the last couple of days, Friday will see the week finish on a rather quiet note comparatively. Only Baby Bunting Group Ltd (ASX: BBN) and Bailador Technology Investments (ASX: BTI) are slated to be reporting earnings on the ASX tomorrow… though there may be a handful of smaller names among them.

The post The ASX reporting wrap-up: Telstra, AGL Energy, Downer appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares this Thursday
• 3 ASX 200 dividend shares lifting to 52-week highs
• What’s the outlook for the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price?
• CBA’s bumper profit, IAG’s loss and Telstra expectations. Scott Phillips on Nine’s Late News
• Why AGL, Appen, CBA, & Rio Tinto shares are tumbling lower

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 shares of and has recommended Bailador Technology Investments Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Telstra Corporation Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Baby Bunting and Bailador Technology Investments 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 Harvey Norman Holdings Limited (ASX: HVN) share price is having a month to remember. By close of trade on Thursday, shares in the electronics and home appliances company were trading for $5.78 – up 2.12%. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) ended the day 0.12% lower, for context.

Over the month, its shares have risen an astonishing 8.82%. While the company hasn’t made any market announcements since 18 June, something has clearly made investors excited.

Let’s take a closer look.

“Go Harvey Norman, GO!”

The biggest story in the country, including for the financial markets, is the ongoing pandemic. As of writing, Sydney, pockets of regional NSW, the ACT, and Melbourne are in lockdown. South-east Queensland, Cairns, and regional Victoria have recently exited their own stay-at-home orders. In other words, about 2/3s of the country are in or have been in lockdown.

As we saw last year, home appliance and essential retailers like Harvey Norman, Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES), and Nick Scali Limited (ASX: NCK) have done well with stay-at-home orders. In theory, consumers options are limited and there is more use of homewares during covid lockdowns. This, therefore, should benefit these companies. In the same period Harvey Norman is up nearly 9%, Wesfarmers is 10.5% higher and Nick Scali has jumped 15.4%.

These lockdowns up and down the east coast of Australia may be benefitting the Harvey Norman share price.

Another reason may be simple arithmetic. Harvey Norman shares are coming off a lowish base from the previous month.

Take this example. I own shares in XYZ. I bought these shares for $10 and they are now trading for $5. That is a fall of 50%. If tomorrow these shares went up to $9 that would be an 80% rise. While the rise is greater than the fall in relative terms, in absolute terms the opposite is true.

Harvey Norman share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the Harvey Norman share price has outperformed the ASX 200 by about 20 percentage points. Year-to-date it is about 8 percentage points better off than the benchmark index.

Harvey Norman has a market capitalisation of about $7 billion.

The post Why the Harvey Norman (ASX:HVN) share price is up 9% in a month appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These ASX 200 CEOs have the most wealth tied up in their companies
• COVID Delta is raging: 4 ASX shares to buy in turbulent times
• Why the JB Hi-Fi (ASX:JBH) share price is down 7% this month

Motley Fool contributor Marc Sidarous 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 Wesfarmers Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Harvey Norman Holdings 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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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) had a see-saw day today. After an initial strong open that saw the ASX 200 rise above 7,600 points, it then went into the red. At market close, the ASX 200 has slightly recovered to finnish the day up 0.05%, at 7588 points.

But let’s now look at the ASX 200 shares that are topping the trading volume charts this Thursday.

The 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares this Thursday

AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP)

Financial services company AMP is our first ASX 200 share to check out today. A hefty 21.33 million AMP shares traded hands today. We don’t have to look too far to see why this company might be experiencing some elevated buying and selling.

AMP reported its half-year earnings results this morning, and investors have reacted decisively. AMP shares finished the day up a sizeable 3.70% to $1.12 a share. Even so, this company is still very close to its all-time low of $1.04 at these prices, and AMP remains down more than 28% year to date.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

Pilbara is quickly turning into one of the ASX 200’s surprise success stories in 2021 so far. Year to date, this ASX lithium producer is up a whopping 175%. That’s despite a drop of 2.86% today, with Pilbara shares trading at $2.38 at market close. This drop is probably what’s behind the 35.96 million Pilbara shares that swapped owners today. In addition to its eye-watering 2021 returns, Pilbara is also up more than 53% over just the past month alone.

Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)

ASX 200 telco Telstra is our most traded ASX share today, with a titanic 50.53 million shares having been traded on the ASX boards this Thursday. Just like with AMP, we don’t have to dig too deep to find where this trading volume is stemming from.

Telstra also reported its FY2021 earnings this morning, and investors have reacted with enthusiasm. Telstra is today up a meaty 2.52% to $3.96 a share after making a new 52-week high of $4 just after midday today. We can probably thank Telstra’s new share buyback program and its steady dividend for this share price rise, as well as the elevated trading volumes we are seeing today.

The post Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares this Thursday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 3 ASX 200 dividend shares lifting to 52-week highs
• What’s the outlook for the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price?
• CBA’s bumper profit, IAG’s loss and Telstra expectations. Scott Phillips on Nine’s Late News
• The AMP (ASX:AMP) share price is pushing 4% higher this afternoon
• The Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price is driving 4% higher on Thursday

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Telstra Corporation Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia 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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The Archer Materials Ltd (ASX: AXE) share price ascended to new heights on Thursday.

As the semiconductor company has not posted any announcements today, it appears investors are still flying high on recent exuberance.

The Archer Materials share price closed today’s session at $2.17, up 16.04%.

In late afternoon trading, the shares touched $2.20, cementing a new all-time high for the stock.

Patents produce investor positivity

Investors bought Archer shares today despite no new announcements. That leaves us looking squarely at the last two days of back-to-back patent grants for the semiconductor company.

On Tuesday, Archer revealed it had been granted a South Korean patent for its CQ quantum computing chip.

The patent is a milestone and a significant step in validating the company’s technology. The Archer Materials share price launched 13.3% higher on this news.

Adding to the excitement, Archer also announced yesterday that it had been granted a Chinese patent for its CQ chip.

The company stated that the patent is a requirement in China for any future commercial operations in the jurisdiction.

With one patent under its belt, Archer can now proceed with its endeavours in the qubit computing space in China.

Commenting on the recent news, Archer CEO Dr Mohammad Choucair said:

Archer’s quantum computing chip IP is now protected in China – the largest market in the world, a major global economy, and powerhouse consumer of mobile technology. The grant of a patent in China further protects, validates, and substantially de-risks, our unique technology.

To realise the full commercial benefits of the 12CQ technology globally, Archer’s IP strategy includes patent protection in China. This is in line with the key commercialisation activities of the biggest semiconductor chip manufacturers from the US, EU, and Asia.

Archer Materials share price snapshot

The Archer Materials share price has had a monstrous run over the past year and is up 382%.

Momentum with the Archer Materials share price began to pick up in July. This coincided with the first indication of on-chip qubit control from the company.

The post The Archer Materials (ASX:AXE) share price is up 87% in a month appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why the Archer Materials (ASX:AXE) share price rocketed 13% today
• The Archer Materials (ASX:AXE) share price is up 60% in a month to a record high
• Why the Archer Materials (ASX:AXE) share price is up 30% in a week

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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