The Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG) share price fell in intraday trade today, although still finished the day in the green.

Up around 2.5% in morning trade, IAG shares dipped after the company released an update on its response to recent flooding in Victoria. Shares rebounded slightly across the rest of the day and closed at a price of $5.17 each – up 1.17%.

Let’s take a closer look at today’s announcement.

Rising costs after flood devastation

In a statement to the ASX, IAG declared it has received more than 4,300 claims relating to the deadly flooding in Victoria’s Gippsland region. IAG says these claims primarily relate to property damage. It also expects the number of claims to rise in coming days as customers are able to assess damage on their properties.

IAG’s net costs for natural disasters this financial year, up to and including 31 May 2021, stand at approximately $660 million. By the end of the financial year, IAG expects this figure to increase to somewhere between $720 million and $743 million. IAG budgeted for only $658 million in natural disaster claims at the beginning of the financial year, then upped this to between $660 million to $700 million in a previous market update.

On Monday, the Insurance Council of Australia declared the Victorian flooding a “catastrophe”. news.com reports this means insurers will now “escalate and prioritise” policyholders who have been impacted by the disaster.

The IAG share price is still sitting above yesterday’s close, however, despite these increased costs to the company.

Management commentary

IAG Executive General Manager Direct Claims Luke Gallagher urged customers to stay safe when inspecting property damage:

Floodwater is extremely dangerous, so please take every precaution. We have assessors and builders on the ground ready to ensure our customers’ properties are safe and secure. [IAG] will contact those impacted to book in property assessments, so repairs can begin as soon as possible. We can also arrange emergency accommodation and provide immediate financial assistance for customers in need.

IAG share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months the IAG share price has decreased by more than 12%. Over the past three months, however, IAG shares have seen a 10% increase.

IAG has a current market capitalisation of $12.7 billion.

The post What moved the IAG (ASX:IAG) share price today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 up 0.35%: SEEK upgraded, Afterpay lower
• Why we love this cheap ASX 200 share: Wilson

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.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3wHlSEk

Fortunately, in this low interest rate environment, there are countless dividend shares for investors to choose from on the Australian share market.

But with so many to choose from, it can be hard to decide which ones to buy. To narrow things down, I have picked out three ASX dividend shares brokers think investors should buy:

Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN)

According to a note out of Macquarie, its analysts have retained their outperform rating and lifted their price target on this iron ore and lithium company’s shares to $73.00. The broker made the move after increasing its iron ore forecasts materially. This is expected to lead to strong earnings in the near term and generous dividend payments from Mineral Resources. In respect to the latter, it is forecasting dividends of $3.32 per share and $3.05 per share over the next two financial years. Based on the current Mineral Resources share price of $48.87, this will mean fully franked yields of 6.8% and 6.2%, respectively.

Mirvac Group (ASX: MGR)

Analysts at Morgan Stanley have retained their overweight rating and lifted their price target on this property company’s shares to $3.30. According to the note, the broker believes that the market is undervaluing Mirvac’s office portfolio. Particularly given its exposure to the recovering Sydney market. Morgan Stanley expects dividends of 9.9 cents per share in FY 2021 and 11.2 cents per share in FY 2022. Based on the current Mirvac share price of $2.95, this will mean yields of 3.35% and 3.8%, respectively.

Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN)

A note out of Citi reveals that its analysts have retained their buy rating and $11.80 price target on this insurance and banking giant’s shares. According to the note, although Citi has reduced its earnings estimates slightly to reflect insurance claims from the severe weather in Victoria, it still believes there is scope for a special dividend in FY 2021. It also suspects that there could be collective provision releases coming that might not be factored into estimates presently. Citi is forecasting dividends of 61 cents per share in FY 2021 and 58 cents per share in FY 2022. With the Suncorp share price currently fetching $11.32, this implies fully franked yields of 5.4% and 5.1%, respectively, over the next two years.

The post Top brokers name 3 ASX dividend shares to buy today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Suncorp (ASX:SUN) share price hits new 52-week high
• Suncorp (ASX:SUN) share price pushes higher on claims update
• What moved the Stockland (ASX:SGP) share price this week?
• Why Telstra (ASX:TLS) and this ASX share could be top options for a retirement portfolio
• This ASX share could be the next to get a re-rating boost

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.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/35pBdh1

A free trade agreement between Australia and the United Kingdom has been agreed this week. It could affect some ASX shares. 

According to reporting by various media, including The Australian Financial Review, it is the Australian agricultural sector which could be one of the main Australian beneficiaries, with tariff reductions on wine, meat, dairy goods and rice to the UK.

Cars

Meanwhile, British products like Whiskey and cars will be cheaper in Australia. British made cars, including brands such as Mini and Jaguar, will have tariffs instantly removed.

ASX shares that sell cars include Autosports Group Ltd (ASX: ASG) and Eagers Automotive Ltd (ASX: APE).

Farmworkers

British farmworkers will be able to work in Australia under a specialist visa. Australia’s international border has been largely shut to potential overseas farmworkers because of COVID-19.

One of the largest horticultural businesses in Australia is Costa Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: CGC).

Beef and sheep

According to the reporting, tariffs will be removed over the next decade, with duty-free quotas increasing over that time. After a decade, a safeguard will be in place for five years, with a 20 per cent tariff levied on exports above the quota.

There are some large Australian farming businesses that work in those two categories. One of the biggest is ASX-listed Australian Agricultural Company Ltd (ASX: AAC).

Winemakers

The AFR reported that Australian wine can be sold tariff-free in the UK once the trade deal comes into effect. This may provide support for the industry after the recent tariffs that have been put on wine by China, which used to be a huge consumer of Aussie wine.

One of the large Australian winemakers is ASX share Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE).

Dairy

The dairy industry is another sector where the tariffs will be changed. According to reporting, dairy tariffs will be eliminated after five years, with duty-free quotas steadily increasing during that time.

One of the biggest dairy businesses in Australia is Bega Cheese Ltd (ASX: BGA).

Commentary on this deal

At the end of a BBC article covering the free trade agreement, the article concluded with:

The deal marks the end of what has essentially been a 50-year lock-out for Australian farmers, who have struggled to navigate Brussels’ restrictions, tariffs and quotas.

The president of the Australian National Farmers’ Federation said it had been very difficult to break into the UK because it was “way too expensive and way too far”.

Australian farmers have also been looking to diversify due to the increased tensions between Australia and China. In the past year, China has imposed tariffs and restrictions on everything from Australian beef, barley and wine, to rock lobster and coal.

The post What ASX shares might be affected by the UK-Australia trade deal? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 ASX dividend shares that could be buys with yields above 4%
• Why Treasury Wine (ASX:TWE) is embracing robotic help
• The ASX shares benefiting the most from the company spending boom
• Is the Treasury Wine (ASX:TWE) share price going to lose its fizz?
• US on brink of passing massive anti-China law

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 COSTA GRP FPO and Treasury Wine Estates Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3gvjSK1

The Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN) share price reached a new 52-week high of $11.47 earlier this afternoon.

Since then, the Suncorp share price has drifted lower and is swapping hands for $11.33 at the time of writing. That’s still 1.16% higher than yesterday’s close.

The boost in the Suncorp share price comes despite the company not releasing any news today.

However, yesterday Suncorp updated the market on an influx of claims to the financial brand’s insurance services from Victorians affected by the state’s recent severe wet weather.

Latest news

The company informed the market that as of Monday evening, it had received about 3,750 claims resulting from heavy rain, severe winds, and flash flooding in parts of Melbourne and regional Victoria. Most of the claims relate to property damage.

Suncorp stated it expects the number of Victorian claims to continue rising over the coming weeks.

The company is already $40 million over its year-to-date allocated budget of $915 million for natural hazards. It is also $5 million over its entire 2021 budget of $950 million for natural hazard claims.

In the year to 31 May, Suncorp has forked out $955 million for natural hazards claims in Australia and New Zealand. This excludes associated risk margins and claims handling expenses.

Suncorp share price snapshot

The Suncorp share price has been performing well on the ASX lately.

Currently, it’s up 15% year to date. It has also gained 20% since this time last year.

The company has a market capitalisation of about $14.5 billion, with approximately 1.28 billion shares outstanding.

The post Suncorp (ASX:SUN) share price hits new 52-week high appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Suncorp (ASX:SUN) share price pushes higher on claims update
• Why Telstra (ASX:TLS) and this ASX share could be top options for a retirement portfolio
• 2 top ASX dividend shares with attractive yields
• Top brokers name 3 ASX dividend shares to buy today

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.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3qaoit3

Dogecoin (CRYTO: DOGE) is perhaps best known for its image of a Shiba Inu on its logo. It’s also well-known as the crypto that was created as a bit of a joke back when it was forked from Litecoin in December 2013.

But for all that, Dogecoin would likely have faded to obscurity by now if not for its astounding price gains in 2021.

How astounding?

On 25 January Dogecoin was trading for 0.84 US cents. By 7 May, when the token peaked, it was worth 68.5 cents. That’s a gain of some 8,055% in less than 4 months.

Of course, crypto investors who bought in on 7 May are currently nursing some hefty losses. At the time of writing, Dogecoin is worth 31.8 US cents. A healthy reminder of the wild volatility inherent amongst most non-stable coin cryptos.

Even with the big retrace though, Dogecoin remains up 3,686% since 25 January. And with Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) boss Elon Musk continuing to drop its name in tweets, you’ll likely hear more about the dog themed token.

The best performing dog themed crypto of the day isn’t Dogecoin

Dogecoin isn’t the best performing among the top 100 cryptos today. In fact, it’s not even the best performing dog themed crypto of the day.

The Dogecoin price is down 3.5% at time of writing. It’s in good company, with Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) also in the red.

Today’s best performing crypto, by a small landslide, is Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB), according to data from CoinMarketCap.

At the current price of US 0.000916 US cents, Shiba Inu is up more than 25% since this time yesterday. With a market cap of US$3.5 billion, it’s now the 30th largest crypto in existence.

And yes, its logo is the same canine species as Dogecoin.

What’s driving Shiba Inu’s price gain?

You’ve probably heard of Dogecoin. But if you haven’t heard of Shiba Inu, you’re not alone.

The dog themed token was created in August 2020 and is verified on the Ethereum blockchain. Claiming it has the potential to deliver outsized gains amongst cryptocurrencies, Shiba Inu is billed as “the Dogecoin killer” on its website.

The recent price gains appear to be linked to an announcement by Coinbase yesterday saying its Coinbase Pro users will be able to trade Shiba Inu tokens by the end of this week. Coinbase users were first able to trade Dogecoin earlier this year.

The post Shiba Inu token tops the 24-hour crypto gainers list…and it’s not Dogecoin! appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ‘Big Shorter’ Michael Burry calls biggest share market bubble of all time
• Why Tesla’s restaurant plan is an unprofitable detour
• Is cryptocurrency investing or gambling? 3 things you need to know
• 4 ASX shares to gain exposure to international market growth: fund manager
• Bitcoin stocks soar following Elon Musk’s Tesla announcement

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Bitcoin and Tesla. 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.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2TurYJH

As my colleague covered here, exchange traded funds (ETFs) continue to grow in popularity with Australian investors.

If you’re looking to jump on the bandwagon, then you might want to take a look at the quality ETFs listed below. They give investors exposure to a host of exciting companies across the tech sector:

BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF (ASX: HACK)

The first ETF to look at is the BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF.  As you might have guessed from its name, this ETF gives investors exposure to the leading companies in the cybersecurity sector.

The fund currently includes 40 cybersecurity companies ranging from industry giants to emerging players. Among its holdings are Accenture, Cisco, Cloudflare, Crowdstrike, Fortinet, Okta, Proofpoint, Splunk, and Zscaler.

In respect to Splunk, it is the world’s first Data-to-Everything Platform. It allows users to modernise their security operations with a portfolio of advanced data, analytics and operations solutions that help them defend against the latest threats.

Whereas Zscaler enables secure digital transformation by rethinking traditional network security, and empowering enterprises to securely work from anywhere.

VanEck Vectors Video Gaming and eSports ETF (ASX: ESPO)

Another ETF to look at is the VanEck Vectors Video Gaming and eSports ETF. This ETF gives investors access to a portfolio of the leading companies involved in video game development, eSports, and gaming related hardware and software globally.

VanEck notes that the fund provides a dynamic growth opportunity for investors. This is due to its focus on companies that are positioned to benefit from the increasing popularity of video games and eSports.

Among the 25 companies you would be buying a slice of are the likes of Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, Nintendo, Nvidia, Take-Two Interactive, and Tencent Holdings.

In respect to Nvidia, it sparked the growth of the PC gaming market in 1999 by redefining modern computer graphics and revolutionising parallel computing. Since then, its GPU deep learning ignited modern artificial intelligence, which is the next era of computing.

Nvidia is also a way for investors to gain exposure to the crypto boom. It recently launched new hardware designed specifically for crypto mining and sales have been going through the roof.

The post 2 exciting tech ETFs for ASX investors this month appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 fantastic ETFs for ASX growth investors
• 2 ETFs for ASX investors in June
• 2 good ETFs that might be buys
• 3 reasons the iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX:IVV) could be a buy today
• Here’s why this ETF could be a top option for ASX investors

James Mickleboro does not own any shares mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended BETA CYBER ETF UNITS. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BETA CYBER ETF UNITS. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended VanEck Vectors ETF Trust – VanEck Vectors Video Gaming and eSports ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3wu9RC9

The Tietto Minerals Ltd (ASX: TIE) share price has lifted today. After spending most of the day trading at 33.5 cents each, shares in the mineral explorer are swapping hands for 33 cents at the time of writing, up 1.54%.

The company comes into focus after announcing gold intersections from drilling in its mine Côte d’Ivoire.

Let’s take a closer look at today’s news.

Why the Tietto share price is rising

In a statement to the ASX, Tietto Minerals advised it has made “multiple, high-grade gold drill intercepts” at its Abujar Gold Project in the West African nation. Highlights include:

• a 29m wide ore containing 4.46g of gold per tonne, which includes a 17m wide section containing 7.11g of gold per tonne.
• a 2m wide ore containing 18.6g of gold per tonne.
• a 3m wide ore containing 9.39g of gold per tonne.
• an 8m wide ore containing 6.92g of gold per tonne.

The company says it still has $52 million in liquid assets and as such can both fast-track and grow the Abujar gold mine.

Specifically, on fast-tracking the site, Tietto says it should be able to release the definitive study for the site by the second quarter of FY22. It is also in the midst of negotiations with the Ivorian government regarding final approvals.

The results have impressed investors, judging by today’s Tietto share price movement.

Management commentary

Tietto managing director Dr Caigen Wang said

Our infill and extensional drilling program at Abujar has again delivered more high‐grade gold intercepts that will deliver increases in resource confidence and resource growth.

[We have] successfully confirmed gold mineralisation at or above expectations as we have closed up the inferred drill pattern to Indicated Resource spacing at these deposits.

Gold commodity price

Gold is currently trading on the open market for about US $1,860 per troy ounce. It’s down 0.32% this month and 1.91% year to date.

According to the website Trading Economics, the price of gold is coming off of its record highs because investor worries over inflation may be easing. Gold is seen as a safe-haven investment against inflation.

Tietto share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the Tietto share price has decreased 13%. The company hit a 12-month low of 28.5 cents several times throughout April and May but has since slightly recovered. Tietto Minerals has a market capitalisation of $153 million.

The post Tietto (ASX:TIE) share price glimmers on latest gold discovery appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why the Irongate (ASX:IAP) share price is edging lower today
• These 5 ASX shares are delivering the biggest gains in 2021
• Should investors be looking at tech shares right now?
• A Super-bad idea
• 3 ASX 200 dividend shares making year-to-date highs

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.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3wzLu6c

The Irongate Group (ASX: IAP) share price is backtracking in mid-afternoon trade. This comes after the diversified real estate investment trust provided an update on its recent equity raise.

At the time of writing, Irongate shares are swapping hands for $1.51, down 1.31%

Irongate completes placement

One catalyst for today’s fall in the Irongate share price could be investor concerns over an impending share dilution.

According to its release, Irongate announced it has completed a fully underwritten institutional placement to raise $50 million before costs. The company received overwhelming support from a number of institutional investors.

The offer will see approximately 34 million ordinary staples securities, at a price of $1.47 apiece, allocated to participating investors. This represents a 4% discount on the issued securities prior to when the company went into a trading halt on Tuesday morning.

Irongate will use its existing placement capacity to create the new shares. Under listing rule 7.1, this allows up to an additional 15% of its total shares to be issued without shareholder approval.

The company will use the proceeds from the capital raise to partly fund the acquisition of a Sydney-based property. Irongate is seeking to purchase a 100% interest in 38 Sydney Avenue, Canberra for a total of $73.75 million. This implies a current yield of 5.13% for the property.

The new securities are expected to settle this Friday 18 June, with allotment on the ASX on 21 June 2021.

Irongate CEO, Graeme Katz touched on the company’s latest capital raising efforts, saying:

We are very pleased with the strong support we have received from investors and are looking forward to delivering on our strategy of growing IAP’s asset base by investing in good-quality income-producing properties.

About the Irongate share price

Despite today’s falls, Irongate shares have gained around 25% in the past 12 months. The company’s share price is nearing its 52-week high of $1.585 reached in mid-May.

Based on valuation grounds, Irongate commands a market capitalisation of around $907 million, with over 611 million shares outstanding.

The post Why the Irongate (ASX:IAP) share price is edging lower today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 3 small ASX shares with big dividend yields

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 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.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2SujGl5

Coming up to the halfway mark of 2021, it is worth reflecting on what ASX shares have been the biggest moneymakers of the year so far. Some of these companies you might know, some you might not. But if you invested at the start of the year, the minimum return would now be six-fold.

While past performance is not an indicator of future performance, there are always valuable lessons to be learnt. As the saying goes, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.”

So, without further ado, here are the 5 best performing ASX shares of the year as of today.

Top 5 ASX shares countdown

Renascor Resources Ltd (ASX: RNU)

While all the top 5 best performers are small-cap shares, Renascor Resources is the smallest with a market capitalisation of $152 million. The company operates as a vertically integrated battery anode manufacturer.

It had been a quiet couple of years for Renascor prior to 2021. The South Australian graphite miner’s share price had been bouncing between 1 to 2 cents per share. However, with electric vehicles (EVs) booming in popularity, analysts are expecting demand to outstrip supply.

Currently, graphite represents a large portion of the material constituents in lithium-ion batteries. Renascor touts the largest graphite reserve outside of Africa. Which is possibly a contributing factor to the Renascor Resources share price surging 567% year-to-date (YTD).

Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA)

Sayona Mining is another ASX small-cap share riding the EV wave. Valued at $329 million, this emerging lithium producer is the biggest on our list by market cap.

The initial jump in the company’s share price followed a partnership with US-based lithium corporation, Piedmont Lithium Inc (ASX: PLL). That partnership involved Piedmont investing US$12 million into Sayona to become a strategic investor and offtake partner.

President and CEO of Piedmont at the time said, “Piedmont is building a world-class spodumene-to-hydroxide business in North Carolina, and we are now very pleased to be partnering with Sayona to advance a similar business in Quebec.”

The Sayona Mining share price has returned 622% since the start of 2021.  

Actinogen Medical Ltd (ASX: ACW)

This Aussie biotechnology company has been busy in 2021. Actinogen has a large addressable market, developing drugs for Alzheimer’s disease and the cognitive decline associated with other neurological and metabolic diseases.

A major milestone occurred on 5 February 2021, when the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Actinogen’s Xanamem drug a Rare Paediatric Disease Designation for the treatment of Fragile X syndrome. Momentum in this ASX share continued as it progressed its clinical development program and appointed a new CEO.

These steps forward have come been greeted with plenty of share price positivity. The Actinogen share price has rewarded shareholders with a 638% return YTD.

Oneview Healthcare PLC (ASX: ONE)

Oneview Healthcare is a cloud-based software provider that offers solutions used in the healthcare sector. These solutions help healthcare workers deliver better and more tailored bedside care. Oneview is our first official 10 bagger on the list. That’s right, a 10X return since the start of the year.

This ASX share started the year with a distribution agreement with Samsung SDS America, which is “the enterprise IT solutions provider of Samsung”. The deal sent the Oneview share price flying 140% higher in a single day. Since then, the company has entered an investor awareness agreement with S3 Consortium and made a global launch of its CXP Cloud Enterprise software using Microsoft Azure.

Partnering with such iconic brands has undoubtedly drawn investors’ attention. And if that hasn’t, the 900% share price appreciation YTD should turn a few heads.

Province Resources Ltd (ASX: PRL)

Last, but certainly not least… the best performing ASX share so far this year is Province Resources. This small-cap company is riding another prominent trend of 2021 – hydrogen. Stemming from mineral exploration, Province Resources pivoted towards the booming green hydrogen market early in the year with the acquisition of Ozexco Pty Ltd.

From there, the company entered a memorandum of understanding with global renewable energy leader Total Eren to develop a potential 8-gigawatt green hydrogen project in Australia. By combining wind/solar power and electrolysis, Province Resources hopes to create a green hydrogen production facility in Carnarvon, Western Australia.

The bold, green ambitions have certainly captured the eyes of the market. Province, being the best performing ASX share, has delivered a return of 1,054% in 2021 so far.

The post These 5 ASX shares are delivering the biggest gains in 2021 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why is the Actinogen (ASX:ACW) share price up 414% in 3 months?
• Province (ASX:PRL) share price backtracks on today’s gain

Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. 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 Microsoft. 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.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3gE6hia

Asset management business BetaShares has been considering whether it’s time for investors to look at tech shares such as the ones in the Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ).

BetaShares’ Alex Holmes referenced the recent global market commentary that investors have been moving from high-growth tech names into ‘value’ shares.

Mr Holmes pointed to a few different catalysts for this change.

There have been the positive vaccine rollout updates over the last several months. In November 2020, just after the US election, the world learned that the COVID-19 vaccines from BioNTech-Pfizer and Moderna had very high efficacy rates. That means those vaccines were efficient at reducing the impacts of COVID-19 on people. The number of COVID daily deaths in the US has fallen significantly since the vaccine rollout.

Another factor that Mr Holmes pointed to was the reopening of the global economy. COVID-19 had been heavily impacting certain industries, but these effects are now unwinding.

The final factor was expectations of rising inflation. That might change the timeline of interest rate rises.

The divergence of performance

Mr Holmes pointed out that the financials, materials and energy sectors have performed well in 2021 as investors shifted their focus to “perceived undervalued areas of the market. Despite that, the NASDAQ 100 is hitting new heights – it has risen by around 10% in the year to date.

But, despite the rising prices of those technology names, the forward price to earnings ratio (p/e ratio) of the NASDAQ 100 reduced from 32 in September 2020 to 28 in May 2021.

The unprofitable tech companies are what is causing the overall tech underperformance, according to BetaShares, not the high-quality global tech names that have lots of cash on their balance sheet such as Apple, Alphabet and Facebook.

He also pointed out that whilst the NASDAQ 100 is above recent average levels, it is nowhere near the forward p/e ratio peak of 79.4 in March 2000 during the tech crash just over two decades ago.

A return to performance for high quality tech?

Mr Holmes and BetaShares thinks that if investors turn more cautious, it could lead to a shift towards quality tech companies like the mega cap tech shares which have a large influence on our daily lives. Examples include mobile apps and cloud streaming services.

He also pointed out that historical data seems to suggest that large cap tech shares can perform positively despite expectations of rising inflation, and are not dependent on low inflation.

What investment can give US tech exposure?

BetaShares has an exchange-traded fund (ETF) called Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF, which invests in the NASDAQ 100.

The biggest positions in the portfolio now are: Apple, Microsoft, Amazon.com, Alphabet, Facebook, Tesla, Nvidia, PayPal and Adobe.

It has an annual management cost of 0.48% per annum. Bearing in mind that past performance is not an indicator of future performance, since inception in May 2015 the Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF has delivered an average return per annum of almost 21%.

The post Should investors be looking at tech shares right now? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• NAB and Zip were among the most traded ASX shares last week
• 2 ETFs for ASX investors in June
• BetMakers and Zip were among the most traded ASX shares last week
• 2 impressive ASX shares that could be buys in June 2021
• 2 top ETFs to buy in June 2021

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 BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/35nlZsO