A number of ASX shares in the real estate sector will be going ex-dividend this week.

This means that investors must own or buy the shares before the ex-dividend date to be eligible for its next dividend payment. Here are the shares going ex-dividend to keep an eye on.

Cedar Woods Properties Limited (ASX: CWP) 

Cedar Woods is a diversified property development company involved in emerging residential communities, medium to high-density apartments and townhouses in inner-city neighbourhoods. 

The company has a long history of stable earnings and dividends, with 2020 being the one exception. Its first half FY21 results highlight a significant rebound in earnings with total revenue up 31% to $169.2 million and net profit after tax surging 120% to $22.4 million.

The company declared a 13 cent interim dividend in the results announcement, which will be going ex-dividend on 29 March. This represents a yield of approximately 1.80%. 

APN Convenience Retail REIT (ASX: AQR)

APN Convenience Retail owns a portfolio of 80 service station and convenience retail assets across Australia.

The company’s objective is to provide investors with an attractive, defensive and growing income stream. Last year, the company paid quarterly dividends amounting to 22 cents or a yield of approximately 6.40%.

Similarly, the has issued its first interim dividend for the year of 5.5 cents which will be going ex-dividend on 30 March. If things go to plan, investors can expect a similar yield in 2021. 

Charter Hall Social Infrastructure REIT (ASX: CQE) 

Charter Hall Social Infrastructure maintains a portfolio focused on the childcare industry.

The company believes that there will be a strong recovery in childcare attendances as COVID-19 becomes a lesser issue. It also highlights the bi-partisan government support for continued funding of the childcare sector as a positive, with anticipated annual government spending to increase to $9.0 billion in FY21 from $8.0 billion in FY20. 

Its shares will be going ex-dividend on 30 March for a distribution amount of 4.1 cents. This represents a yield of approximately 1.33%. Note that Charter Hall Social Infrastructure also pays dividends every quarter. 

HomeCo Daily Needs REIT (ASX: HDN) 

HomeCo invests predominately in metro-located, convenience-based assets in a large retail format. The company is a relatively new listing on the ASX, making its debut on 23 November 2020.

HomeCo has received a few broker notes, including a buy rating from Morgans. 

Its first distribution of 2.4 cents will be going ex-dividend on 30 March. This represents a yield of approximately 1.85% at today’s prices. 

More reading

• 2 ASX shares rated as strong buys by brokers
• 2 quality ASX dividend shares with generous yields
• 2 quality ASX dividend shares with generous yields
• 2 high yield and buy-rated ASX dividend shares to snap up

Motley Fool contributor Kerry Sun 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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An early media report regarding News Corporation (ASX: NWS) could make the News Corp share price worth watching today.

Why is the News Corp share price on watch?

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) this morning reported that News Corp will stop distributing newspapers to large swathes of regional Queensland. Per the article, News Corp has notified a number of Queensland newsagents that it will stop delivering titles from September.

News Corp reportedly cited the “very high cost” of distribution according to a letter seen by the ABC. Affected titles reportedly include The Courier Mail, The Australian and The Daily Telegraph.

Shares in the Aussie media group will be on watch following this morning’s ABC article on regional distributions. The company’s shares have rocketed over the last 12 months as a top performer on the ASX.

What else has been happening for News Corp?

The News Corp share price surged higher on Friday after an acquisition update from the Aussie media group. News Corp announced it would acquire Investor’s Business Daily (IBD) from O’Neill Capital Management for US$275 million (A$361 million). It appears to be part of News Corp’s focus on digital media given 90% of IBD’s revenue is from digital offerings.

Investors reacted well to the news as the media share rocketed 3.2% higher in early trade before closing the day up 2.0% at $32.12 per share. 

The News Corp share price is up 38.7% year to date compared with the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) which has gained 2.1% so far in 2021.

Foolish takeaway

The News Corp share price is one to watch this morning after a media report regarding its regional distribution plans. This follows a strong Friday surge as News Corp unveiled its latest acquisition, Investor’s Business Daily. The media group continues to deepen its digital media expertise with investors pushing the share price higher.

More reading

• More Aussies now think shares are better than real estate
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX 200 gets its mojo back
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• 5 steps to start building your portfolio now
• These were the best performers on the ASX 200 last week

Motley Fool contributor Ken Hall 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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If you ever avoid buying a share because the price has gone up 10% in the past week, then you should stop investing and find another hobby.

That’s the opinion of multiple experts who have warned retail investors about getting distracted about short-term price movements.

“Chickens don’t make money,” Marcus Today director Marcus Padley told his newsletter subscribers.

“If you are the sort of investor who says ‘it’s up 100%, I’ve missed it’, you doom yourself to conservatism… You will never buy a 10-bagger.”

The Motley Fool chief investment officer Scott Phillips said much the same to his newsletter readers this month.

“You reckon the person who bought Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) shares at $3, kicking herself for missing them at $2.90, is still kicking herself today, when the share price is closer to $40?”

“What would have been the bigger sin? Missing out on $0.10, or missing out altogether on buying, because your target price was never reached?”

Share market corrections are awesome

Padley said stock market dips are “inevitable and regular”.

“Expect a big one every ten years [where prices tumble 50%], and a tradeable one every three years (10-20%).”

He also noted crashes happen very quickly, but the recovery is often slow. And that leaves plenty of time to buy bargains from a rehabilitating market. 

“It’s a year from the [COVID-19] correction and what we lost in 23 trading days we still haven’t recovered,”  Padley told investors.

“You have plenty of time… to decide when and what to buy. There’s no rush. You never have to catch the knife. The market never crashes up. You do not have to catch the bottom.”

Forager Funds portfolio manager Harvey Migotti last week agreed the volatility in recent weeks has made it a good time to buy.

“We love that volatility because it allows us to buy really good high quality assets at a discounted price,” he told a Forager video.

“Names that have fallen 40% from the highs, for no particular fundamental reason just to kind of get caught up in the rotation.”

Don’t check share prices everyday

If you don’t worry about paying a few cents extra to grab that quality stock, you’d also be advised not to check daily price movements — for the same reason.

“Maybe the shares I bought this morning fall overnight. Maybe they go up. Maybe they close unchanged. I really don’t care,” said Phillips.

“If I’ve bought quality at a decent price, this’ll be the last time I even remember what happened yesterday. The prize is through the windscreen, not the rear vision mirror.”

According to The Motley Fool US contributor Christy Bieber, checking stock prices too often just provokes anxiety and pushes some people into emotional decisions.

“Making investing decisions based on emotion is a recipe for disaster,” she said.

“To make sure you don’t give into fear and make decisions that’ll cost you, don’t even look at the day-to-day performance of the market if it worries you. Instead, spend your time reviewing the fundamentals of the stocks you’ve bought and your asset allocation.”

More reading

• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX 200 gets its mojo back
• Here’s why the Food Revolution (ASX:FOD) share price jumped 8% today
• Don’t ever buy defensive shares: fundie
• 2 ASX 200 blue chip shares to buy
• Why is the Woolworths (ASX:WOW) share price up 5% in a week?

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Woolworths 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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More Australians favour shares over real estate as a way to invest, in a rare result for our usually property-obsessed country.

Every quarter, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) and the Melbourne Institute’s survey asks “Where is the wisest place for your savings?”.

In the latest numbers released this month, the real estate vs shares tussle was turned on its head.

“In March, just 9.3% of consumers nominated ‘real estate’, the third-lowest result in the 47 years we have been running the question,” said Westpac chief economist Bill Evans.

“More consumers (10.5%) favour shares than real estate.”

The property market, especially residential, has been rising incredibly the past 6 months due to near-zero interest rates.

But perhaps the loss in confidence in real estate indicates that Australians don’t think those exorbitant prices are sustainable.

“Markets and some commentators have been warning against damaging housing bubbles. The survey points to rising house prices although investors still appear cautious,” said Evans.

“Owner occupiers, including first home buyers, may already be becoming deterred by the associated deterioration in affordability.”

There’s still plenty more money to come into share markets

Perhaps more stunningly, a combined 48% of Australians thought it was better to park their money into their bank account or paying down debt than investing it in shares.

There are worries that shares are overvalued after more than 435,000 Australians bought their first stock last year with their lockdown savings.

But the finding that half the country still thinks putting their money in the bank is a better bet shows there’s still enormous potential for additional capital to flow into the ASX.

During the dot-com bubble in the late 1990s and early 2000s, more than 30% of Australians thought the share market was where their money should be. 

“Interestingly, while consumers are feeling confident, they are still cautious when it comes to investing, with the proportion seeing shares, super and even real estate as the ‘wisest place for saving’ remaining relatively low,” said AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP) economist Shane Oliver.

“This is still positive though for shares and real estate from a contrarian perspective.”

This outlook is why Oliver advised stock investors to hold firm through the current volatility.

“Looking through the inevitable short-term noise, the combination of improving global growth helped by more stimulus, vaccines and still low interest rates augurs well for growth assets generally in 2021,” he said.

“Expect the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) to end 2021 at a record high of around 7200.”

The current record for the ASX 200 index is 7199.79, set in February 2020, just before the market crashed out of COVID-19 recession fears.

More reading

• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX 200 gets its mojo back
• 2 quality ASX dividend shares you can buy today
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• 5 steps to start building your portfolio now
• These were the best performers on the ASX 200 last week

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo 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 Synlait Milk Ltd (ASX: SM1) share price will be on watch on Monday morning.

This follows the release of the dairy processor’s half year results.

How did Synlait perform in the first half?

For the six months ended 31 January, Synlait reported a 19% increase in revenue to NZ$664.2 million.

This was driven by a 16% increase in lactoferrin production and the acquisition of Christchurch cheesemaker Dairyworks, which helped offset weakness in infant formulas sales.

However, things were not as positive for its earnings. Synlait reported a 29% decline in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to NZ$47.7 million.

And even worse was its bottom line performance, with its net profit after tax falling a disappointing 76% to NZ$6.4 million.

Management commentary

Synlait’s Chair, Graeme Milne, commented: “Our first half was challenging, and we continue to find ourselves in a period of significant uncertainty and volatility as Synlait faces into several headwinds. This is impacting our short-term operations and will impact our full year 2021 financial result (FY21).”

Synlait’s CEO, Leon Clement, added: “We cannot control COVID-19 but we can control our response. Our focus is now to mitigate the impact COVID-19 has had on our customers, as we manage costs and capacity and pull forward value creation initiatives to accelerate the execution of our strategy.”

“We will need time to get through this, but we remain confident about our future. Our investment phase is complete. We have the capacity, capability, and customer base to generate significant value. COVID-19 hit us late, but we will emerge from the pandemic a stronger, more sustainable Synlait.”

Outlook

Management has warned that the headwinds that its major customer, A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M), is facing, means that demand is uncertain.

It explained: “Synlait is continuing to experience significant uncertainty and volatility within its business. This is due to ongoing uncertainty in The a2 Milk Company’s expected demand for the remainder of FY21 and FY22. Synlait does not currently have sufficient confidence to forecast when this recovery will occur. The resulting impact of this on Synlait’s business is two-fold: demand for consumer-packaged infant formula remains uncertain, which in turn impacts forward infant base powder production and asset use.”

It also warned that the sudden drop in consumer-packaged infant formula demand, combined with rapidly rising Global Dairy Trade prices, foreign exchange, and a changing product mix, is creating volatility which limits returns.

In light of the above, the company suspects that its operations may be breakeven in FY 2021.

More reading

• Chinese factory output is up an astonishing 35%
• Is it time to buy at this A2 Milk (ASX:A2M) share price?
• Synlait (ASX:SM1) share price crashes 7% on cancelled guidance
• ASX shares on watch: Chinese investment in Australia has dropped 61%

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended A2 Milk. 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) has just had one of its best weeks in a month after ending the week 1.7% higher. In a pattern investors must be becoming rather familiar with, it was once again ASX blue-chip shares that drove most of the broader market’s gains, while ASX tech shares continued to show weakness.

Most ASX blue chips had a decent week. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price was up 1.25% to $86. National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB), BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) also rose. Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) had an exceptional week, rising 6.23% to a new 7-month high of $3.41 by the end of the week.

CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) was also a standout ASX blue-chip performer, rising 5.32% to $267.46.

Meanwhile, as mentioned earlier, ASX tech shares struggled over the week. Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) shares were down 2.23%, whilst Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) was down 6.51% and Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) down 2.41%. Not all ASX resources shares were in the green either. Both Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG) and Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC) had shocking weeks, which we’ll discuss later.

But CSL was only one ASX healthcare share that had a top week. Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC) shares were up 3.25%, while Sonic Healthcare Limited (ASX: SHL) was up almost 10%.

In other news…

We also had some interesting news from a few corners last week. Firstly, Crown Resorts Ltd (ASX: CWN) shareholders were treated to a nice surprise on Monday when it emerged that a US-based private company called Blackstone is looking at a buyout of the embattled gaming giant. That pushed Crown shares up almost 20% over the week (again, more on that later).

Meanwhile, in some news that wasn’t so good for existing TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG) shareholders, we learnt on Friday that founder and CEO David Teoh is stepping down from the company he founded in the 1980s. TPG shares fell 6.7% on Friday in response, and 7.4% over the week. That should tell you everything you need to know about how the market views Mr Teoh and his leadership.

How did the markets end the week?

The week just gone gave investors four out of five days in the green. Monday delivered a good start to the week with a 0.66% green day, which was tempered by a 0.1% slide on Tuesday. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday then built on Monday’s gains with rises of 0.5%, 0.17% and 0.5% respectively. Overall, the ASX 200 started the week at 6,708.2 points and finished up at 6,824.2 points, 1.73% higher.

Meanwhile, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) started out at 6,959.6 points and finished the week at 7,063.1 points, a gain of 1.49%.

Which ASX 200 shares were the biggest winners and losers?

Time now for our most salacious segment where we look at the week’s ASX 200 winners and losers. So put the kettle on as we, as always, start with the losers:

Worst ASX 200 losers	% loss for the week
Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG)	(26.56%)
Netwealth Group Ltd (ASX: NWL)	(14.05%)
TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG)	(7.37%)
Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC)	(7.03%)

Resolute was the ASX 200 wooden spooner for the week. This ASX gold miner was rocked when it announced its mining licence for the Bibiani Gold Mine in the African country of Ghana has been terminated by the Ghanaian government with immediate effect. Ouch. Resolute did have plans to sell this mine to a Chinese buyer for US$105 million, but this development has obviously thrown a spanner in the works.

Next up was Netwealth Group. This funds management platform has gotten into a spot of bother due to an agreement with Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) coming to an end. It’s hard to find banks that will pay anyone a decent yield on cash deposits in this current near-zero interest rate environment. Netwealth shareholders were unfortunately reminded of this fact last week.

TPG shares dropped on account of the resignation of David Teah that we mentioned earlier, whilst Lynas dropped for no obvious reason.

Now with the losers out sight and mind, let’s have a look at last week’s winners:

The ASX 200’s biggest winner last week was Crown. As we’ve already discussed, Crown shares were back in favour after US private equity firm Blackstone gave the company a non-binding proposal to acquire all Crown shares for a price of $11.85 in cash per share. Crown closed on Friday at $11.79 per share after hitting $11.90 in intra-day trading, so investors are clearly expecting this deal to go through.

Agricultural company GrainCorp was also in fine form last week, rising more than 14%. The catalyst for this move appears to be a business update the company announced on Wednesday. Among other things, this told investors that GrainCorp expects earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to be $25 million higher by 2023-24 than the company previously anticipated.

Finally, Adbri and Nufarm rose without any obvious reason. Both of these companies can be categorised as rather cyclical, so perhaps these moves are just showing some investor bullishness.

A wrap of the ASX 200 blue-chip shares

Before we go, here is a look at the major ASX 200 blue-chip shares as we start on yet another week in paradise. Note the rising 52-week lows as we put the 12-month anniversary of the COVID crash low behind us:

ASX 200 company	Trailing P/E ratio	Last share price	52-week high	52-week low
CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)	34.93	$267.46	$332.68	$242
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)	19.13	$86	$89.20	$57
Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)	38.2	$24.34	$25.30	$14.53
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ)	23.27	$28.17	$29.55	$15.07
National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB)	24.12	$26.17	$27.10	$14.90
Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG)	7.45	$20.15	$26.40	$9.32
Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW)	36.18	$40.54	$42.05	$33.82
Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES)	31.87	$52.84	$56.40	$31.70
BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)	25	$45.07	$50.93	$28.03
Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO)	14.02	$110.33	$130.30	$80.10
Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL)	20.33	$15.99	$19.26	$14.95
Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)	22.88	$3.41	$3.54	$2.66
Transurban Group (ASX: TCL)	–	$12.73	$15.64	$10.73
Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD)	–	$5.96	$7.49	$4.88
Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM)	15.85	$24.92	$38.15	$22.54
Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL)	–	$24.54	$27.60	$16.64
Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG)	23.17	$153.40	$154.77	$80
Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)	–	$105.89	$160.05	$13.58

And finally, here is the lay of the land for some leading market indicators:

• S&P/ASX 200 Index (XJO) at 6,824.2 points.
• All Ordinaries Index (XAO) at 7,063.1 points.
• Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) at 33,072.88 points after rising 1.39% on Friday night (our time).
• Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) going for US$56,220 per coin.
• Gold (spot) swapping hands for US$1,733 per troy ounce.
• Iron ore asking US$156.92 per tonne.
• Crude oil (Brent) trading at US$64.57 per barrel.
• Australian dollar buying 76.32 US cents.
• 10-year Australian Government bonds yielding 1.65% per annum.

That’s all folks. See you next week after a Happy Easter!

More reading

• 2 quality ASX dividend shares you can buy today
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• 3 high quality ASX shares to buy next month
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week
• Top broker names 2 ASX dividend shares to buy

Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Bitcoin, National Australia Bank Limited, Newcrest Mining Limited, Ramsay Health Care Limited, and Telstra Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Altium and Bitcoin. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of CSL Ltd. and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Macquarie Group Limited and Telstra Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO, COLESGROUP DEF SET, Netwealth, Transurban Group, Wesfarmers Limited, and Woolworths Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Crown Resorts Limited and Ramsay Health Care 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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More reading

• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX 200 gets its mojo back
• 2 quality ASX dividend shares you can buy today
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• 2 strong ASX mid cap shares to buy
• 3 high quality ASX shares to buy next month

Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Kate O’Brien owns shares of Apple and Rio Tinto Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), and Apple. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), and Apple. 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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With savings accounts and term deposits still offering ultra low interest rates, the share market continues to be the best place to earn a passive income.

But which dividend shares should you buy? Two that are highly rated are listed below. Here’s what you need to know about them:

Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1)

Accent is a footwear-focused retailer with a growing collection of store brands. These include the likes of HYPEDC, Platypus, Sneaker Lab, Stylerunner, and The Athlete’s Foot. The company has also just launched a new brand called 4 Workers last week.

Thanks to a combination of new store brand launches, the expansion of its existing footprint, and strong demand in-store and online, Accent has been growing very strongly in recent years.

Positively, this has continued in FY 2021. Last month the company released its half year result and reported a 6.6% increase in total sales to $541.3 million and a 57.3% lift in net profit after tax to $52.8 million. Pleasingly, this positive form continued early in the second half.

One broker that is a fan of the company is Bell Potter. It recently put a buy rating and $2.65 price target on its shares. Bell Potter is also forecasting an 11.9 cents per share dividend in FY 2021. Based on the current Accent share price, this will mean a fully franked 5% yield.

Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)

Westpac could be a great option for income investors that don’t already have exposure to the banking sector. Especially given the bank’s return to form in FY 2021 and its improving outlook.

In respect to its return to form, in February the bank released its first quarter update and reported a $1.97 billion first quarter cash profit. This was more than double the quarterly FY 2020 second half average cash earnings.

Westpac also revealed that it was reversing ~$500 million of COVID-19 related impairments due to the improving economic conditions. It also appeared to suggest that further impairment reversals could happen if conditions continue to improve.

Morgans was pleased with its update and put an add rating and $27.50 price target on its shares. The broker is also forecasting a fully franked $1.32 per share dividend in FY 2021. Based on the current Westpac share price, this represents a generous 5.4% dividend yield.

More reading

• Where to reinvest your Telstra (ASX:TLS) dividends
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy right now
• Is the Westpac (ASX:WBC) NZ demerger good news for its share price?
• Why the Accent (ASX:AX1) share price is pushing higher today
• Is Temple & Webster (ASX:TPW) the best e-commerce ASX share to buy right now?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of Westpac Banking. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Accent Group. 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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On Friday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) finished a solid week on a positive note. The benchmark index rose 0.5% to 6,824.2 points.

Will the market be able to build on this on Monday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 futures pointing higher

It looks set to be a strong start to the week for the Australian share market following a positive finish on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the week 49 points or 0.7% higher this morning. On Wall Street on Friday night, the Dow Jones rose 1.4%, the S&P 500 jumped 1.7%, and the Nasdaq stormed 1.25% higher. This appears to have been driven partly by weak US inflation data.

Chinese wine tariffs extended

The Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE) share price will be on watch today amid news that China will be keeping it tariffs on Australian wine for five more years. This will mean ~200% tariffs for the company until at least 28 March 2026. The Australian government is widely expected to refer the dispute to the World Trade Organization in the near future.

Tech shares could rise

Australian tech shares such as Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) look set to push higher today after a strong end to their week for their US counterparts. With the local tech sector having a tendency to follow the lead of the tech-heavy Nasdaq index, its 1.25% gain on Friday bodes well for the local sector this morning.

Oil prices surge higher

It looks set to be a good day for energy producers such as Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL). According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price climbed 4.1% to US$60.97 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price rose 4.2% to US$64.57 a barrel. This was driven by concerns that the Suez Canal blockage could last for weeks.

Gold price rises

Gold miners including Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) will be on watch today after the gold price pushed higher on Friday night. According to CNBC, the spot gold price rose 0.45% to US$1,734.70 an ounce. The precious metal rose despite booming equities.

More reading

• 2 of the best ASX growth shares to buy in April
• 5 steps to start building your portfolio now
• These were the best performers on the ASX 200 last week
• These were the worst performers on the ASX 200 last week
• The ASX 200 keeps climbing, TPG drops on Teoh departure, AMP still has a CEO

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 Appen Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Treasury Wine Estates Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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

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If you are interested in investing in some promising mid cap shares, then you may want to take a look at the two listed below.

Both have a lot of potential and have been rated as buys recently. Here’s what you need to know about these ASX shares:

Collins Foods Ltd (ASX: CKF)

The first mid cap ASX share to look at is Collins Foods. It is one of Australia’s leading operators of quick service restaurants.

Collins Foods has a growing KFC network across Australia and also in the under-penetrated European market. In addition to this, the company has been successfully rolling out the Taco Bell brand across Australia.

It has been a very positive performer during the pandemic. For example, during the first half of FY 2021, Collins Foods reported an 11.3% increase in revenue to $499.6 million. Things were even better on the bottom line, with underlying net profit after tax coming in 15.1% higher at $27.5 million.

Positively, the company looks well-placed for growth over the next decade thanks to its store expansion opportunities. It also has the option of adding to its portfolio of brands through acquisitions, developments, or agreements. 

UBS believes the company is well-positioned to continue its strong performance over the medium term. In light of this, the broker currently has a buy rating and $11.65 price target on Collins Foods’ shares.

Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME)

Another mid cap ASX share to consider is Pro Medicus. It is a healthcare technology company providing healthcare institutions with high quality radiology information systems (RIS), picture archiving and communication systems (PACS), and advanced visualisation solutions to healthcare organisations globally.

A number of the largest healthcare institutions in the world have been adopting its technology on long term contracts in recent years. This has continued in FY 2021, with the company reporting a series of major contract wins.

As a result, Pro Medicus looks well-positioned to continue its strong earnings growth for a long time to come.

One broker that expects this to be the case is Goldman Sachs. It has been pleased with its performance in FY 2021 and recently upgraded Pro Medicus’ shares to a buy rating with a $53.80 price target.

More reading

• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Inflation fears hold ASX down
• 2 ASX shares delivering irresistible growth
• These were the best performers on the ASX 200 last week
• Why the Collins Foods (ASX:CKF) share price just hit a record high
• 3 ASX Healthcare shares feeling a little under the weather

James Mickleboro owns shares of Collins Foods Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Collins Foods Limited and Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post 2 strong ASX mid cap shares to buy appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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