Last week was a strong one for ASX 200 shares as the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) surged 2.60% higher to 6,057.90 points.

Investors put aside fears of a second wave to push share prices higher on the back of a strong United States jobs report. There’s no doubt the coronavirus pandemic is weighing heavily on global markets. However, there are growing signs that economic growth could return sooner than expected.

Last week I was watching Tassal Group Limited (ASX: TGR), Tabcorp Holdings Limited (ASX: TAH) and Saracen Mineral Holdings Limited (ASX: SAR).

The Tassal share price jumped 4.1% higher last week while Tabcorp and Saracen shares climbed 2.4% and 8.2%, respectively.

Now find out why I’m watching Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) and two other ASX 200 shares in the week ahead.

Altium and 2 more ASX 200 shares to watch this week

The Altium share price jumped 4.6% higher on Friday and I think it could carry that momentum into this week.

Altium is in an interesting place given it spans both the US and Australia. In fact, the printed circuit board (PCB) software design company was founded in Tasmania but has its core research and development operations in San Diego, California.

Stronger economic and jobs data is a good thing for the ASX 200 tech share. If we see the US economy bounce back quicker than expected, this could mean a stronger business sector and potentially more North American sales for Altium.

Staying with the tech theme, I also like the look of NextDC Ltd (ASX: NXT) shares this week. 

The NextDC share price rocketed 15.5% higher last week, hitting a new record high of $11.12 per share. The ASX 200 tech share now boasts an impressive market capitalisation of just over $5.0 billion and sits within the S&P/ASX 100 Index.

Given the strong tailwinds I’m seeing in the data security and storage industry, I wouldn’t bet against NextDC. Particularly given the strong momentum behind the company’s share price from last week.

Finally, I think I’ll be keeping an eye on the Vicinity Centres (ASX: VCX) share price this week. The Vicinity share price dropped 3.7% lower on Friday to end the week on a disappointing note.

While the ASX 200 REIT share could be volatile for some time, I think it’s worth watching. The group has a strong portfolio of retail assets including Chadstone Shopping Centre in Melbourne and Queen Victoria Building in Sydney’s CBD.

If we see restrictions continue to tighten as they have been in Victoria, the Vicinity share price could slump lower in 2020. However, more good news on the pandemic front could trigger a quick recovery for the Aussie REIT.

Foolish takeaway

It’s easy to get carried away with what ASX 200 shares are doing week-to-week. While it’s great to keep on top of what’s happening, don’t forget to keep in mind that you’re investing for the long haul.

More reading

• Why Domino’s and these ASX 200 shares have just hit new highs
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Afterpay, Tech push ASX 200 back above 6,000
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week
• Gold at record highs! Are ASX gold miners or ETFs a better bet?

Ken Hall has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Altium. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post Altium and 2 more ASX 200 shares to watch this week appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was a very strong performer last week and charged materially higher. The benchmark index climbed a total of 153.8 points or 2.6% to end the week at 6057.9 points.

Given this strong form, it will come as no surprise to learn that a good number of shares raced notably higher. The positive investor sentiment even sent some shares to new highs.

Three ASX 200 shares that hit new highs are listed below. Here’s why they are on form:

Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP) 

The Domino’s share price hit a multi-year high of $75.00 at the end of last week. Investors have been buying the pizza chain operator’s shares over the last few months after it revealed solid sales growth from the majority of its businesses during the pandemic. This appears to have put Domino’s in a position to deliver a solid result in FY 2020. In addition to this, management has reiterated its medium term outlook. It continues to target new store openings of 7% to 9% per year and same stores sales growth of 3% to 6% per year.

ResMed Inc. (ASX: RMD)

The ResMed share price continued its positive run and rose to a record high of $28.21 on Friday. The sleep treatment focused medical device company’s shares have been strong performers in FY 2020 thanks to its impressive earnings growth. The key drivers of this have been the increasing demand for its sleep treatment hardware and software and, most recently, ventilators. The latter are in great demand at present as countries battle the COVID-19 pandemic.

Saracen Mineral Holdings Limited (ASX: SAR)

The Saracen share price reached a record high of $5.83 last week. Investors have been fighting to get hold of the gold miner’s shares this year following a sharp rise in the gold price and its strong operational performance. In respect to the latter, during the March quarter Saracen reported record quarterly gold production of 158,132 ounces at an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of A$1,133 per ounce. This brought its production for the first nine months of FY 2020 to 374,584 ounces with an AISC of A$1,081 per ounce. This AISC is significantly lower than the price it is commanding for its gold right now, putting it in a position to deliver bumper free cash flows. The Saracen share price was also given a boost after being included in the ASX 100 index at the June quarterly rebalance.

More reading

• Altium and 2 more ASX 200 shares to watch this week
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Afterpay, Tech push ASX 200 back above 6,000
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• Where to invest $10,000 into ASX shares in July
• Gold at record highs! Are ASX gold miners or ETFs a better bet?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Limited and ResMed Inc. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post Why Domino’s and these ASX 200 shares have just hit new highs appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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Last week, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) managed to shake off its jitters and push decisively back above the 6,000 point threshold.

It was a stunning week for ASX shares. Gains were enjoyed by blue chips and small caps alike, but it was growth shares in the tech and payments space that really stole the show. As it usually is these days, Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) was in the hot seat. Afterpay shares had yet another resoundingly successful week, rising by more than 18% to print a succession of new all-time highs. The Afterpay share price was trading at $67.50 on Friday afternoon after rising as high as $70 (the new highwater mark) earlier in the day. Since Afterpay reached lows of $8.01 in late March, the shares have now soared more than 742%, truly extraordinary stuff for a 3-month period. At this rate, Afterpay is now looking at membership of the exclusive ASX 20 club — unthinkable just a few months ago.

Afterpay and ASX tech shares push ASX 200 higher

The ASX 200 is now at a 3-week high and back above the psychologically important 6,000 point mark, which it briefly breached in early June before getting cold feet.

It wasn’t just Afterpay that was inducing giddiness in the markets last week though. Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) managed a new all-time high on Friday ($93.26 to be precise), and was also joined intra-day by Nextdc Ltd (ASX: NXT) at $11.12 and Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW) at $7.59.

Illustrating just how much tech shares were influencing the broader market last week, take note of how the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) rose by more than 6% over the week.

But the party couldn’t be contained to just ASX tech shares. ASX blue chips like Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) and Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) notched up 5.01% and 7.35% gains respectively. Even Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) managed to eke out a 3.32% rise over the 5 days.

We also saw the ‘new’ TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG) in action for the first time after the old TPG successfully completed its merger with Vodafone and joined forces in matrimony. Singapore-based TPG-spinoff Tuas Ltd (ASX: TUA) also hit the boards last week.

Oh, and National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB) paid its first post-COVID dividend of 30 cents per share, well below the 80+ cents per share shareholders are normally accustomed to.

How did the markets end the week?

After finishing the week prior at 5,904.1 points, the ASX 200 managed to finish last week 153.8 points higher at 6,057.9 points – a healthy 2.6% increase. Monday ended up being the only day when the ASX 200 shed value last week, banking a hefty 1.8% loss. But Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday all saw this loss erased and new gains made. Thursday was the standout performer, delivering a 1.8% surge.

Meanwhile, the All Ordinaries (INDEXASX: XAO) also had a strong week, rising from 6,011.8 points to 6,163.7 points for a 2.5% gain.

Which ASX 200 shares were the biggest winners and losers?

Now, let’s kick back and indulge in some gossip over last week’s best and worst performers. As always, we’ll start with the losers:

Worst ASX 200 losers	% loss for the week
Adbri Ltd (ASX: ABC)	(26.1%)
Perenti Global Ltd (ASX: PRN)	(8.3%)
Southern Cross Media Group Ltd (ASX: SXL)	(7.9%)
Reliance Worldwide Corporation Ltd (ASX: RWC)	(6.21%)

Taking out last week’s wooden spoon was Adbri (formerly known as Adelaide Brighton). This construction materials company was not in ASX investors’ good books last week after US-based aluminium producer Alcoa decided not to renew a lime supply contract with the company.

Mining engineer Perenti was also not in favour after reporting that its profits for the 2020 financial year are expected to come in around 4-8% lower than it initially expected.

Perennial loser Southern Cross couldn’t keep itself out of the bad books last week either. This advertising company has been hammered hard during the coronavirus crisis, with economy-wide cuts to advertising expenditure hurting this company badly.

Now the losers are out of the way, let’s take a look at who was taking home trophies last week:

Best ASX 200 gainers	% gain for the week
Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)	18.4%
Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA)	17.5%
NextDC Ltd (ASX: NXT)	14.6%
Domain Holdings Australia Ltd (ASX: DHG)	14.3%

As we discussed earlier, Afterpay went home with the silver spoon last week. Investors simply can’t get enough of this buy now, pay later (BNPL) company and now look to be happy owning it at any cost.

Meanwhile, aerial mapping company Nearmap took out the second spot last week after some favourable broker notes bumped up this share on investors’ horizons.

NextDC was another winner, which investors started climbing into after the company announced the signing of several new and exciting contracts for New South Wales.

Finally, Fairfax’s old online property marketplace Domain also had a stellar week, despite no obvious reason why.

What is this week looking like for the ASX 200?

New cases of coronavirus infections in Victoria last week, as well as ongoing social unrest over in the United States, didn’t seem to bother investors at all.

Even so, I think these two areas are the spaces to watch as we start another week in paradise. Investor sentiment (although surprisingly robust in recent times) can still turn on a dime, and, in my view, all ASX investors should keep this in mind.

So before we go, here’s a look at how the major ASX blue chip shares are looking:

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

•     S&P/ASX 200 (XJO) at 6,057.9 points
•     All Ordinaries (XAO) at 6,163.7 points
•     Dow Jones Industrial Average at 25,827.36 points after rising 0.36% on Thursday night (our time)
•     Gold (Spot) swapping hands for US$1,784.50 per troy ounce
•     Iron ore asking US$98.94 per tonne
•     Crude oil (Brent) trading at US$42.85 per barrel
•     Crude oil (WTI) going for US$40.30 per barrel
•     Australian dollar buying 69.37 US cents
•    10-year Australian Government bonds yielding 0.90% per annum

Foolish takeaway

Market exuberance (the likes of which we may be seeing in shares like Afterpay) is always fun to watch (and even better to gain from). But like investing legend Benjamin Graham once said, the market is a voting machine in the short term, and a weighing machine in the long term.

Right now, investors are certainly voting Afterpay and other ASX tech shares higher. But I would say to anyone who wants to join the bandwagon, make sure you’re buying assets with weight behind them. Otherwise, you might be caught short if and when the voters stampede the other way. So, as always, stay safe, stay rational and stay Foolish!

More reading

• Altium and 2 more ASX 200 shares to watch this week
• Why Domino’s and these ASX 200 shares have just hit new highs
• Why I would buy Wesfarmers and these quality ASX dividend shares
• These are 10 most shorted shares on the ASX
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday

Sebastian Bowen owns shares of National Australia Bank Limited, Newcrest Mining Limited, and Telstra Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of CSL Ltd., Nearmap Ltd., Reliance Worldwide Limited, and Xero. 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, Transurban Group, Wesfarmers Limited, and Woolworths Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nearmap Ltd. and Reliance Worldwide Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Afterpay, Tech push ASX 200 back above 6,000 appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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If you’re looking to add some dividend shares to your portfolio this week, then you’re in luck.

Listed below are three top ASX dividend shares which I think are in the buy zone right now. Here’s why I like them:

Aventus Group (ASX: AVN)

I think this retail property company could be a dividend share to buy. Aventus specialises in large format retail parks and has a portfolio of 20 centres across Australia. I like the company due to the fact that its rental income has a reasonably high weighting towards everyday needs. I believe this leaves it better positioned than others in the sector to navigate the tough trading conditions. In addition to this, thanks to a sharp pullback in the Aventus share price, I estimate that it offers investors a very generous 7% FY 2021 distribution yield at present. 

Dicker Data Ltd (ASX: DDR)

Another dividend share to consider buying is Dicker Data. It is a wholesale distributor of computer hardware and software which has continued its solid form during the pandemic. Last week it released a half year update and revealed unaudited first half revenue of $1 billion and net profit before tax of $40 million. This was an increase of 18.3% and 25%, respectively, on the prior corresponding period. Looking ahead, the company intends to lift its dividend to 35.5 cents per share this year. Based on the latest Dicker Data share price, this equates to a fully franked 4.6% dividend yield.

Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES)

A final dividend share to consider buying is this conglomerate. I like Wesfarmers due to its portfolio of strong businesses, high quality management team, and its sizeable cash balance. I suspect the latter two will combine in the near future to make some earnings accretive acquisitions that bolster its growth over the 2020s. Combined with the positive outlooks of its key businesses such as Bunnings and Kmart, I believe Wesfarmers is well-placed to grow its dividend at a solid rate for the foreseeable future. Based on the current Wesfarmers share price, I estimate that it offers a fully franked 3.4% FY 2021 dividend yield.

More reading

• Diversify your portfolio with BHP, ResMed, and Wesfarmers shares
• Why I think these ASX dividend shares are strong buys
• Why Afterpay, Bigtincan, Dicker Data, & NIB shares are racing higher
• Dicker Data share price surges higher after revealing strong first half profit growth
• 3 top ASX dividend shares to buy for FY21

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Dicker Data Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Wesfarmers Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended AVENTUS RE UNIT. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post Why I would buy Wesfarmers and these quality ASX dividend shares appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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At the start of each week I like to look at ASIC’s short position report to find out which shares are being targeted by short sellers.

I believe it is worth keeping a close eye on short interest levels as high levels can sometimes be a sign that something isn’t quite right with a company.

With that in mind, here are the 10 most shorted shares on the ASX this week according to ASIC:

• Myer Holdings Ltd (ASX: MYR) continues to be the most shorted ASX share with short interest of 12.6%. Investors appear concerned that the department store operator could be left behind by the accelerating shift to online shopping. Also of note is news that QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE) has stopped providing insurance to suppliers who want to cover the risk of not getting paid by Myer.
• Speedcast International Ltd (ASX: SDA) has short interest of 11.7%. This communications satellite technology provider’s shares have been suspended for many months as it declares itself bankrupt.
• Inghams Group Ltd (ASX: ING) has 9.35% of its shares held short, which is up slightly week on week. Earlier this year the poultry company warned that the pandemic had caused an unfavourable shift in its sales mix. This looks set to lead to a disappointing result in FY 2020.
• Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) has seen its short interest reduce to 9.1%. Short sellers appear to believe that Webjet’s shares are overvalued and that the market is expecting too much from the travel booker in the near term.
• Bank of Queensland Limited (ASX: BOQ) has seen its short interest reduce to 8.6%. Short sellers have been going after the regional bank following a soft half year result and a weak outlook.
• Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) has seen its short interest edge lower again to 8.5%. Short sellers may be regretting this one. Last week the aerial imagery and location data technology company’s shares rocketed higher after being the subject of a positive broker note.
• Southern Cross Media Group Ltd (ASX: SXL) has seen its short interest rise to 8.3%. The media company appears to have been targeted due to weak advertising markets. Some of its rivals have noted that advertisers are pushing back campaigns until later this year because of the pandemic.
• Galaxy Resources Limited (ASX: GXY) has 8.1% of its shares held short, which up week on week. Short sellers have been targeting Galaxy due to the sustained weakness in lithium prices.
• Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Limited (ASX: CUV) has seen its short interest fall to 8%. I suspect that short sellers are going after this biopharmaceutical company due to its lofty valuation.
• JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH) has returned to the top ten with 7.7% of its shares held short. Short sellers refuse to give up on the retail giant despite its strong performance during the pandemic.

More reading

• The Webjet share price is dividing analysts even as it becomes a likely takeover target
• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares last week
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week
• How to turn $20,000 into over $200,000 in 10 years with ASX shares
• Where to invest $5,000 into ASX 200 shares immediately

James Mickleboro owns shares of Galaxy Resources Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Nearmap Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Webjet Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nearmap Ltd. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post These are 10 most shorted shares on the ASX appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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