Tag: Motley Fool

On Monday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) started the week on a very positive note. The benchmark index rose 1.1% to 6,612.6 points.

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

ASX 200 expected to edge lower

The Australian share market appears to be running out of steam and is expected to open the day slightly lower on Tuesday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to open the day 7 points or 0.1% lower. Wall Street was closed for the Independence Day holiday but in Europe the DAX fell 0.3% and the FTSE rose 0.9%. US futures are pointing to declines tonight.

Reserve Bank meeting

The Reserve Bank of Australia is meeting after lunch to decide on the cash rate. Last month the central market shocked the market with its 50 basis points increase to 0.85%. This time around the market is more prepared and currently pricing in a further 50 basis points increase to 1.35%.

Oil prices push higher

It could be a good day for energy producers such as Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) after oil prices pushed higher again overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 2.05% to US$110.66 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has climbed 2% to US$113.83 a barrel. Supply concerns boosted prices despite fears that a recession is looming.

Gold price rises

Gold miners Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL) could have a good day after the gold price rose overnight. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is up 0.4% to US$1,808.3 an ounce. A softer US dollar boosted the price of the precious metal.

Iron ore price falls

Seaborne iron ore prices fell further on Monday amid soft short term demand and downbeat market sentiment according to Metal Bulletin. This led to the benchmark iron ore price falling 5.6% to US$109.90 a tonne. This could put pressure on the shares of BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) and Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) on Tuesday.

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

(function() {
function setButtonColorDefaults(param, property, defaultValue) {
if( !param || !param.includes(‘#’)) {
var button = document.getElementsByClassName(“pitch-snippet”)[0].getElementsByClassName(“pitch-button”)[0];
button.style[property] = defaultValue;
}
}

setButtonColorDefaults(“#43B02A”, ‘background’, ‘#5FA85D’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#43B02A”, ‘border-color’, ‘#43A24A’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#fff”, ‘color’, ‘#fff’);
})()

More reading

• The Telstra share price outperformed the ASX 200 in June
• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• Here are the best and worst perfoming ASX 200 sectors over June
• Why did ASX 200 energy shares soar today?
• 3 more of Morgans’ best ASX share ideas for July

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/CIsTyBv

The small side of the market has been well and truly out of form in 2022. While this is disappointing, it may have created a buying opportunity for patient, long term focused investors.

For example, the two small cap ASX shares listed below have fallen materially but still have incredibly bright futures. Here’s why analysts are rating them as buys:

Hipages Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: HPG)

The first ASX small cap share to look at is Hipages. It is a leading online platform provider that provides job leads to tradies from homeowners and organisations looking for qualified professionals.

Goldman Sachs remains very positive on Hipages. This is due to its belief that it can capture a significant portion of industry advertising spend in the future. The broker has likened Hipages to the early days of Carsales.com Ltd (ASX: CAR) and REA Group Limited (ASX: REA). And looking at where these two companies are today, this is quite a statement.

The broker commented:

In our view, the opportunity for HPG is similar to REA/CAR, which are now the leading online platforms in their respective industries. […] HPG presents a compelling long term growth opportunity as it scales to become the leading trade services marketplace in Australia.

Goldman Sachs has a buy rating and $2.50 price target on its shares.

Nitro Software Ltd (ASX: NTO)

Another small cap that is highly rated is Nitro Software. It is the document productivity software company behind the Nitro Productivity Suite that is driving digital transformation in organisations around the world.

Bell Potter is very positive on Nitro and notes that it continues to win market share due to its cost effective and easy deploy offerings. The broker also sees significant cross sell opportunities ahead.

It said:

The company has been successfully competing against and gaining market share from more entrenched providers in the market by providing a more cost effective and easier to deploy solution for both PDF productivity and electronic signing. […] The company now has a new area of growth, however, with the release of Nitro Sign as a standalone product so most customers will likely have to start paying more for using this product.

Bell Potter has a buy rating and $2.50 price target on its shares.

The post Analysts say these small cap ASX shares have huge potential appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

(function() {
function setButtonColorDefaults(param, property, defaultValue) {
if( !param || !param.includes(‘#’)) {
var button = document.getElementsByClassName(“pitch-snippet”)[0].getElementsByClassName(“pitch-button”)[0];
button.style[property] = defaultValue;
}
}

setButtonColorDefaults(“#43B02A”, ‘background’, ‘#5FA85D’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#43B02A”, ‘border-color’, ‘#43A24A’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#fff”, ‘color’, ‘#fff’);
})()

More reading

• Broker names 3 of the best ASX tech share to buy in FY23
• Why I think these two ASX shares could turn $5,000 into $100,000
• Experts have named these top growth shares as buys
• Goldman Sachs names 2 mid cap ASX shares to buy
• 2 ASX tech shares Goldman Sachs rates as buys

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 positions in and has recommended Hipages Group Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Hipages Group Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nitro Software Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/7msJV0C

The Polynovo Ltd (ASX: PNV) share price has jumped ahead in the past month despite losing its place on the ASX 200.

The company’s share price has jumped nearly 13% from $1.185 at market close on 3 June to the current price of $1.335. In contrast, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has lost nearly 9% in the same time frame.

So why has the Polynovo share price had such a good month?

Why has the Polynovo share price risen?

Polynovo is an ASX healthcare share working on medical devices, using patented technology Novosorb.

Polynovo shares have jumped amid insider trading among the company’s management.

The company’s chair David Williams bought $284,142 worth of shares on 6 June and 7 June alone. In total, he purchased 250,000 shares in these two days.

Williams has purchased more than $5 million worth of shares since the start of May, as my Foolish colleague Aaron reported.

Insider buying can be a sign that management is optimistic about the future direction of a company.

Polynovo reported record revenue of $12.6 million in the March quarter, up 59% compared to the same time in the previous year. The company’s ANZ sales picked up substantially in the quarter, up 81.9% compared to the same time last year.

In recent news, Polynovo has completed settlement on the sale of its headquarters in Port Melbourne.

The company’s headquarters sold for $6.35 million.

In recent times, Polynovo shares have made the list of the 10 most shorted ASX shares. However, as my Foolish colleague James reported, short interest in the company has eased to 7.9%.

Polynovo share price snapshot

The Polynovo share price has descended 50% in the past 12 months, while it is down 12% in the year to date.

In comparison, the benchmark ASX 200 has lost nearly 10% over the past year.

Polynovo has a market capitalisation of nearly $884 million based on today’s share price.

The post Up 13% in a month, Polynovo share price bounces back after being dumped from ASX 200 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

(function() {
function setButtonColorDefaults(param, property, defaultValue) {
if( !param || !param.includes(‘#’)) {
var button = document.getElementsByClassName(“pitch-snippet”)[0].getElementsByClassName(“pitch-button”)[0];
button.style[property] = defaultValue;
}
}

setButtonColorDefaults(“#43B02A”, ‘background’, ‘#5FA85D’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#43B02A”, ‘border-color’, ‘#43A24A’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#fff”, ‘color’, ‘#fff’);
})()

More reading

• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• How have Polynovo shares been performing since leaving the ASX 200?
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday

Motley Fool contributor Monica O’Shea has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended POLYNOVO FPO. 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 Scott Phillips.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/Z6lVPfA

The Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN) share price continued to fall by the wayside throughout the past month.

This came despite the company making no price-sensitive announcements to the ASX during the period.

The iron ore and lithium miner’s shares started at $63.85 from market close on May 31 and finished at $48.27 on 30 June. That represents a decline of around 25% for investors who decided to hang on.

And it appears the blood-letting hasn’t stopped. Mineral Resources shares ended today at $45.96, down another 0.69%.

Let’s take a closer look and see what’s been dragging on the company’s shares lately.

What’s weighing down Mineral Resources shares?

Investors are offloading the Mineral Resources share price as weak sentiment, mixed with strong volatility, hits the mining services company.

A sharp drop at the beginning of June came amid Goldman Sachs’ bearish analysis on the battery metals market.

The broker forecast lithium prices to sink to roughly US$16,400 per tonne by the end of next year.

For context, the battery-making ingredient is currently fetching US$72,000 per tonne.

Nonetheless, the negative report heavily impacted shares across the lithium space, with Mineral Resources tumbling 10% on the news.

Further, a general decline in the ASX brought on by a gloomy economic outlook also dragged down the company’s shares.

Iron ore prices also dropped from their lofty highs to around US$130 per tonne at the end of June. This reflected a 5% decline for the month and its lowest level since January 2022.

Investors expressed their concern by dumping Mineral Resources’ shares, particularly on 17 June regardless of no news coming from the company. Almost five million of its shares swapped hands on that day compared to its historical average of 1.5 million shares.

Mineral Resources share price snapshot

Adding to the heavy losses for the month, Mineral Resources shares are down 18% since the start of 2022.

On valuation grounds, Mineral Resources presides a market capitalisation of roughly $8.7 billion.

The post Here’s what led the Mineral Resources share price to sink 25% in June? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

(function() {
function setButtonColorDefaults(param, property, defaultValue) {
if( !param || !param.includes(‘#’)) {
var button = document.getElementsByClassName(“pitch-snippet”)[0].getElementsByClassName(“pitch-button”)[0];
button.style[property] = defaultValue;
}
}

setButtonColorDefaults(“#0095C8”, ‘background’, ‘#5FA85D’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#0095C8”, ‘border-color’, ‘#43A24A’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#fff”, ‘color’, ‘#fff’);
})()

More reading

• Why are these ASX 200 mining shares behind the eight ball today?
• ASX 200 midday update: Regis Resources jumps, BHP and Rio Tinto drop
• Why have ASX lithium shares had such a lousy month in June?
• 2 excellent ASX dividend shares rated as buys by brokers
• 3 ASX lithium stocks this fund manager is holding despite sector pullback

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 Scott Phillips.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/uZSc19G

There are a lot of shares to choose from on the Australian share market. To narrow things down, listed below are two ASX shares that are highly rated by analysts.

Here’s what they are saying about them:

Lifestyle Communities Limited (ASX: LIC)

The first ASX share to look at is Lifestyle Communities. It owns and manages affordable independent living residential land lease communities. At the last count, Lifestyle Communities had 26 residential land lease communities under contract, in planning, in development or under management.

Goldman Sachs is a fan of the company and believes it is well-placed to benefit from Australia’s ageing population and the structural growth in land lease living.

It explained:

We believe LIC is well positioned to benefit from shifting demographic trends, as its business helps address some critical emerging social issues. Its core business is to provide affordable housing to an ageing population, addressing a key social issue that is becoming more prevalent as the proportion of over 50’s increases.

We expect as this population cohort continues to grow, this should deliver structural growth for the industry; we expect demand to far outpace supply at current build rates.

Goldman has a conviction buy rating and $24.65 price target on its shares.

NEXTDC Ltd (ASX: NXT)

Another ASX share that could be a buy in July is NextDC.

It is a leading data centre operator which has been growing at a consistently strong rate for a number of years. This has been driven by the ongoing structural shift to the cloud, which is underpinning significant demand for data centre capacity.

Morgans is very positive on NextDC and appears confident its strong growth will continue for a long time to come.

The broker said:

We retain our Add recommendation and highlight that NXT remains our preferred pick given substantial structural growth, quality management, significant barrier to entry and, in our view, improving competitive advantage with regional/edge sites.

We see a clear pathway for long-term growth, substantially higher EBITDA and material free cash flow, over the medium term.

Morgans has an add rating rating and $13.01 price target on NextDC’s shares.

The post Why analysts say investors should buy these top ASX shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

(function() {
function setButtonColorDefaults(param, property, defaultValue) {
if( !param || !param.includes(‘#’)) {
var button = document.getElementsByClassName(“pitch-snippet”)[0].getElementsByClassName(“pitch-button”)[0];
button.style[property] = defaultValue;
}
}

setButtonColorDefaults(“#43B02A”, ‘background’, ‘#5FA85D’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#43B02A”, ‘border-color’, ‘#43A24A’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#fff”, ‘color’, ‘#fff’);
})()

More reading

• Here are 2 fantastic ASX tech shares that analysts rate as buys
• The Lifestyle Communities share price is down 50% in 8 months – time to buy?
• NextDC share price tipped to rise 30%: Broker says high energy prices an ‘opportunity’
• Experts name 3 ASX growth shares to buy with enormous upside potential
• 2 ASX growth shares to buy this month: experts

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in NEXTDC 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 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 Scott Phillips.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/l1BwVkX

It was an uneventful day on Australian markets with the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) pushing 1.14% higher to close at 6,796.9.

Meanwhile, tech shares closed the session ahead with the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) spiking 1.7% into the green. Yet, these were paltry gains compared to one All Ords share today.

The Silex Systems Ltd (ASX: SLX) share price finished trading 21% higher, well ahead of its peers. It climbed steadily throughout the session and closed at $2.65, its highest mark in eight years. Here’s a graph of the technology company’s share price performance:

What’s up with this All Ords share?

The Silex share price likely caught a bid today following a company announcement made before the open.

Silex has executed a non-binding Letter of Intent (LOI) between Global Laser Enrichment and Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC and Duke Energy Progress, LLC.

The LOI is for the purpose of developing areas of mutual interest and cooperation in the “nuclear fuel supply chain”.

It hones in on several areas of “potential cooperation”, according to Silex.

This includes pushing Global Laser Enrichment’s deployment of the “Silex laser enrichment technology in the United States and the potential acceleration of commercialisation timelines”, the company said.

Global Laser is the exclusive licensee of the Silex laser technology for uranium enrichment. The venture is 51%/49% jointly controlled between Silex and Cameco Corporation.

Speaking on the announcement, Silex CEO Michael Goldsworthy said the LOI was “another positive step” in advancing the company’s US strategy. He added:

As the U.S. Government ramps up initiatives to rebuild its domestic nuclear fuel supply chain and lessen its dependence on nuclear fuel imports, particularly from Russia, we anticipate GLE’s engagement with U.S. nuclear power generators will help support the commercialisation
of the SILEX technology.

In the last 12 months, this All Ords share has surged more than 170% into the green, gaining 99% this year to date.

The post Guess which ASX All Ords share soared 21% to an 8-year high on Monday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

(function() {
function setButtonColorDefaults(param, property, defaultValue) {
if( !param || !param.includes(‘#’)) {
var button = document.getElementsByClassName(“pitch-snippet”)[0].getElementsByClassName(“pitch-button”)[0];
button.style[property] = defaultValue;
}
}

setButtonColorDefaults(“#43B02A”, ‘background’, ‘#5FA85D’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#43B02A”, ‘border-color’, ‘#43A24A’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#fff”, ‘color’, ‘#fff’);
})()

More reading

• 5 best ASX All Ordinaries shares in June
• Amid the carnage, this ASX tech share just hit an 8-year high

Motley Fool contributor Zach Bristow 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 Scott Phillips.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/FVBtAp4

As most investors would be painfully aware of, June was not a pleasing month for ASX shares or for investors. Over the month just passed, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) fell by a nasty 8.9%. But the Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO ) share price had a far worse time of it. 

Core Lithium shares were priced at $1.40 going into June. But coming out of June last week, this ASX 200 lithium stock was asking just 96 cents a share. That means the Core Lithium share price fell by a whopping 31.43% over the month. Ouch.

But it wasn’t just Core Lithium shares feeling the pain over June. We saw similarly large falls amongst many of Core Lithium’s peers, including Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS), Liontown Resources Limited (ASX: LTR) and Lake Resources N.L. (ASX: LKE).

So what on earth went wrong for this formerly high-flying company, Core Lithium?

Why did the Core Lithium share price plunge by 31% in June?

Well, we didn’t hear much out of the company itself over June. However, the entire ASX lithium space obviously did come under a lot of pressure last month.

It arguably started with the bearish note out from ASX broker Goldman Sachs at the start of June. As was well covered at the time, Goldman outlined a view describing the bull market in lithium and other battery metals as “over for now”. It predicted that lithium prices would drop to US$16,400 per tonne by 2023, down from the US$70,000-plus levels we see today.

In addition, June also saw share markets around the world take a tumble, which includes the ASX 200’s 8.9% drop. Fears over inflation, rising interest rates and a possible recession seem to be responsible for this loss of investor confidence.

In such an environment, lithium shares were always going to struggle, as investors typically view this space as amongst the riskier end of the ASX 200. 

So it’s likely that these two factors were responsible for the miserly performance of the Core Lithium share price over June. No doubt investors will be hoping for a better July. 

The post Why did the Core Lithium share price plunge 31% in June? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

(function() {
function setButtonColorDefaults(param, property, defaultValue) {
if( !param || !param.includes(‘#’)) {
var button = document.getElementsByClassName(“pitch-snippet”)[0].getElementsByClassName(“pitch-button”)[0];
button.style[property] = defaultValue;
}
}

setButtonColorDefaults(“#43B02A”, ‘background’, ‘#5FA85D’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#43B02A”, ‘border-color’, ‘#43A24A’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#fff”, ‘color’, ‘#fff’);
})()

More reading

• Down 30% in a month, what’s been driving the Core Lithium share price lower?
• Why have ASX lithium shares had such a lousy month in June?
• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• Guess which sector is delivering the biggest gain across the ASX 200 today
• Why is the Core Lithium share price racing 13% higher?

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/o4exPRI

The Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price has been less volatile than the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). Australia’s telco has also delivered outperformance compared to the index.

In June 2022, Telstra shares fell by 0.8% while the ASX 200 dropped by 8.9%. An outperformance of around 8% in just one month by a blue chip is quite sizeable.

The performance of an index like the ASX 200 is dictated by the returns of the underlying businesses. BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares have the biggest impact on the ASX 200 because they are the biggest businesses with the biggest allocations.

However, that doesn’t explain what may have happened for Telstra in June 2022.

Market sensitive announcements

In terms of news out of the company, there weren’t any market-sensitive headlines announced by the business.

The last market-sensitive news out of the company was the announcement of the CEO’s retirement and replacement.

However, there was a headline that could help Telstra’s earnings going forwards. It could have also helped the Telstra share price.

At the start of June, Telstra announced it was going to increase prices for customers. This comes after a long period of intense competition in the telco space, with reducing profit margins.

Telstra said in its announcement:

We know that price rises can be hard and it’s not a decision we take lightly. That’s why we want to be upfront about our plan pricing, so you know what to expect and when.

From 1 July our post-paid mobile and mobile broadband data plans will include an annual review and prices may increase by Consumer Price Index in July each year. This July our mobile plan pricing will increase between $2 and $4 per month in line with CPI. Our mobile broadband data plans have not increased this July.

Investors can now look at the prospect of Telstra’s average revenue per user (ARPU) increasing, which can help grow its earnings.

The market often likes to change a company’s share price, such as the Telstra share price, as expectations around profit growth rise and fade.

Expectations of profit growth

CMC Markets currently has estimates of profit growth over the next couple of financial years.

In its projections, Telstra is expected to generate 13.6 cents of earnings per share (EPS) in FY22. But after that, profit is expected to jump higher in FY23 and FY24. EPS is projected to be 17 cents in FY23 and 18.4 cents in FY24.

The post The Telstra share price outperformed the ASX 200 in June appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

(function() {
function setButtonColorDefaults(param, property, defaultValue) {
if( !param || !param.includes(‘#’)) {
var button = document.getElementsByClassName(“pitch-snippet”)[0].getElementsByClassName(“pitch-button”)[0];
button.style[property] = defaultValue;
}
}

setButtonColorDefaults(“#43B02A”, ‘background’, ‘#5FA85D’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#43B02A”, ‘border-color’, ‘#43A24A’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#fff”, ‘color’, ‘#fff’);
})()

More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• Here are the best and worst perfoming ASX 200 sectors over June
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Monday
• Why is the Magellan share price sinking 9% today?
• Here’s how the Woodside Energy share price performed over FY2022

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in 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 Scott Phillips.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/YSL6m8X

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) peaked shortly after open on Monday, driven by energy shares, before paring back its gains this afternoon. The index was trading 1.11% higher at 6,612.60 points at the end of today’s session.

The market spent today awaiting the outcome of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s July meeting, to be released on Tuesday afternoon.

The big four banks have previously indicated they’re anticipating the meeting will see interest rates hiked between 0.25% and 0.5%, bringing Australia’s benchmark interest rate to between 1.1% and 1.35%.

However, T. Rowe Price’s Scott Solomon commented a hike of 0.65% – bringing rates to 1.5% – wouldn’t come as a surprise.

Energy shares led the ASX 200 on Monday, likely on the back of rising oil prices. The price of Brent crude oil lifted 2.4% to US$111.63 a barrel on Friday while the price of West Texas Intermediate oil gained 2.5% to US$108.43 a barrel.

Real estate shares were the next best performers, with the sector rising more than 2%.

As of Monday’s close, none of the ASX 200’s 11 sectors was trading in the red.

But which shares outperformed all others? Let’s take a look at today’s top performers.

Top 10 ASX shares countdown today

Taking out the crown of top performer among the ASX’s 200 biggest companies by market capitalisation was APM Human Services International Ltd (ASX: APM). The healthcare share recorded an 8.9% gain on news of debt refinancing.

In its shadow was New Hope Corporation Ltd (ASX: NHC). Shares in the coal producer lifted 7.78% today. Read more on New Hope here.

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

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
APM Human Services International Ltd (ASX: APM)	$3.18	8.9%
New Hope Corporation Ltd (ASX: NHC)	$3.61	7.78%
Latitude Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: LFS)	$1.33	6.4%
Block Inc. (ASX: SQ2)	$92.52	5.12%
Breville Group Ltd (ASX: BRG)	$19.05	5.07%
Reliance Worldwide Corporation Ltd (ASX: RWC)	$4.26	4.93%
James Hardie Industries Ltd (ASX: JHX)	$33.62	4.9%
Virgin Money UK Plc (ASX: VUK)	$2.38	4.39%
Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX: PRU)	$1.66	3.75%
Brickworks Ltd (ASX: BKW)	$9.11	3.58%

Data as at market close.

Our top 10 ASX shares today countdown is a recurring end-of-day summary to ensure you know which companies were making big moves on the day. Check in at Fool.com.au after the market has closed during weekdays to see which stocks make the countdown.

The post Here are the top 10 ASX shares today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

(function() {
function setButtonColorDefaults(param, property, defaultValue) {
if( !param || !param.includes(‘#’)) {
var button = document.getElementsByClassName(“pitch-snippet”)[0].getElementsByClassName(“pitch-button”)[0];
button.style[property] = defaultValue;
}
}

setButtonColorDefaults(“#43B02A”, ‘background’, ‘#5FA85D’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#43B02A”, ‘border-color’, ‘#43A24A’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#fff”, ‘color’, ‘#fff’);
})()

More reading

• Here are the best and worst perfoming ASX 200 sectors over June
• Why did ASX 200 energy shares soar today?
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Monday
• Why APM, Block, Breville, and Superloop shares are charging higher
• What’s pushing APM Human Services shares 9% higher 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 positions in and has recommended Block, Inc., Brickworks, and Reliance Worldwide Corporation Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Block, Inc. and Brickworks. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Reliance Worldwide Corporation Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/b1x549N

Happy Independence Day for our American Fools out there! For the rest of us, since it is 4 July today, it’s a good opportunity to look back at the month that was and check out what happened on the ASX boards. June was a pretty bleak month for ASX 200 shares and the share market overall.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) ended up falling 8.9% over the month, which is a pretty nasty one-month performance. But let’s dig a little deeper into these market moves and check out the best and worst-performing ASX 200 sectors over June.

What were the best and worst-performing ASX 200 sectors over June?

ASX 200 Sector	Code	Performance over June 2022
Consumer Discretionary	XDJ	(-7.4%)
Energy	XEJ	(-0.3%)
Financials	XFJ	(-11.87%)
Health Care	XHJ	(-3.1%)
Information Technology	XIJ	(-11%)
Materials	XMJ	(-12.4%)
Metals and Mining	XMM	(-13.5%)
Industrials	XNJ	(-5%)
A-REIT	XPJ	(-11.6%)
Consumer Staples	XSJ	0.2%
Communications	XTJ	(-3.6%)
Utilities	XUJ	(-7.8%)
Financials ex-A-REIT	XXJ	(-11.9%)
Resources	XJR	(-10.6%)
All Technology	XTX	(-10.3%)

So as you can see, the broad ASX 200 falls that we’ve seen have flowed through to most sectors of the ASX 200, with only one sector recording a gain over the month That was the consumer staples sector. Consumer staples shares include the companies that primarily sell food, drinks, household goods and alcohol. The largest of these are of course Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) and Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL).

Due to their ‘safe’ or ‘defensive’ reputation, these kinds of companies are often flocked to in times of market turmoil. We certainly saw that at work over June.

ASX 200 energy shares were the second-best performer. Energy shares have been on fire for most of 2022 thanks mostly to rising energy prices. However, crude oil took a hit over June, which is probably why the energy sector saw a small retreat last month.

Which sectors dragged the index down?

Turning to the worst sectors last month, and metals and mining took out the worst performer, followed closely by materials and financials. These sectors are your typical ‘risk on’ sectors on the ASX 200.

They tend to rise strongly when investor sentiment is positive and fall hard when sentiment turns negative. Well, June was an especially poor month for the ASX 200, so it’s perhaps no surprise we see banks and miners take a big hit last month.

To illustrate, check out the share prices of the ASX 200’s two largest shares – BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA). BHP shares lost 7.53%, while CBA went backwards by 13.4%.

So that’s how the ASX 200 and its sectors fared over June. No doubt investors will be hoping for a far greener July.

The post Here are the best and worst perfoming ASX 200 sectors over June appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

(function() {
function setButtonColorDefaults(param, property, defaultValue) {
if( !param || !param.includes(‘#’)) {
var button = document.getElementsByClassName(“pitch-snippet”)[0].getElementsByClassName(“pitch-button”)[0];
button.style[property] = defaultValue;
}
}

setButtonColorDefaults(“#43B02A”, ‘background’, ‘#5FA85D’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#43B02A”, ‘border-color’, ‘#43A24A’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#fff”, ‘color’, ‘#fff’);
})()

More reading

• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Monday
• Why is the Magellan share price sinking 9% today?
• Here’s how the Woodside Energy share price performed over FY2022
• Hoping to bag the next Graincorp dividend? Read this
• ASX 200 midday update: Suncorp’s update, Magellan sinks

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended COLESGROUP DEF SET. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/uDGMwUe