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The share prices of ASX shares are always changing, which can open up new opportunities if they appear to be good value.

Some investments have the potential to generate returns, whether that’s in the form of capital growth, dividends or both.

The two ASX shares below may be able to produce nice returns overtime:

VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (ASX: MOAT)

This is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that is provided by VanEck, which aims to give investors exposure to a diversified portfolio of attractively priced US companies with sustainable competitive advantages according to Morningstar’s equity research team.

At the end of September 2021, it had a portfolio of 50 names including: Cheniere Energy, Wells Fargo, Salesforce.com, Compass Minerals, Alphabet, Microsoft, Guidewire Software, Gilead Sciences, Kellogg and Tyler Technologies.

This ETF is about trying to build a group of quality US businesses that have wide economic moats that are expected to endure for at least a decade. Businesses are only chosen to enter the portfolio if the target companies are trading at “attractive prices relative to Morningstar’s estimate of fair value.”

The portfolio is invested across a wide number of sectors. Healthcare has the biggest allocation at 20.3%, but there are also double digit weightings to sectors like IT (16.6%), industrials (15.4%), financials (13.3%) and consumer staples (11.1%).

VanEck notes that past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Over the past five years, the ASX share has seen a return of 19.45% per annum. This outperformed the S&P 500’s return of 17.6% per annum over the prior five years.

Adore Beauty Group Ltd (ASX: ABY)

Adore Beauty operates in the fast-growing e-commerce sector.

The company sells many thousands of products from hundreds of brands.

A recent quarterly update from Adore Beauty showed that the business continues to grow at a very fast pace.

In the first three months of FY22, revenue increased 25% to $63.8 million. Active customers rose by 24% to 874,000. The ASX share said that it is seeing “strong” customer retention with returning customer growth of 63%.

Management noted that it continues to benefit from the ongoing shift to online, which has been further accelerated by the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Its current goal is to cement its online market leadership and scale its mobile app, loyalty program and grow the range of products.

Adore Beauty is also looking to launch its first private label brand in the third quarter of FY22. This could come with higher profit margins compared to other brands.

The company believes it’s operating within a large and growing addressable market that is currently worth $11 billion.

Broker UBS currently rates Adore Beauty shares as a buy, with a price target of $6. That means the broker thinks the ASX share could rise by around 25% over the next 12 months, if the broker is right.

UBS is expecting Adore Beauty to continue to grow revenue and customer numbers at a good rate over the rest of FY22.

The post 2 ASX shares that could be strong buys appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 3 small cap ASX shares to watch
• 2 excellent ASX tech shares tipped for big things
• Adore Beauty (ASX:ABY) share price up 4% on Q1 update
• 2 high quality ETFs for ASX investors
• Brokers name 2 small cap ASX shares to buy

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 recommended Adore Beauty Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended VanEck Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) shares have finished Thursday lower after the company held its annual general meeting (AGM).

At the end of the session, the Wesfarmers share price finished 1.21% lower to $55.55. That puts the company’s share price 17.3% below its 52-week high of $67.20.

Although there weren’t any price-sensitive details shared, the AGM shed a light on management’s decision-making over the past year. Specifically, it highlighted the 107-year-old company’s willingness to adapt to the times.

What moved the Wesfarmers’ share price today?

Staying relevant

Wesfarmers conducted its AGM in the later hours of this afternoon — 1pm Perth time to be precise. During this event, the chairman and managing director shared some insights into the year gone by for the company.

Firstly, the chairman, Michael Chaney, described the turbulent year dominated by the ongoing presence of COVID-19. Despite the disruptions, Wesfarmers managed to deliver increased profits and a sturdy balance sheet throughout the year. Chaney put this partly down to the type of businesses Wesfarmers owns, but also the efforts of the management team and all other employees.

Building on that, the chairman spoke on the company’s openness to innovation. He said this openness has played a critical role in Wesfarmers’ success over its 37 years of publicly listed life so far. As a result, Wesfarmers shares have delivered shareholders returns 12 times higher than the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).

Giving an example, when Wesfarmers listed in 1984 its fertiliser operations accounted for roughly 60% of the company’s profits. Today, that same business makes up only 2% of the group’s total earnings. This was noted as a philosophy of ‘logical incrementalism’ — where the company tries new endeavours, pushes forward with those that work, and retreats from those that don’t.

In recent years, this approach has resulted in a large range of ventures made by the Australian conglomerate. This includes its foray into lithium production through its Kidman Resources acquisition in 2019. There’s also the company’s expansion into e-commerce with the Catch acquisition. Another example is its disposal of the Wesfarmers’ coal business.

Looking forward

Looking to the future, it appears the $63 billion conglomerate is set to explore further with its logical incrementalism approach. Addressing shareholders, Wesfarmers chairman Chaney stated:

The future prosperity of Australia relies on companies like ours making significant investments. We are certainly doing that, with almost $900 million of capital expenditure in the 2021 financial year and more than that planned this year. In addition, we’re making substantial expenditures in data and digital activities to ensure that we are well equipped to compete in the online world.

Additionally, managing director Rob Scott gave comments on recent trading conditions. While overall sales growth remains impacted by restrictions, Wesfarmers is positioned to resume normal trading once restrictions ease. Stores that have already begun to re-open in New South Wales are seeing a high level of pent-up demand.

Despite the information shared at the AGM, Wesfarmers shares finished lower today. They are still up 7.8% this year to date, and almost 18% over the past 12 months.

The post Own Wesfarmers shares? Here’s why the company is shifting with the times appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Here’s why the Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price is down 4% in a month
• What’s up with the Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price today?
• How did the Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price perform in the last quarter?
• Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price dips as API battle heats up

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Wesfarmers Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) ended up having a fairly flat day of trading this Thursday, despite a short-lived midday rally. The ASX 200 ended up closing at 7,415 points, up a measly 0.02% for the day. However, the Nuix Ltd (ASX: NXL) share price performed even more poorly.

Nuix shares closed this Thursday at $2.97 a share, down 1% on the dot.

However, zoom out a little and the picture looks a lot prettier. Nuix shares have been on something of a tear lately, despite today’s dip. Since last Thursday’s close, the Nuix share price has risen from $2.53 to today’s close of $2.97. That’s a very pleasing gain of 17.39% in just one week.

This sudden rise would be a welcome change for Nuix shareholders. This company has made an unfortunate reputation for itself as something of an ASX initial public offering (IPO) flop. Since it debuted on the ASX boards last December, Nuix shares have had a pretty woeful time. When it IPOed back on 4 December 2020, this company quickly rose as high as $9 a share (up close to 70%). By January it had hit an all-time high of $11.86 a share.

But unfortunately for investors, that proved to be the best it got for Nuix, at least until this point in time. The company is now down more than 73% from those highs on today’s pricing.

Nuix has been steadily falling since hitting that high watermark, bottoming out at a low of $2.16 a share back in June. Today’s share price is the highest the company has seen since May.

So what’s turned the ship around for Nuix over the past week or so?

Why has the Nuix share price staged a recovery?

Well, unfortunately, it’s not clear why Nuix has been rising over the past week especially. There has been no major official news, developments, or announcements out of the company. It’s possible some investors decided the company was too cheap to ignore at the levels it was asking a week or two ago, and decided to buy up shares.

It’s also possible that investors have been influenced by some fund managers bullish on Nuix. One such fundie is Peter Switzer, founder of Switzer Financial Group.

As my Fool colleague Tony covered earlier this week, Switzer was extremely bullish on Nuix shares at their recent levels. Here’s some of what he said:

Analysts believe [Nuix] has a target price that suggests it could go up 156%… Even if they’re only half-right, I’d be happy with half of 156%…

It has huge customers in both the public and the private domain and it was a hugely successful company until all this misreporting really lowered the boom…The potential for the company still is certainly believable.

Perhaps investors took Switzer at his word.

Whatever the reason for Nuix’s recent success, it will no doubt be received very warmly from this company’s shareholders.

At today’s closing Nuix share price of $2.97, this company has a market capitalisation of $942.42 million.

The post The Nuix (ASX:NXL) share price is up 17% in a week. What’s going on? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: BHP’s Q1 update, CSL’S R&D update
• 3 punished ASX shares that could come roaring back
• Here’s how the Nuix (ASX:NXL) share price performed in September

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 recommended Nuix Pty Ltd. 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 Arafura Resources Limited (ASX: ARU) share price is having a month to remember.

At the close of trade on Thursday, shares in the rare earth elements (REE) miner were trading for 21 cents per share – even on the previous day’s close. Over the course of the month, however, the company’s shares have had a phenomenal run. Over that time, its shares have increased 41.2%, an eye-watering number.

Let’s take a closer look.

Arafura shares are HOT, HOT, HOT!

The first major story that had a material impact on the Arafura share price over the last month was the news European car manufactures, such as BMW and Volkswagen, approached Arafura about “sourcing elements that help power electric cars”.

As The Motley Fool previously reported, these European-based car manufacturers are looking for ethically sourced alternatives to Chinese REE as they ramp up manufacturing of electric vehicles.

REE are crucial in the manufacturing of electric car batteries. In fact, the average electric car has about 3kg of REE, especially those that use magnets in their batteries.

At the time, it was reported a new law in Germany on supply chain responsibility also spurred European interest in Arafura. Starting from 2023, companies in the central European country will be held accountable on social standards across their entire supplier network and including waste products, or face fines.

Up to 90% of all the planet’s REE is produced in China. Recent geo-political tensions between the People’s Republic and the west have seen many US and EU based companies and governments looking to reduce their reliance on the eastern nation. Companies like Arafura, which sources its REE from the Northern Territory, may be part of the solution.

Arafura being so widely discussed may have led to the rising Arafura share price. The company said as much in a response to an ASX query a few days later.

Is anything else boosting the Arafura share price?

The company did hold its annual general meeting (AGM), today. Company Chair, Mark Southey, gave the following optimistic assessment of the market going forward. Remember, expectations are an important aspect when it comes to share price.

Recently, we’ve seen global expectations and awareness increase in Australia’s role to provide a secure and stable supply of critical minerals. The need to redefine the supply chain in the face of a changing geopolitical context for critical minerals has become very apparent and urgent. This was highlighted just last month by world leaders meeting through the Quad Security Dialogue (Quad). Leaders of Australia, the United States, India and Japan are set to develop a strategy to secure supply chains of critical minerals.

Australia is front and centre to meet this demand. While it will take some time to develop a global network which can overcome existing challenges, this is a crucial combined first step from governments which all clearly understand that rare earths will be a critical part of the future.

Southey added that demand for REE would continue to grow.

Demand for magnets that use NdPr Oxide is driven by renewable and green energy applications and in particular electric vehicles and wind turbines. Forecasts show that the Electric Vehicle outlook looks to exceed earlier market expectations with several manufacturers with goals of having 50 to 100% Electric Vehicle platforms by 2025.

Investors may believe the miner is in a unique position to exploit these circumstances – at least judging by the rising Arafura share price.

Arafura share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the Arafura share price has increased 95.5%. Year-to-date, shares in the company are 65.4% higher. Its 52-week high is 30 cents per share and its 52-week low is 9 cents per share.

Arafura Resources has a market capitalisation of approximately $333 million.

The post Why the Arafura (ASX:ARU) share price has rocketed 42% in just one month appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These were the 5 top performing ASX shares in September
• Arafura Resources (ASX:ARU) share price rockets 18% on rare earths interest

Motley Fool contributor Marc Sidarous has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia 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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As we round out this Thursday’s trading, the Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG) share price appears to be one of the standout performers on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

The ASX 200 finished the trading day with a gain of 0.02%. Meanwhile, Magellan shares finished up by 2.31% to $36.38 a share.

Magellan is a company that has been on struggle street in recent times. It’s still down by just over 31% in 2021 so far. It’s also down by an even worse 39% over the past 12 months.

So what’s gone right for Magellan today that could have sparked this ASX 200 outperformance?

Why did the Magellan share price beat the ASX 200 today?

Well, it’s not entirely clear. There are no price-sensitive announcements out of the company today. However, Magellan did release a CEO’s presentation and chairman address from its annual general meeting this morning. This might have influenced investor sentiment today.

These addresses were a mixture of discussions around the company’s FY2021 earnings results. They also looked at where the company is heading to next.

Perhaps the most pertinent of these came from the chairman’s address. This was delivered by Magellan co-founder, chair, and chief investment officer Hamish Douglass.

Douglass said he sees “significant opportunities to grow our core Funds Management business across five product areas outside of our global equities franchise”.

These are ESG/Sustainability, the MFG Core series of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), the new FuturePay retirement product, Listed Infrastructure, and through its Airlie subsidiary.

Douglass stated that “to some extent launching new strategies is like a snowball in that they start small and once they gain traction and critical mass they can gain scale quickly”.

Douglass also discussed Magellan’s emerging Capital Partners division. He highlighted the 40% stake the company now has in Barrenjoey Capital Partners Group. That’s as well as the 12% shareholding of the fast-food chain Guzman y Gomez, and the 15% stake in FinClear Holdings Limited. On this side of Magellan’s business, Douglass reckons “while it is still early days, we believe Magellan Capital Partners is firmly on track”.

We don’t know for sure whether these presentations today have positively affected Magellan shares. But it’s very possible, given the lack of any other developments around this company today.

At the current Magellan share price, this fund manager has a market capitalisation of $6.58 billion.

The post Why did the Magellan (ASX:MFG) share price smash the ASX 200 today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
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• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Aristocrat hits record high, Flight Centre sinks
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today

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 Bruce Jackson.

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The Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) price is up nearly 9% since this time yesterday and more than 15% over the past week.

Ethereum is currently trading for US$4,174 (AU$5,564). That gives the world’s number 2 crypto a market cap of some US$492 billion, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

The recent run of gains also sees the token closing in on its all-time highs of US$4,362, set on 12 May this year.

With Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) having just smashed through its own previous record to reach new all-time highs this morning (details here), investors may be wondering whether Ether will be the next major token to break into new highs.

How Ethereum stacks up to Bitcoin

To gain an insight into the different investment thesis driving the resurgent Bitcoin and Ethereum rallies, The Motley Fool turned to Darren Abrahms, co-founder and managing director of digital currency provider Aus Merchant Investments.

Abrahms told us that, “Bitcoin is to gold, what Ether is to equities. Both have unique pros and cons and both have a place in the larger digital asset ecosystem.”

He continued:

Bitcoin and gold are both forms of ‘hard’ money and the central investment thesis for both assets are that they are an effective hedge against inflation… Unlike the supply off fiat currencies… the supply of both Bitcoin and gold are finite… It’s also censorship resistant, as it’s maintained by an international, decentralised network of computers, all of which have a copy of that same distributed ledger.

A core difference between Bitcoin and Ethereum, Abrahms added, is that, “Bitcoin has limited utility outside of savings and peer-to-peer remittance.”

On the other hand, “Ethereum and its native token Ether are far more than a form of digital money. Ethereum’s ability to facilitate smart contracts is a paradigm shift from Bitcoin.”

Ethereum is a platform, upon which a multitude of decentralised applications are built. These decentralised applications or ‘dapps’ as they are often referred to, are part of a revolution in the computing space known as web 3.0… While Bitcoin is central to the Web 3.0 movement, it’s use case is limited. Ether, and other smart contract blockchains have an almost infinite number of use cases.

Dapps built on Ethereum, Abrahms explained, “allow users to: borrow, lend, swap, utilise derivatives, and earn yield on their digital assets in a permissionless manner”.

Atop that, “Ethereum by holding the Ether token, affords investors indirect exposure to all dapps built on its blockchain.”

First mover advantages

Abrahms told The Motley Fool he believes, “Both digital assets will be a useful hedge against inflation and therefore an effective store of value. However, Bitcoin’s first mover advantage and simple value proposition means that it will continue to dominate the attention of investors seeking a hedge against inflation.”

As for Ethereum, he said, “While Bitcoin has the first mover advantage in the inflation hedge use-case, Ether has the first mover advantage in the smart contract ecosystem.”

However, Abrahms added this note of caution for the Ethereum outlook:

While Ether’s first mover advantage should not be overlooked, Ether has more direct competitors than Bitcoin. Post the 2017 ICO [initial coin offering] craze, there have been very few blockchains trying to rival Bitcoin’s dominance as a mode of peer-to-peer value transmission and none have succeeded. Conversely, there are new smart contract platforms that have different value propositions to Ethereum, which are unique to the relevant blockchain’s technology stack.

How has the Ethereum price been performing?

One year ago, Ethereum was trading at US$413. At the current Ether price of US$4,177, that represents a gain of 911%.

That’s more than double the 400% price gain posted by Bitcoin over the past 12 months.

Will that trend continue over the next months or will Ethereum return to lows of US$1,785 posted on 20 July, or even lower?

Only time will tell.

The post Could the Ethereum price track Bitcoin to new record highs? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why the Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) price is rocketing to new, all-time highs
• Newcrest (ASX:NCM) CEO reveals the company’s gold, copper and Bitcoin mining plans
• BITO, the first US Bitcoin ETF just started trading. Here’s what happened
• Here are the pros and cons of investing in the pending US Bitcoin ETFs
• Why Bitcoin miners are flocking to the US and what this could mean for Australia

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Bitcoin and Ethereum. 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 CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) share price has been a hot topic over the course of the year. The company has been severely challenged by COVID-19 restrictions and this has had a profound impact on its share price.

The greatest impact has been a dramatic decline in plasma donations in the United States during the crisis.

The global biotech’s shares closed Thursday’s session at $294.65 apiece, down 1.02%.

What has CSL announced lately?

While CSL hasn’t reported any price-sensitive news since its full-year results, it did release its R&D investor briefing on Tuesday.

The company highlighted that it spent more than US$1 billion on R&D activities in the past financial year. This consisted of new product development, market development, and life cycle management products.

A number of therapeutics were approved for use across Japan, the United States, Europe, Russia, and Mexico. Most of these products came from CSL’s immunology and haematology portfolio.

In its FY21 results, CSL reported that the immunology division made US$4,238 million (A$5,648 million), which was almost half of its total revenue of US$8,547 million (A$11,391 million). Treatments for haemophilia accounted for US$1,107 million (A$1,475 million) for the year.

In addition, the company is building a new cell culture facility in Tullamarine, Victoria. Scheduled to open in 2026, the plant will produce the next-generation cell-based seasonal influenza vaccines.

CSL has an $800 million 10-year supply agreement with the Commonwealth Government for antivenoms, Q-fever vaccines and pandemic influenza vaccines.

Two broker notes came in yesterday, both raising their outlook on the CSL share price.

The first from Jefferies revealed a bullish assessment with the 12-month price target lifted by 3.1% to $338. Leading global investment firm Goldman Sachs also improved its rating on CSL shares by 1% to $305.

How is CSL comparing against the ASX 200?

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has returned 10.9% to shareholders in 2021 compared to CSL’s 3.4%.

However, when looking at a longer timeframe, this is where things start to turn.

The benchmark index has risen by an average of 6.38% per year over the past 5 years and 5.99% per year over a 10-year period. CSL, on the other hand, has surged with a yearly average of 22.98% and 25.69% respectively.

CSL share price snapshot

Since the pandemic began, CSL shares have been on a rollercoaster ride and are down about 12% since February 2020.

CSL has been hampered by the slow recovery from COVID-19, affecting the company’s business operations both domestically and internationally.

On valuation grounds, CSL is the second-largest company on the ASX with a market capitalisation of roughly $134.68 billion.

The post The CSL (ASX:CSL) share price is up just 3% so far in 2021. Here’s why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: BHP’s Q1 update, CSL’S R&D update
• CSL (ASX:CSL) share price trades flat despite annual R&D update
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Own CSL (ASX:CSL) shares? Here’s why the government won’t be extending the biotech’s AstraZeneca vaccine contract
• Could the CSL (ASX:CSL) share price hit $325 by the end of 2021?

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras owns shares of CSL Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended CSL Ltd. 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 Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) share price finished lower today after the retail conglomerate made a move to strengthen its workplace health and safety settings.

At Thursday’s closing bell, Woolworths shares ended 0.88% lower to $39.64.

What did Woolworths announce?

In its latest release, Woolworths has announced its intention for a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for its workers.

The new rules are expected to come into effect in the coming months unless public health orders are proposed earlier.

As such, full vaccination will be a requirement in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Victoria, and Western Australia by 31 January 2022. The remaining stores in the other states will need to have their workers vaccinated by 31 March 2022.

This will apply to all 170,000 Australian team members working in stores, distribution and online fulfilment centres, and support offices.

Woolworths advised it will engage with its team to understand any practical and individual issues in meeting the requirement. This will include allowing for legitimate medical and religious exemptions.

The news has also led to rival Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) following a similar path in tackling the issue. It said team members will need to be vaccinated in the coming months unless they have a valid exemption.

What did management have to say?

Woolworths Group CEO Brad Banducci said:

We have a clear obligation to provide our team members with the safest possible work environment as we supply the food and essential needs our communities rely on.

With each store welcoming an average 20,000 customers a week, a single team member can come into contact with quite literally thousands of people in the course of a normal working week.

Woolworths Group chief medical officer Dr Rob McCartney added:

The medical evidence is clear — vaccination is the best protection against COVID-19 for our team members. A vaccinated team member is far less likely to get COVID, much less likely to pass it on, and also significantly less likely to become seriously ill.

There is a clear and compelling case for a vaccination requirement to provide the safest possible work environment for all our team members. This is particularly important as restrictions ease and we see higher rates of transmission.

Woolworths expects to make a final decision and release its policy in November 2021.

Woolworths share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, Woolworths shares have gained more than 16%, and are up around 14% year to date.

Woolworths presides a market capitalisation of roughly $48.03 billion, with approximately 1.2 billion shares on its registry.

The post Own Woolworths (ASX:WOW) shares? Here’s why the company is in the news appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why this supermarket is outperforming the Woolworths (ASX:WOW) share price lately
• Woolworths (ASX:WOW) share price edges lower following share buy-back completion
• Own Woolworths (ASX:WOW) shares? Here’s how the retail giant is using AI to combat self-serve cheats
• Own Woolworths (ASX:WOW) shares? Here’s why the company is making news this week
• Can the Woolworths (ASX:WOW) share price hit $45 by the end of 2021?

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended COLESGROUP DEF SET. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Today, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) retreated in the afternoon to finish relatively flat. The benchmark index moved 0.02% higher to 7,415.4 points.

The market was split in two directions today. While tech and property shares posted reasonable gains on the ASX, energy and consumer staples sunk lower.

However, the question is: which shares delivered the biggest returns to investors on the ASX today? Here are the ten stocks that rose to the occasion:

Top 10 ASX shares countdown today

Looking at the top 200 listed companies, Cimic Group Ltd (ASX: CIM) was the biggest gainer today. Shares in the construction company bounced 6.24% higher. The upwards move followed the release of the company’s financial results for 9 months ended 30 September 2021. Find out more about Cimic Group here.

The next biggest gaining ASX share today was Healius Ltd (ASX: HLS). The healthcare company added 4.62% to its share price after unveiling an explosive first-quarter result. Uncover the latest Healius details here.

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

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
Cimic Group Ltd (ASX: CIM)	$21.96	6.24%
Healius Ltd (ASX: HLS)	$4.76	4.62%
AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP)	$1.17	4.46%
Nickel Mines Ltd (ASX: NIC)	$1.095	4.29%
Scentre Group (ASX: SCG)	$3.12	2.65%
Pinnacle Investment Management Group Ltd (ASX: PNI)	$16.71	3.60%
Altium Ltd (ASX: ALU)	$37.30	3.10%
Orora Ltd (ASX: ORA)	$3.235	3.03%
Aristocrat Leisure Ltd (ASX: ALL)	$47.17	3.01%
Cleanaway Waste Management Ltd (ASX: CWY)	$2.85	2.89%

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.

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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 Altium and PINNACLE FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Altium and PINNACLE FPO. 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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Christmas is fast approaching and research is indicating it will be another big season for spending. The cash-splashing festivities place ASX 200 retail shares back in the frame as potential beneficiaries. This follows another calendar year of sporadic lockdowns and restrictions throughout Australia due to COVID-19.

While financials have been the best performing sector across the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), predictions of a spending binge towards the end of the year might boost consumer discretionary shares.

Pocketed cash ready to be unleashed

In a release from the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) today, pre-Christmas retailer trade has been given a price tag. According to the ARA, in conjunction with Roy Morgan, it is believed pre-Christmas spending will broadly match last year’s figure. This would suggest retail trade in the ballpark of $58.8 billion.

The pandemic has undoubtedly put a dent in our lives in various ways. Yet, retail trade has increased from its pre-pandemic levels in spite of the toll it has taken on the economy. In fact, the ARA’s forecast for this year’s pre-Christmas spending is 11.3% above what was recorded in 2019.

Furthermore, the forecast comes at a time when Australian savings remain elevated above historical levels. Although the household saving ratio has been in decline since June — as Aussies begin to increase spending — there seems to be plenty of spending fodder in the tank, potentially to be spent at ASX 200 retailers.

Speaking on the bumper pre-Christmas spending forecasts, Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine said:

Our sales forecasting reveals a country on the move; a consumer economy exhibiting all the signs of pent-up demand. No one believed that spending this coming Christmas could match the highs of last year. But as the population emerges from the most punishing crisis in a hundred years, shoppers are looking to reward themselves and their families.

The sales aren’t all going to be instore, however. The COVID 5-year digital acceleration means many more Australians are shopping online. So, this Christmas we will see much more of a mix between instore and online shopping

ASX 200 shares supporting a fresh new look

The ARA also outlined some key categories that could be set for a boost in trade. These include clothing, fashion, accessories, and hospitality. Such categories are ones that haven’t received as much attention prior to lockdowns lifting.

However, as ARA chief executive Paul Zahra mentions, the reopening could change that:

I think there’s no doubt there will be a focus on experience because we have not been able to connect, so people will be out and about and we are obviously seeing that in restaurant and cafe numbers.

Clothing and footwear and accessories are a big opportunity as consumers will be able to go to events, they will be able to go out, face to face and want to refresh their wardrobe because they have not done that for some time – and people’s waistlines might have changed through lockdowns.

Another big season will likely benefit the ASX 200 top dogs, such as JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH) and Harvey Norman Holdings Limited (ASX: HVN). However, with a focus on clothing, footwear, and accessories, other ASX-listed retailers could also see a boost.

Companies like Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1), Lovisa Holdings Ltd (ASX: LOV), and City Chic Collective Ltd (ASX: CCX) stand out.

The post ASX 200 retail shares in focus amid bumper Christmas forecast appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd. 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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