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It’s been a fairly dire end to the trading week so far this Friday for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). After having a rather volatile week this week, investors have broken into a stampede of pessimism today, sending the ASX 200 Index down by a nasty 2.3% at the time of writing to back under 7,150 points.

Ouch.

But let’s not let all of that ruin our weekends. So instead, it’s time now to check out the ASX 200 shares that are at the top of the share market’s trading volume charts as it currently sits, according to investing.com. 

The 3 most traded ASX 200 shares by volume this Friday

Santos Ltd (ASX: STO)

First share up for discussion today is the ASX 200 energy giant Santos. So far this Friday, a hefty 17.16 million Santos shares have traded owners. There’s been no fresh news out of Santos itself today, save for a share buyback notice.

This could be influencing trading volumes, but the more likely explanation for this high volume is the depressing selloff of Santos shares themselves. At this point, the Santos share price has shed a chunky 2.77% and is down to $7.20 a share.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

Next up we have ASX 200 lithium share Pilbara Minerals. At this point of the day, a sizeable 25.16 million Pilbara shares have been bought and sold. There hasn’t been much in the way of news out of Pilbara either. But this company has been ravaged by the markets today.

At present, Pilbara shares have tanked by a horrid 6.3% and are down to $4.01 each. As we covered this afternoon, this appears to have been driven by lower lithium prices across the market. There’s little doubt this nasty share price dive is behind these high volumes.

Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA)

Our third, final and most traded ASX 200 share this Friday is another lithium stock in Sayona Mining. A whopping 28.55 million Sayona shares have swapped hands as it currently stands on the ASX. This looks to be a very similar situation to that of Pilbara.

There hasn’t been any Sayona news from the company itself. But the shares have been decimated by investors today, likely due to similar concerns to those of Pilbara.

But in Sayona’s case, this lithium share has lost even more, currently nursing an 8% loss, putting the company down to 23 cents per share. With a loss of that size, no wonder we are seeing elevated share volumes.

The post Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Friday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• ASX 200 sinks to 2-month low on US market jitters
• Sayona Mining share price dumps 6% amid lithium lows
• Why are ASX 200 lithium shares falling so hard today?
• Why Atlantic Lithium, CBA, Piedmont Lithium, and Pilbara Minerals shares are dropping
• 3 ASX 200 shares trading ex-dividend 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 Scott Phillips.

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If you’re looking to add some high quality shares to your investment portfolio, then you might want to look at the blue chip ASX 200 shares listed below.

Here’s why experts are tipping these blue chip ASX 200 shares as ones to buy right now:

Goodman Group (ASX: GMG)

The first blue chip ASX 200 share to look at is Goodman. It is an integrated commercial and industrial property company with a world class portfolio of in-demand warehouses, large scale logistics facilities, and business and office parks.

Strong demand for its property led to the company reporting an occupancy rate of 99% during the first half. This has helped underpin solid like-for-like net property income growth again so far in FY 2023.

Goldman Sachs was impressed with its results and remains very positive on the future thanks to strong demand and its significant development pipeline. In response to its results, the broker commented:

GMG continues to demonstrate its strong platform and positioning as evident in today’s result, supported by our expectation of a strong outlook for the Industrial sector more broadly, with a number of favourable fundamentals underpinning future long-term demand for industrial space. We expect solid rental growth as demand for high quality logistics space continues to outpace available supply.

Goldman has a buy rating and $25.40 price target on its shares.

Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG)

Another ASX 200 blue chip share that could be in the buy zone is this investment bank.

Macquarie has also been performing very strongly in FY 2023 despite the current economic environment. This caught the eye of analysts at Morgans, which were particularly impressed with its recent quarterly update. They said:

MQG is a quality franchise, exposed to structural growth areas, and the company has performed exceptionally well in a more difficult FY23 environment. MQG has also consistently delivered attractive returns over time (~15% average ROE) and with >10% share price upside to our price target (A$214), we maintain our ADD recommendation.

Morgans has an add rating and $214.51 price target on the company’s shares.

Another positive with Macquarie’s shares is that they provide investors with an attractive yield. For example, Morgans is expecting partially franked dividends of $7.41 per share in FY 2023 and $7.13 per share in FY 2024. Based on the current Macquarie share price of $184.16, this will mean yields of 4% and 3.9%, respectively.

The post Experts say these fantastic blue chip ASX 200 shares are buys appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why are ASX 200 bank shares like CBA being annihilated today?
• Buy these ASX 200 dividend shares for passive income: analysts
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy now
• Boost your portfolio with these blue chip ASX 200 shares in March: experts
• Watch out CBA: This ASX 200 bank share is rapidly growing

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

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Well, it’s looking like the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and ASX shares are set to end the trading week on a bit of a low note. So far today, the ASX 200 has lost a nasty 1.97%. That pulls the Index down significantly from the 7,311 points it closed at yesterday to the 7,167 points it has gotten down to at the time of writing. 

We see these market losses reflected in most of the ASX 200’s most prominent shares. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) is faring awfully today, having lost a depressing 2.93% at present at $95.82 a share. The other ASX 200 banks aren’t faring much better, with Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) and ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) both down more than 3%.

The ASX 200’s largest constituent, BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) isn’t doing much better. BHP shares have presently lost 2.6% of their value and are down to $45.38 a share. With Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS), CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) and Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) also nursing losses, it’s hard to find many ASX 200 shares in the green today.

These nasty market losses have built on the jitters we’ve seen for most of the week. Since Tuesday’s session, the ASX 200 has now slipped by a meaningful 2.8% or so. This has pulled the ASX 200 down significantly, with the Index now at a level we haven’t seen for almost exactly two months.

Yes, ASX 200 shares are now at the same level they were at in early January. The market is also down by more than 5% since it reached its 2023 high in early February.

So what’s going on here?

Why are ASX 200 shares at a two-month low?

Well, it’s fairly obvious the contagion of this market panic has started over in the United States. US markets have also had a tumultuous week. Last night, the S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX), which is the flagship index covering the US markets, tumbled by 1.85%.

Since Monday’s trading, the S&P 500 has lost more than 3.2%. So it was always going to be hard for ASX shares to do well with these losses across the Pacific.

It seems this recent weakness in the US markets has stemmed from comments that Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell made to the US Congress this week. As my Fool colleague Bernd covered earlier this week, Powell said the following to the United States Senate Banking Committee:

The latest economic data have come in stronger than expected, which suggests that the ultimate level of interest rates is likely to be higher than previously anticipated. If the totality of the data were to indicate that faster tightening is warranted, we would be prepared to increase the pace of rate hikes.

This is exactly the kind of news investors hate. Higher interest rates mean that more money is going to be pulled out of the US economy (and by extension, the global economy) in order to control American inflation. And that is bad news for share markets.

Higher rates also increase the appeal of cash investments like term deposits and savings accounts, which tends to see money moving out of ‘risky’ assets like shares and into the ‘safety’ of the bank.

So no wonder Powell’s comments spooked US investors, and consequentially, ASX investors.

So it looks like this is why both the ASX and the US have had such a dire end to the trading week. Let’s hope the pessimism doesn’t last the weekend.

The post ASX 200 sinks to 2-month low on US market jitters appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 3 ASX 200 shares trading ex-dividend today
• Novonix shares will soon be booted out of the ASX 200. What might this mean for investors?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Thursday
• Is the party well and truly over for ASX 200 coal shares?

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in Telstra Group. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended CSL. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Telstra Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Westpac Banking. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) shares have been very strong performers in 2023.

Since the start of the year, the travel agent giant’s shares have risen over 30%.

Why is the Flight Centre share price smashing the market?

Investors have been scrambling to buy the company’s shares this year after its financial performance improved materially.

For example, for the first half of FY 2023, Flight Centre revealed the more than tripling of its revenue to $1 billion. This was driven by a significant rebound in the travel market and a particularly strong performance from its corporate business.

Also getting investors excited was its operating profit. It posted underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of $95 million for the six months, which was a huge improvement from a $184 million loss a year earlier.

And while it still recorded a modest underlying profit after tax loss of $2.45 million, this was notably better than its $188 million after tax loss in the prior corresponding period.

However, as great an improvement as it was, it wasn’t going to put the Flight Centre board in a position to pay an interim dividend. So, when might the company start paying a dividend again?

When will the Flight Centre dividend return?

I have good news and bad news. The good news is that analysts believe the Flight Centre dividend will return. The bad news is that you may have to be patient.

According to a recent note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts are forecasting zero dividends in FY 2023 and FY 2024, before it returns with an 18 cents per share dividend in FY 2025. However, based on the current Flight Centre share price of $19.04, this will mean a rather modest ~1% yield.

Over at Citi, its analysts are a little more upbeat. They expect no dividends in FY 2023, but a 36 cents per share dividend in FY 2024 and then an 81 cents per share dividend in FY 2025. This represents yields of 1.9% and 4.25%, respectively.

Finally, Morgans agrees that no dividends will be paid this year but expects dividends per share of 47 cents in FY 2024 and then 74 cents in FY 2025. This will mean yields of 2.5% and 3.9%, respectively.

All in all, it could be worth being patient with Flight Centre shares if you’re an income investor.

The post When will Flight Centre shares resume paying dividends? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Should I buy Flight Centre shares at $19?
• Here are the 10 most shorted ASX shares this week
• These ASX 200 shares smashed the market in February
• How did the Flight Centre share price manage to leap almost 18% in February?
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today

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

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ASX 200 lithium shares are being bludgeoned on Friday following news out of Shanghai that lithium prices have fallen to their lowest level since January 2022.

Here is a summary of today’s share market activity:

• The Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE) share price is down 7.2% to $11.56
• The Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price is down 6.1% to $4.02
• The Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR) share price is down 6.2% to $1.59
• The Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA) share price is down 6% today to 24 cents
• The IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO) share price is down 6% to $12.98
• The Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN) share price is down 5.3% to $84.30
• The Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) share price is down 4.5% to 96 cents.

What’s behind the drop in ASX 200 lithium shares on Friday?

The Australian Financial Review (AFR) reports the lithium carbonate equivalent price has fallen to US$49,757 per tonne, according to Shanghai Metals Market data.

Lithium carbonate has been on a sustained decline since November 2022. Back then, the commodity was trading above US$86,100 per tonne. It has since lost 42% of its value.

Lithium prices are directly influenced by global demand for electric vehicles (EVs). Analysts are blaming China’s cessation of EV subsidies this year for the continuing slide in lithium prices.

Top broker Goldman Sachs has been bearish on lithium prices since mid-2022.

In its latest forecast released before today’s fall in the carbonate price, Goldman said all types of lithium would dramatically fall in value over the next few years.

The broker thinks supply will start to outweigh demand, thereby putting downward pressure on spot prices from 2H FY23.

Here are Goldman’s forecasted prices.

Carbonate (per tonne)

• Spot price today: US$49,757
• 2023: US$53,300
• 2024: US$11,000
• 2025: US$11,000

Hydroxide (per tonne)

• Spot price today: US$72,600
• 2023: US$58,650
• 2024: US$12,500
• 2025: US$12,500

Spodumene 6% (per tonne)

• Spot price today: US$5,080
• 2023: US$4,330
• 2024: US$800
• 2025: US$800

The post Why are ASX 200 lithium shares falling so hard today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Sayona Mining share price dumps 6% amid lithium lows
• Why Atlantic Lithium, CBA, Piedmont Lithium, and Pilbara Minerals shares are dropping
• 3 ASX 200 shares trading ex-dividend today
• Novonix shares will soon be booted out of the ASX 200. What might this mean for investors?
• Investing $10k in this ASX stock could generate passive income of over $1k per year

Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has positions in Allkem and Core Lithium. 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.

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It has been another busy week for Australia’s top brokers. This has led to the release of a large number of broker notes.

Three broker buy ratings that you might want to know more about are summarised below. Here’s why brokers think these ASX shares are in the buy zone:

Carsales.Com Ltd (ASX: CAR)

According to a note out of Macquarie, its analysts have retained their outperform rating and lifted their price target on this auto listings company’s shares to $25.10. This follows news that the company is increasing its stake in Brazil’s WebMotors to 70%. Macquarie appears pleased with the plan given how large the Brazilian market is. The Carsales share price last traded at $22.64.

Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE)

A note out of Goldman Sachs reveals that its analysts have retained their buy rating and $14.70 price target on this wine giant’s shares. This follows the company’s FY 2023 strategy day in the Napa valley this week. Goldman believes that Treasury Wine is highly energised to generate growth in an otherwise challenged industry. It highlights that the company has its eyes on younger consumers, noting that the earlier they are recruited, the more loyal they become. The Treasury Wine share price is fetching $13.00 today.

Xero Limited (ASX: XRO)

Analysts at Citi have retained their buy rating and lifted their price target on this cloud accounting platform provider’s shares to $105.70. This follows news that Xero is undertaking a major cost cutting program that will reduce its workforce by upwards of 16%. Citi appears pleased with the news and is expecting this to underpin very strong earnings growth over the coming years. The Xero share price is trading at $86.26 this afternoon.

The post Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Is the new leaner, meaner Xero stock a buy right now?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• Why Arafura, Myer, Volpara, and Xero shares are zooming higher
• Morgans names 3 more of the best ASX shares to buy in March
• Why is the Xero share price racing 11% higher today?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Xero. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Carsales.com and Treasury Wine Estates. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA) share price is down 6% today to 24 cents on news that lithium prices have fallen to their lowest level in more than a year.

The Australian Financial Review (AFR) reports the lithium carbonate equivalent price has fallen to US$49,757 per tonne, according to Shanghai Metals Market data.

The last time lithium traded at these levels was January 2022, according to Trading Economics.

Lithium is an essential ingredient in the batteries that power electric vehicles (EVs).

Analysts say this latest price slide is due to China ending EV subsidies this year.

The trouble with commodity stocks

Investors with money in commodity-related stocks know that when commodity prices move, so do share prices. So, it’s unsurprising to see plenty of other ASX lithium shares trading lower today.

• The Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE) share price is down 7.2% to $11.56
• The Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price is down 6.1% to $4.02
• The Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR) share price is down 6.2% to $1.59
• The IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO) share price is down 6% to $12.98
• The Lake Resources N.L. (ASX: LKE) share price is down 5.5% to 60 cents
• The Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN) share price is down 5.3% to $84.30
• The Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) share price is down 4.5% to 96 cents

But longer term, the future of EVs is rosy. According to a report published by Bloomberg, global spending on passenger EVs leapt 53% year over year to US$388 billion in 2022.

According to Bloomberg’s analysis, passenger EV sales will likely go beyond US$500 billion in 2023, up another 29% year-over-year.

That’s kinda significant for ASX lithium shares when you consider approximately 75% of the world’s consumption of lithium is in rechargeable batteries!

Other issues may be weighing on the Sayona Mining share price

Potentially also dragging on the Sayona Mining share price today are allegations made by a short-attacker against Sayona’s joint venture (JV) partner, Piedmont Lithium Inc (ASX: PLL).

Sayona and Piedmont are working on projects in Quebec through their JV, Sayona Quebec.

The trouble with Piedmont today relates to a short report from Blue Orca Research alleging Piedmont’s agreement to secure lithium spodumene supply in Ghana may be in jeopardy.

In terms of the Quebec JV, Sayona Mining gave some positive news to the ASX on Wednesday.

It announced that the JV’s flagship project, the North American Lithium Project, has produced initial spodumene concentrate.

Sayona Mining and Piedmont are currently working on restarting the project. They hope to be selling lithium product from the project in Q3 2023.

The post Sayona Mining share price dumps 6% amid lithium lows appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Macquarie tips 3 ASX lithium shares to outperform, one with 150% upside
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Wednesday
• Sayona Mining share price dips despite first lithium production
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Tuesday
• Why InvoCare, Pentanet, Sayona Mining, and Weebit Nano shares are storming higher

Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has positions in Allkem and Core Lithium. 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.

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As an ASX 200 blue chip share, Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) has a well-founded reputation as an investment that can deliver both capital gains and dividends to ASX investors. Indeed, Woolworths stock has delivered healthy amounts of both over the past decade or two: 

Today, this ASX consumer staples giant sits on top of Australia’s grocery and supermarket industry, with a higher market share and dominance over its rivals like Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL).

But just because a company has been successful in the past does not mean it will automatically be a good investment going forward.

So today, let’s examine whether the Woolworths share price is a buy.

Buy Woolworths stock: ASX broker

Well, as you might have gathered from the headline, at least one ASX broker is bullish on Woolies shares today. As we covered this week, investment bank and broker Goldman Sachs recently came out with not just a buy rating on Woolworths, but a conviction buy rating.

Goldman has a strong view on Woolworths shares thanks to this business’ strong market position and digital prowess. The broker reckons these will enable Woolies to keep its perch at the top of the Australian grocery market and support higher margins in the future.

That’s good news for Woowlorths’ profitability if Goldman is on the money, which will in turn lead to higher dividends.

Goldman Sachs gives the Woolworths stock price a 12-month target of $41 a share. If realised, that would represent a potential upside of around 10.6% from where the shares are today, not including dividend returns.

Speaking of dividends, Goldman is also bullish on the future income potential of Woolworths shares. Today, Woolies has a trailing dividend yield of 2.67%, fully franked. That stems from the supermarket operator’s latest two dividend payments.

These include last year’s final dividend of 53 cents per share, as well as the interim dividend of 46 cents per share that investors will bag next month.

But Goldman reckons Woolies will be able to ratchet these payments up substantially in coming years. The broker has a total of $1.03 per share pencilled in for FY2023, and $1.16 per share for FY2024.

No doubt investors will be very happy to hear this news. But we’ll have to wait, watch and see if Goldman turns out to be on the money here.

The post Goldman Sachs says buy Woolworths stock for reliable dividends AND 10% share price growth appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• How can I hope to retire rich when the share market is falling?
• Buy these ASX 200 dividend shares for passive income: analysts
• Top ASX dividend shares to buy in March 2023
• Why is the Woolworths share price sliding lower today?
• Hoping to bag the bigger Woolworths dividend? You’ll need to hurry

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 Coles Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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If you’re in the market for some ASX dividend shares, then you might want to check out the two listed below.

These ASX dividend shares are on Morgans’ best ideas list for the month of March. Here’s why it rates them highly:

Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)

Telstra is on the broker’s best ideas list again in March with an add rating and price target of $4.70.

Morgans is very positive on the company due to the success of its turnaround and its recent restructure. It believes the latter could unlock value from asset divestments. It explained:

After a major turnaround, TLS has emerged in good shape with strong earnings momentum and a strong balance sheet. In late CY22 shareholders vote on Telstra’s legal restructure, which opens the door for value to be released. TLS currently trades on ~7x EV/EBITDA. However some of TLS’s high quality long life assets like InfraCo are worth substantially more, in our view. We don’t think this is in the price so see it as value generating for TLS shareholders. This, free option, combined with likely reputational damage to its closest peer, following a major cybersecurity incident, means TLS looks well placed for the year ahead.

As for dividends, the broker is forecasting fully franked dividends of 17 cents per share in FY 2023 and FY 2024. Based on the current Telstra share price of $4.12, this will mean yields of 4.1%.

Transurban Group (ASX: TCL)

Toll road operator Transurban could be another ASX dividend share to consider. Morgans has it on its best ideas list with a $14.21 price target.

Its analysts believe the company is an attractive option for investors given the quality of its assets and growth potential. The broker explained:

TCL owns a pure play portfolio of toll road concession assets located in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and North America. This provides exposure to regional population and employment growth and urbanisation. Given very high EBITDA margins, earnings are driven by traffic growth (with recovery from COVID) and toll escalation (roughly 70% by at least CPI and approximately one-quarter at a fixed c.4.25% pa). We think TCL will continue to be attractive to investors given its market cap weighting (important for passive index tracking flows), the high quality of its assets, management team, balance sheet, and growth prospects.

Morgans is forecasting dividends per share of 57 cents in FY 2023 and then 64.5 cents in FY 2024. Based on the current Transurban share price of $14.24, this will mean yields of 4% and 4.5%, respectively.

The post These are the best ASX dividend shares to own: Morgans appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Thursday
• How can I hope to retire rich when the share market is falling?
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Wednesday
• Is now the time to buy Telstra shares for passive income?
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Tuesday

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

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to end the week deep in the red. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is down 1.95% to 7,168.7 points.

Four ASX shares that are falling more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are dropping:

Atlantic Lithium Ltd (ASX: A11)

The Atlantic Lithium share price has crashed 20% to 52 cents. This has been driven by a short attack from Blue Orca. It alleges that Atlantic Lithium obtained key Ghana mining licenses by making secret payments and promises of payment to the immediate family of a high-level Ghana politician. Atlantic Lithium has denied these allegations.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)

The CBA share price is down 3% to $95.93. Investors have been selling ASX bank shares on Friday after their US counterparts were sold off overnight on Wall Street. This was driven by concerns that rising interest rates could lead to large loan losses.

Piedmont Lithium Inc (ASX: PLL)

The Piedmont Lithium share price is down 6% to 82.5 cents. This is also due to the short attack from Blue Orca. It believes that Atlantic Lithium will lose its mining licences and not be able to supply Piedmont Lithium’s Tennessee facility. The company also denied this and believes it could find alternative spodumene if necessary.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

The Pilbara Minerals share price is down 6% to $4.02. Investors have been selling Pilbara Minerals and other ASX lithium shares today after the price of the battery making ingredient continued to fall. Prices have fallen so much now that, according to the AFR, benchmark prices have dropped to a one-year low in China.

The post Why Atlantic Lithium, CBA, Piedmont Lithium, and Pilbara Minerals shares are dropping appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

More reading

• Why are ASX 200 bank shares like CBA being annihilated today?
• Piedmont Lithium share price sinks following short attack response
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Thursday
• Macquarie tips 3 ASX lithium shares to outperform, one with 150% upside
• Piedmont Lithium share price frozen amid short-seller attack

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

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