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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was on form again on Tuesday and stormed notably higher. The benchmark index rose 1.05% to 6,007.8 points.

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

ASX 200 expected to sink lower.

The ASX 200 looks set to give back yesterday’s gains and more on Wednesday after a disappointing start to the week on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the benchmark index is expected to sink 96 points or 1.6% lower at the open. Wall Street returned from the Labor day holiday and saw the Dow Jones fall 2%, the S&P 500 drop 2.6%, and the Nasdaq crash 4%. Tesla shares were particularly poor performers, sinking 20% lower.

Oil prices crash lower.

Energy producers Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could come under pressure today after oil prices crashed lower. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price has sunk 7.3% lower to US$36.88 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has dropped 5% to US$39.87 a barrel. Prices have come under pressure since Saudi Arabia made very deep monthly price cuts to offload its oil.  

Tech shares likely to tumble.

It looks set to be a tough day of trade for Australian tech shares such as Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Appen Ltd (ASX: APX). This follows another selloff on the tech-heavy Nasdaq index overnight. The popular index crashed 4% lower after investors took profit off the table again. Tesla shares were particularly poor performers, sinking 20% lower.

Gold price rises.

The selloff on Wall Street and the collapse in oil prices has supported the gold price. This could be good news for Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) on Wednesday. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is up 0.2% to US$1,938.30 an ounce. Investors were seeking out safe haven assets and driving the gold price higher.

Shares going ex-dividend.

More ASX 200 shares are going ex-dividend this morning and could fall that little bit more than the rest of the market. Logistics solutions company Brambles Limited (ASX: BXB) and media company Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd (ASX: NEC) are both due to trade ex-dividend this morning. They will then pay their dividends to eligible shareholders on 8 October and 20 October, respectively.

More reading

• 3 ASX tech shares to buy for the long term after the Nasdaq selloff
• How I’d turn $5,000 into $100,000 with ASX growth shares
• Half of ASX 200 stocks at risk as China-Australia relations hit new low
• ASX 200 rises 1%, CSL (ASX:CSL) leads the way
• 3 ASX high-growth ETFs growth investors can’t ignore

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

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I’m a big believer in investing in quality ASX growth shares. If you had picked up Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) shares three years ago and held onto them until today, you would be up over 2000%. That means your initial $5,000 investment would give you a total return of more than $100,000. No property or term deposit can give you a return of 20x in just a few short years.

Of course, companies like Afterpay only come around so often. However, the idea is to monitor the share market news and look into ASX shares that present strong growth potential.

If you can identify a quality ASX growth share, it could be worth a fortune down the track.

Below, I have picked two ASX growth shares I believe have the potential to turn $5,000 into $100,000 in under a decade.

2 ASX growth shares to help turn $5,000 into $100,000

Recce Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: RCE)

Recce is a medical company that is involved in development of synthetic antibodies for the treatment of blood infections and sepsis. The Australian biotech has been creating tailwinds over the past few months with a number of positive announcements.

Just today, Recce updated the market on its fight against COVID-19 with upbeat results. The Reece 327 (R327) and Reece 529 (R529) compounds showed reductions in the virus in an in-vitro study using organoids made from human airway epithelial cells.

The Recce share price is up almost 400% in year-to-date-trading, closing today’s session 12.5% higher at $1.62. The promising medical company has a market capitalisation of just $237 million. If it can reach the likes of investor favourite Mesoblast Limited (ASX: MSB) which has a market capitalisation of $2.75 billion, then shareholders could be expecting returns for Recce of more than 1000%.

Aerometrex Ltd (ASX: AMX)

Aerometrex is an aerial mapping company specialising in aerial imagery, photography, LiDAR, 3D modelling and aerial imagery subscription services. The company operates throughout Australia, and has delivered contract work to Europe, New Zealand and the United States.

The Aerometrex share price has fallen nearly 37% during year-to-date-trading as COVID-19 continues to weigh down the broader market. Pleasingly, however, the company advised it had seen minimal impact to its operations in light of the restrictions.

Aerometrex performed strongly in its FY20 results released last month. The aerial mapping specialist reported growth in key sectors such as its LiDAR and 3D portfolio as well as its MetroMap subscription-based service.

With a market capitalisation of just $120 million, this ASX growth share can currently be bought for $1.27. Aerometrex’s closest competitor Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) is trading at $3.00 and has a market capitalisation of $1.36 billion. This means that Nearmap is more than 10 times bigger than Aerometrex. So, should Aerometrex deliver in the coming years, the potential rewards could be huge for shareholders.

Foolish takeaway

I think both these ASX growth shares are poised to go materially higher in the near future. Depending on your risk profile, however, I would suggest allocating no more than around 5% of your portfolio to small-cap ASX growth shares.

More reading

• 3 ASX high-growth ETFs growth investors can’t ignore
• Recce Pharmaceuticals (ASX:RCE) rockets to record high on COVID-19 update
• Afterpay and Brainchip were among the most traded shares on the ASX last week
• Why I would buy Appen and these ASX tech shares after the selloff
• Is the Mesoblast share price a bargain yet?

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

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With a number of high quality and fast-growing shares to choose from on the ASX, it can be hard to decide which ones to buy over others.

To narrow things down, I have picked out three growing companies which I feel could be top investments in September.

Here’s why I think smart investors should buy these shares today:

Altium Limited (ASX: ALU)

I think Altium is a share for smart investors to buy. It is an electronic design software platform provider which is benefiting from the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) markets. These market are driving the development of an ever-increasing number of electronic devices, which in turn is leading to strong demand for its software. Pleasingly, these positive tailwinds are not a short term thing. Management expects them to help it grow its revenue to US$500 million in 5 to 6 years. This will be a big jump on its FY 2020 revenue of ~US$189 million. 

NEXTDC Ltd (ASX: NXT)

Another top option for smart investors to consider buying is NEXTDC. It is an innovative data centre operator which owns a growing collection of world class centres in key locations across Australia. Demand for its services has been growing very strongly in recent years as businesses migrate from in-house facilities to a cloud or managed data centre platform. The good news is that this migration is only just getting started. This should mean that NEXTDC still has a very long runway for growth over the next decade and beyond. I expect this to underpin strong earnings growth for the foreseeable future.

Xero Limited (ASX: XRO)

A final option for smart investors to look at is this leading cloud-based business and accounting software provider. I’m a big fan of Xero due to the quality of its platform, its high retention rates, and its large market opportunity. At the end of July, Xero’s total subscribers had reached 2.38 million. While this is a large number, it is still only a small slice of its global market opportunity. I expect its subscriber numbers to continue to grow over the next decade, particularly in the key U.S. market. This should support strong recurring revenue and earnings growth over the 2020s.

More reading

• 3 ASX high-growth ETFs growth investors can’t ignore
• A practical guide on how to invest in ASX shares
• Polynovo and one more ASX growth share to buy in 2021
• 3 ASX shares for growth, income, and value investors to buy right now
• Broker picks best ASX small cap stocks to buy from the reporting season

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

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There are some ASX shares that could benefit strongly as Australia opens up from COVID-19.

Victoria is still not out of stage 4 restrictions, but many other areas of the country are seeing a return to (somewhat) normal.

The country recovering from COVID-19 will help some businesses that saw their activity hit over the past six months.

Here are three ASX shares that could really benefit:

Tyro Payments Ltd (ASX: TYR)

Tyro is a payments solution business used by more than 32,000 merchants. It provides point of sale machines and it has also recently expanded into ecommerce.

The business also offers loans in the form of merchant cash advances and fee-free, interest-bearing merchant transaction accounts.

Tyro is leveraged to the reopening of the country because many of its merchants are small businesses like cafes. The more customers that use the merchants that Tyro services, the more Tyro will benefit.

Before COVID-19 the ASX share was a strong growth story. In February 2020 it saw total transaction value rise by 30%. April and May saw a large decline in value. But June and July saw a pick up of activity again. August was hampered with Melbourne’s lockdown.

However, in the first few days of September Tyro has seen transaction growth of 24%. When Melbourne comes out of lockdown I think there could be strong growth from Tyro.

The Tyro share price is still down 23% from its pre-coronavirus high.

Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC)

The private hospital business has suffered heavily from not being able to do as many private operations as it would like across its hospital network. It had to cut its dividend, which was on a great 20-year streak.

Ramsay reported that statutory net profit was down 47.9% to $284 million because of COVID-19.

However, the 2021 calendar year could be a strong year for the ASX share – particularly if an effective vaccine can be delivered in Australia, the UK and Europe. Many of the private operations that would have already been done at a Ramsay hospital are still waiting to be done.

I believe there could be a long waiting list of people wanting to do their operation.

In normal times Ramsay would be a solid defensive ASX share. The conditions have been difficult for Ramsay, but I don’t think it’s going to last forever. The ageing tailwinds are still there and the public waiting list have probably substantially grown.

However, the private health insurance affordability could still be a long-term problem. So I’m not sure I’d be an ultra-long-term investor in Ramsay shares.

At the current Ramsay share price it’s trading at 24x FY22’s estimated earnings.

InvoCare Limited (ASX: IVC)

The funeral business has been another to suffer because of COVID-19 impacts. Thankfully, there has been a reduction in influenza deaths due to social distancing measures.

There has also been a limitation of visitors at various times in various locations. Victoria is the obvious place that’s facing restrictions at the moment.

The ASX share recently reported that its underlying earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) had fallen by 50.4% in the FY20 half-year report.

However, COVID-19 restrictions won’t always be there. It’s a morbid thought, but the number of deaths will probably return to the long-term average over time. Death volumes are expected to grow by 1.4% per annum between 2016 to 2025 and then increase by 2.2% per annum from 2025 to 2050.

At the current InvoCare share price it’s trading at 20x FY22’s estimated earnings.

Foolish takeaway

I think each of these ASX shares could deliver a market-beating performance over the next 12 months. I don’t think they’re priced for a full recovery from COVID-19 conditions, even though a vaccine seems fairly likely at this stage. At the current prices I’d probably go for Tyro, as I think that business has the best chance of delivering solid long-term growth rather than just a once-off bounce.

More reading

• These ASX healthcare shares could be great long term options
• Tyro share price bounces on COVID-19 trading update
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• Where to invest $10,000 into ASX shares
• 5 ASX shares better than banks

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

The post 3 ASX shares to buy for the COVID-19 reopening theme appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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Buying ASX shares for both growth prospects and dividend income can be a tricky tightrope to walk. Growth shares can’t dole out dividends unless their cash flows are growing and compounding every year. Likewise, a dividend share can’t fund continual shareholder income unless its business foundations are strong and growing. Just check out the share price of an ASX bank like Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) to see what happens to a dividend share that hits the rocks. Luckily, the 2 ASX shares named below are both investments you can buy for both growth and income in my view. Here they are:

2 ASX shares offering both income and growth prospects

1) Washington H. Soul Pattinson & Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL)

Soul Patts is one of the oldest companies on the ASX, first listing back in 1903. Since then, it has amassed a reputation for being one of the most reliable income shares on the ASX. It has paid out a dividend every year since its listing, and increased that dividend every year since 2000, including in 2020 so far. Barely any ASX companies have that kind of dividend pedigree, but Soul Patts does. This gives me enormous confidence in the company and its management.

Soul Patts is more of an investor itself these days. It holds large chunks of other ASX shares in its portfolio. These currently include TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG), New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC) and Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW). It uses the income from these investments to both fund new acquisitions and grow its dividend. As such, this is a share I would happily recommend for both growth and income today.

2) BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ)

This exchange-traded fund (ETF) and the Nasdaq index it tracks have received a lot of publicity recently. The Nasdaq is one of the two major stock exchanges over in the United States (the other being the New York Stock Exchange). The Nasdaq has a reputation for housing most of the big tech companies like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: APPL) and Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB). Whilst the Nasdaq did have a big fall last week, it has still been on an absolute rampage in 2020 so far. That explains why NDQ units are up 23.50% for the year so far and up 33.57% since 13 March.

This ETF holds the largest 100 companies in the Nasdaq and is known for its growth characteristics (as you can probably judge by the aforementioned performance metrics). However, NDQ also houses many dividend-paying shares like Apple and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) and, as such, is also a good choice for dividend growth. It currently offers a trailing distribution yield of 2.7%. I would expect this to grow at a healthy rate over time as well, given the growth profile of most of NDQ’s holdings. Thus, we have here another share I would be glad to buy today for both growth and income prospects.

More reading

• Here’s why I think ASX investors should buy these international ETFs
• 3 ASX shares I’d buy to quickly add diversification
• Afterpay and Brainchip were among the most traded shares on the ASX last week
• These 2 ASX 200 shares could be the best value ideas
• New to investing? Here are 5 ASX dividend shares to buy now

Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Facebook and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS and recommends the following options: long January 2021 $85 calls on Microsoft and short January 2021 $115 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Brickworks and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Apple, BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS, and Facebook. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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ASX investors have brushed aside the deteriorating relationship between Australia and its most important trading partner even though more than half of the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) stocks are heavily reliant on China for income.

Just as you thought things between the two countries couldn’t get any worse, China boots out all Aussie journalists from its borders.

New low in Sino-Australia relationship

The Australian Financial Review correspondent Mike Smith and Australian Broadcasting Corporation reporter Bill Birtles returned home out of fear of arbitrary detention, according to the BBC.   

This is the first time that Australian journalists have not been on the ground in the Asian nation since the 1970s.

Make no mistake fellow Fools. The development marks a new low for bilateral relations with China targeting Australian barley, wine and beef exports.

When China sneezes

If you had any doubt about how intertwined the Australian economy is with the world’s second largest economy, a note by Jefferies lays bare our dependency on China.

The broker found that around 55% of our top 200 stocks are at risk from the souring relationship, reported Bloomberg.

Mining giants like BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) are the obvious inclusions, although they are lucky that China needs our ore as much as we need to sell it to them.

Others are less fortunate. This means a wide range of large cap ASX stocks could follow the Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE) share price crash.

The TWE share price tumbled last month after China opened investigations of dumping by Aussie wine makers.

ASX stocks at risk of China’s wrath

Other stocks that Jefferies’ analysts believe are at risk include online job classifieds group SEEK Limited (ASX: SEK), which owns websites in China; and consumer goods suppliers A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) and Blackmores Limited (ASX: BKL).

Even our banks are immune from China’s wrath. A falloff in Chinese immigration and investment is likely to prolong the COVID-19 induced housing slump.

This will hit home lenders like the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price, just to name a few.

Tourism stocks could suffer second blow

Further, Chinese tourists make up the large source of short-term arrivals into this country. If the Chinese government makes it harder for its citizens to holiday here, the Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD) share price and Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) share price are likely to suffer.

We also shouldn’t forget how reliant casino operators like Crown Resorts Ltd (ASX: CWN) and Star Entertainment Group Ltd (ASX: SGR) are on Chinese high-rollers.

These stocks are among the biggest casualties of the coronavirus pandemic and are struggling to recover from the crisis.

If China turns off the travel tap, these ASX stocks will take a much longer time to recover and could fall to their COVID-19 lows again.

Let’s hope both governments kiss and make up soon.

More reading

• ASX 200 rises 1%, CSL (ASX:CSL) leads the way
• 3 ASX 200 shares to buy with $3,000 this week
• 3 ASX shares I’d buy to quickly add diversification
• Latest ASX stocks top brokers are urging you to buy today
• Why Jumbo, St Barbara, Sydney Airport, & Uniti shares are dropping lower

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau owns shares of BHP Billiton Limited, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Rio Tinto Ltd., and Westpac Banking. Connect with me on Twitter @brenlau.

The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Blackmores Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of A2 Milk. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Crown Resorts Limited and SEEK Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) went up by more than 1% today to 6,008 points.

Here are some of the biggest positive movements of the day

The Sims Ltd (ASX: SGM) share price grew 7.75%.

The Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) share price grew 7.7%.

Agribusiness Nufarm Limited (ASX: NUF) experienced a share price rise of 7.3%.

The Perenti Global Ltd (ASX: PRN) share price went up 7.1%.

The Chorus Ltd (ASX: CNU) share price grew by 4.8%.

In terms of the biggest businesses in the ASX 200, the CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) share price went up by 2.1% today after the healthcare giant announced its involvement in manufacturing two COVID-19 vaccines for Australia.

At the bottom of the ASX 200 was retailer JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH), its share price dropped 2.8%.

Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD)

Airport operator company Sydney Airport announced that it had completed its retail shortfall bookbuild.

Sydney Airport said that the retail entitlement offer had raised gross proceeds of approximately $695 million from the issue of approximately 152 million new shares at an offer price of $4.56 per new share. Together with the institutional offer, the ASX 200 airport operator raised approximately $2 billion.

Around 58.1 million new shares were offered for sale under the retail bookbuild. These were sold in the retail bookbuild at a price of $5.50 per share, which was a premium of $0.94 per share compared to the original offer price of $4.56. That meant that shareholders who didn’t take up the offer will receive $0.94 less expenses for each new share not taken up. That payment will be made on (or around) 15 September 2020.

Sydney Airport said it chose to raise equity via a renounceable entitlement offer (with retail rights trading) to prioritise fairness to all Sydney Airport shareholders and the outcome of the retail bookbuild supported this decision.

The ASX 200 operator was one of the worst performers today. The Sydney Airport share price dropped by 2.8%.

Atlas Arteria Group (ASX: ALX)

Toll road business Atlas Arteria has announced that APRR has successfully priced €500 million of Eurobonds under its Euro medium term note programme.

Atlas Arteria owns a 31.1% interest in the APRR toll road group in France.

The bonds have a term of 8.3 years and will mature on 18 January 2029. Atlas Arteria said that no other bonds are maturing in that year for APRR.

Atlas Arteria said the bonds were priced on 7 September 2020 at 99.373% of par with a coupon of 0.125%. This represents a margin of 48 basis points (0.48%) over mid-rate swaps and a yield to maturity of 0.201%, which reflects Atlas Arteria said reflects continued strong support for APRR.

Settlement is expected to occur on 18 September 2020, subject to the usual closing conditions.

Atlas Arteria chief financial officer Nadine Lennie said: “Eurobond investors demonstrated their continued support for the APRR business in this transaction with the book several times oversubscribed. It provides APRR with additional liquidity, further reduces its average cost of debt, extends its weighted average debt maturity and strengthens APRR’s capacity for growth.”

The Atlas Arteria share price dropped almost 2% today.

Scentre Group (ASX: SCG)

Shopping centre business Scentre announced that it collected $183 million of rent in August 2020. This represented 86% of monthly gross rental billings.

This announcement confirms the actual amount of rent collected that was referred to in the June 2020 results presentation.

Scentre said that it will provide an update for the quarter ending 30 September 2020 in early November 2020.

Today the Scentre share price rose by 4.1% in reaction to this news.

More reading

• Half of ASX 200 stocks at risk as China-Australia relations hit new low
• Sims (ASX:SGM) share price tops ASX 200 leader’s board, surging 8%
• Latest ASX stocks top brokers are urging you to buy today
• Why Jumbo, St Barbara, Sydney Airport, & Uniti shares are dropping lower
• ASX 200 up 0.95%: Big four banks rise, Scentre collections improve, Nufarm jumps

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

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The Sims Ltd (ASX: SGM) share price leapt higher on open today and kept attracting buyers. The Sims share price closed the day up 7.8%, putting it atop the leader’s board of the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). By comparison, the ASX 200 gained 1.1% today.

Year to date, the Sims share price remains down 21%, having yet to fully recover from the trouncing it took during the post COVID-19 market rout. From 19 February through to 23 March, the Sims share price crashed 48%.

Since the March low, however, Sims shares are up nearly 48% to $8.48 per share. That gives the company a current market capitalisation of $1.7 billion.

What does Sims do?

Formerly known as Sims Metal Management, the company was founded in 1917. Since then, Sims has become the largest scrap metal and electronics recycler on Earth. Sims employs 6,000 people in 230 global locations, including Australia, the United States, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. 

The company buys a variety of ferrous (containing iron) and non-ferrous metals from a large range of sources. It also processes ferrous metals for resale to end users including steel mills, foundries and metals brokers.

Sims shares began trading on the ASX in 1999.

Why did the Sims share price gain strongly today?

There was no specific news released by the company to drive the Sims share price up almost 8% today. But investors may be cottoning on to the fact that the company’s shares remain down around 28% from their 22 January high in a market with strong growth outlooks.

According to Brandessence Market Research, as reported by Scientect today, the metal recycling market is valued at roughly US$52 billion globally, with growth predicted to be 7.1% over its forecast period of 2020-2027.

The metals that Sims recycles include copper and aluminium. And both metals have seen sharp upswings in their prices. Copper is trading for US$6,789 per metric tonne, its highest price since mid-2018. Aluminium is at US$1,798 per metric tonne, putting it back at its January 2020 levels and up 23% since 15 May.

With copper demand in China seeing the nation import record levels in July and near record levels in August, copper prices are likely heading higher. And with the demand for aluminium and recycled steel likely to ramp up as well, the Sims share price is one to watch.

More reading

• ASX 200 rises 1%, CSL (ASX:CSL) leads the way

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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If you’re looking to add some international exposure to your portfolio, then using exchange traded funds (ETFs) is both a quick and very effective way to achieve this.

This is because ETFs will allow you to invest in a range of countries, markets, sectors, and even themes.

But given the large number to choose from, which ETFs should you buy for international exposure today? I’ve picked out two that I think could be great additions to most portfolios. Here’s why I would buy them:

BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ)

If you’re looking for exposure to the United States, then you might want to consider buying the BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF. If you buy this ETF, you’ll be getting a piece of 100 leading non-financial companies on the famous NASDAQ 100 index. This includes countless household names such as Google’s parent Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, Netflix, and Starbucks. I believe these 100 companies have brighter than average long term outlooks, which could lead to the BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF outperforming the ASX 200 over the 2020s.

Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS)

Another ETF for investors to consider buying for international exposure is the Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF. This ETF gives investors access to some of the biggest and brightest companies in the world. In fact, at present the fund is invested in a total of 1,547 listed companies across major developed countries. Over one-third of its portfolio is allocated to technology and healthcare shares at present. And given the favourable long term outlooks of these sectors, I see this as a big positive. Among its holdings you’ll find the likes of Apple, Johnson & Johnson, NVIDIA, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, Tesla, and United Health. Overall, I think it has a strong chance of outperforming the ASX 200 over the long term as well.

More reading

• 2 ASX shares I would buy for both growth and income today
• Afterpay and Brainchip were among the most traded shares on the ASX last week
• New to investing? ASX growth shares to buy now
• Here’s how to make a $1 million portfolio by investing $1,000 a month
• I love volatile ASX share market days like today

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

The post Here’s why I think ASX investors should buy these international ETFs appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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The OpenLearning Ltd (ASX: OLL) share price has climbed more than 50% in the past month alone. Although, dropping 5.41% in late afternoon trade today to close at 35 cents, the overall growth is certainly exciting for shareholders.

So what’s driving the OpenLearning share price? Let’s take a look at the company and recent activities.

About OpenLearning

OpenLearning is a Sydney-based education software as a service (SaaS) company. It may be local, but its one of the world’s largest online learning platforms and courses are delivered globally.

OpenLearning empowers education students to complete courses or degrees online. It even produces “micro-credentials” that are displayed inside the online portfolios. For students, not only is this tracking useful, but it has the power to show potential employers how their progress is going.

Launching in 2012 and hitting the ASX as an initial public offering (IPO) in 2019, OpenLearning is currently up more than 85% from IPO. A few months of sideways movement occurred before the price really started to move toward the end of last week.

Currently, OpenLearning provides educational courses to more than 2 million students in more than 180 countries. The reach is massive.

Growth factors

OpenLearning has had an exciting few months following its IPO, with a number of key developments announced.

Alibaba deal

In March this year, OpenLearning signed a deal with internet mogul Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA). Alibaba Cloud, to be exact, was the deal maker, allowing OpenLearning to deliver options to students in mainland China. This was an exceptional deal for OpenLearning, rapidly expanding the brand.

Around the same time, OpenLearning discussed options with Alibaba to act as a ‘gateway’ into the market for other education providers.

High Resolves deal

High Resolve is a not-for-profit education provider with a huge global reach. It delivers education to more than 350,000 students in Australia, the United States, Canada, Mexico and Brazil. Doing a deal with OpenLearning meant that High Resolve could deliver learning programs to high school students across the globe, leveraging the technology and processes that OpenLearning provides. School shutdowns were and still are a global concern. OpenLearning is part of the solution. It’s a great partnership.

Australian Catholic University deal

This year in June, OpenLearning signed a 3-year agreement with Australian Catholic University (ACU) to provide its SaaS platform to the education provider.

ACU is an existing investor in OpenLearning. This deal helps to solidify the relationship. It’s great for OpenLearning to have such a well-known brand in the education space actively backing it. No doubt for ACU, the relationship helps to put them on the innovation map as well.

Open Universities Australia deal

In July, only a month after the ACU deal, OpenLearning announced it had signed a deal with Open Universities Australia.

Australia’s largest online higher education provider agreed through a memorandum of understanding that OpenLearning would provide SaaS platform services. Additionally, OpenLearning would be able to distribute its own courses within the OUA marketplace.

Foolish Takeaway

Online learning is critical today. The world was transitioning to online services long before coronavirus came along. However, this pandemic has certainly pushed technology into a growth phase that’s unmatched in other industries. OpenLearning has a solid history of growth. Its has also actively pursued strategic partners along the way. Coronavirus may be a blessing in disguise for this SaaS education provider.

More reading

• 3 ASX shares to buy for the COVID-19 reopening theme
• 2 ASX shares I would buy for both growth and income today
• Half of ASX 200 stocks at risk as China-Australia relations hit new low
• ASX 200 rises 1%, CSL (ASX:CSL) leads the way
• Sims (ASX:SGM) share price tops ASX 200 leader’s board, surging 8%

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

The post The OpenLearning (ASX: OLL) share price is storming higher again this week appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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