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S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) lithium shares faced some stiff headwinds in November amid speculations of a near-term oversupply of the battery critical metal in China.

The month just past saw a strong performance from the ASX 200. The benchmark index gained 6.1% from the closing bell on 31 October through to yesterday’s close.

But it was a harder slog for lithium stocks.

Of the five ASX 200 lithium shares, only two posted gains. And only one of those smashed the benchmark returns.

So, without further ado…

The two runners up

The third best performing ASX 200 lithium share in November was Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO).

Core Lithium shares finished October trading for $1.39 and closed out November worth $1.36, down 2.2%.

The first half of the month was dramatically different from the latter half, with Core Lithium galloping higher over the first weeks to hit new-all time highs on 14 November.

That was right about when lithium prices were also at record highs and right when China looked to be ready to ease its economy hampering COVID zero policies.

Then a surge in new COVID cases and unprecedented protests against the rolling lockdowns in the world’s most populous nation hit investor sentiment and sent lithium prices lower.

ASX lithium stocks more broadly were also hit with news that Chinese battery manufacturers have overproduced in 2022, exceeding EV manufacturers’ near-term demand.

And Core Lithium was hit with some sell recommendations towards the end of November, including from Jarden Securities.

Which brings us to our second best performing ASX 200 lithium share, IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO).

IGO shares ended October trading for $15.29 and finished November at $15.40, up 0.7%.

IGO also charged higher over the first weeks of the month before being hit by many of the same headwinds impacting all the ASX 200 lithium shares.

Early in November, IGO shares got a big lift after the company reported $1.8 billion in sales revenue from its lithium business for the three months ending 30 September. That was more than double the prior quarter’s sales revenue and led to a 136% increase in after tax profits.

The top-performing ASX 200 lithium share in November

Only one ASX 200 lithium share ended the month posting hefty gains.

Namely, Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN).

Mineral Resources closed out October trading for $73.13 per share and finished off November trading for $87.42 per share, up 19.5%.

The miner hit a series of new all-time highs over the month and showed remarkable resilience to the headwinds dragging its competitors lower.

On 18 November, the miner dispelled rumours that it was looking to spin off its lithium segment. The company has four business segments — iron ore, energy (gas), lithium, and mining services.

“I’ve got no plans right now to go out there and to peel off any of those four business units,” Mineral Resources managing director Chris Ellison said. “Right now we have got all the cash that we need to develop Ashburton and to develop the lithium business out.”

The ASX 200 lithium share gained 5% over the next four trading days.

The post Can you guess which 3 ASX 200 lithium shares led the charge in November? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Top ASX shares to buy in December 2022
• Getting cold feet on ASX 200 lithium shares? Here’s why UBS ‘remains positive’
• 2 ASX lithium shares to buy, and 3 to sell: brokers
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Move over Pilbara! Fundie tips ASX 200 lithium stock with an ‘enormous expansion opportunity’ a buy

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben 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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Ask A Fund Manager

The Motley Fool chats with the best in the industry so that you can get an insight into how the professionals think. In this edition, Bell Direct market analyst Grady Wulff picks two ASX shares that are ready to cash in on major global thematics.

The ASX share for a comfortable night’s sleep

The Motley Fool: If the market closed tomorrow for four years, which stock would you want to hold?

Grady Wulff: I think for us it’s BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), because it’s diversifying into the battery metal space as we’ve just recently seen through its acquisition of Oz Minerals Limited (ASX: OZL) for $9.6 billion. 

This is really important to note, because to date, they’re obviously one of the biggest miners in the world, but they hadn’t diversified into the way forward, which is decarbonisation, greener future, greener energy — and now they’ve got that under their belt. 

They’re really indestructible, because that’s the way forward. The decarbonisation movement’s not going anywhere, anytime soon. And the way that they needed to go, they’ve now gone, and they’re going to capitalise on the greener movement. 

So I would keep them in the folio for four years, just because they’re at the right place, right time and they’re finally on board the electric train.

MF: Fantastic. People don’t usually think of mining stocks to hold for that long, because commodity prices go up and down — but as you say, BHP’s getting into the right areas?

GW: They are, absolutely.

Looking back

MF: Is there a move that you regret from the past? For example, a missed opportunity or buying a stock at the wrong timing or price.

GW: For us, I think investors will agree with me here, that not buying into Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) or Boss Energy Ltd (ASX: BOE) in 2022 was the biggest regret. 

Both stocks looked really strong last year and no one could have predicted the global energy crisis, but we kind of saw it coming. So not getting into that is a massive regret. Both are up 200% and 600% year to date respectively. 

Boss Energy is a uranium producer. The price of uranium is set to double by the end of next year from $50 a pound to $100 a pound. And that’s when Boss Energy comes online — the end of next year, with production expected then. So they’re looking really well positioned to be capitalised from the tailwinds in the price of the commodity.

And then also Whitehaven Coal — we’ve seen thermal coal go through the roof up 500% year to date, which is just… And it’s not turning around anytime soon. The European winter’s coming, Russia has cut its coal supply to Europe. So what are they going to do? They’re going to use other suppliers. 

So Whitehaven Coal and Boss Energy are definitely the ones that we regret. But in saying that, investors need to stick to their long-term plans and not invest with hindsight.

MF: Is it too late to buy into either of those?

GW: Is it too late? No, it’s not too late. That’s literally what I got asked the other day. 

Boss Energy, they’re coming online next year, so they still have, the fact that they’re already soaring is a big thing, but it’s not too late, no. 

Whitehaven Coal, we have a hold on at the moment, only because in September their production was down 30% because of the open-cut mines because of La Nina weather events and flooding. So we have a hold on them at the moment, but Boss Energy is a speculative buy, so that’s the one we’re definitely keeping an eye on.

The post Climate and energy: Analyst tips 2 ASX shares perfectly placed for global crises appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Up 260% in 2022, could the Whitehaven share price double again?
• BHP’s bargain? Expert thinks its ASX 200 takeover target could be worth 40% more
• BHP beat you to Oz Minerals? Buy this ASX 200 copper share instead: fundie
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo 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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The Collins Foods Ltd (ASX: CKF) share price had a month to forget in November.

During the period, the quick service restaurant operator’s shares crashed almost 19%.

The entirety of this decline came at the end of month following the release of the company’s half year results.

Why did the Collins Foods share price get sold off?

Although Collins Foods reported solid top line growth, inflationary pressure weighed on its profits. And while this was not unexpected, management had previously guided to these headwinds easing in the second half.

However, this is no longer expected to be the case, with management warning that “significant inflationary headwinds are continuing in both markets, with margin pressure expected to remain for the balance of FY23.”

In addition, concerns that the Taco Bell brand could fail for a third time in Australia may have hit investor sentiment. There were hopes that the Tex-Mex quick service restaurant brand could be a key driver of growth in Australia in the future, but management has hit pause on new store openings and made an $11.9 million after tax non-cash impairment of eight Taco Bell restaurants.

Management is now aiming to save the brand by “refining every element of the business, from marketing and media spend to portioning and product quality.”

Insider buying

It appears insiders at Collins Foods believe that the significant weakness in its share price has created a buying opportunity.

According to a series of change of director’s interest notices, no less than four insiders have bought shares following its update. This includes its CEO, Drew O’Malley and its chair, Robert Kaye.

O’Malley snapped up 6,195 shares for a total consideration of $49,560 via an on-market trade on Wednesday. Whereas Kaye bought almost $40,000 worth of shares the same day via an on-market trade. Two other directors made on-market purchases totalling almost $32,000 and $78,000.

One broker that would be supportive of these purchases is Morgans. This week, its analysts have retained their add rating with a reduced price target of $9.50. This implies potential upside of 22% from current levels.

The post The Collins Foods share price has been decimated this week, and 4 directors are buying the dip appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares in November
• Why Bubs, Collins Foods, Dusk, and Mayne Pharma shares are falling today
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Why Bubs, City Chic, Collins Foods, and Queensland Pacific Metals are sinking today

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Collins Foods. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Collins Foods. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Collins Foods. 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 Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) share price has been on the up and up in 2022.

Record profits brought about by soaring coal prices have been behind much of Whitehaven’s gains. But could the trend continue in the new year?

Speaking to Market Matters’ James Gerrish, Shaw and Partners senior resource analyst Peter O’Connor said:

Whitehaven year-to-date [is] up about 260%. Do we expect that to be the same in 2023? No. But we do expect that to continue to perform, particularly in the first quarter of the year.

Right now, the Whitehaven share price is $9.90. Could a 100% upside be on the cards for the coal stock? Let’s take a look.

Could the Whitehaven share price reach $20?

O’Connor is particularly bullish on coal and the companies producing it.

Indeed, as Gerrish pointed out, the expert is the most bullish in the market on Whitehaven, slapping it with a $15 price target. Responding to questions on whether that target is realistic, O’Connor said “absolutely”:

If you look at the correlation… commodity equities follow the commodity price on 95% of occasions. Plugging [coal] spot numbers into my… model, gets share prices dramatically higher than where they should be.

With Whitehaven, it should be closer to $20 than $15.

But readers would be wise not to get their hopes up on the Whitehaven share price doubling anytime soon – there’s more to that figure than meets the eye. O’Connor continues:

We’ve set [the stock] at a reasonable target of $15 per share where they should trade.

Yes, ESG discounts will see that, perhaps, a little bit more challenging. That’s where we step down and take a look at the buyback.

Whitehaven’s committed a buyback over 20% of its stock after doing 10% last year… that will compress the shares on issue and grow the share price more.

Those two factors, James, will get me to that target price.

So, when might the Whitehaven share price be expected to launch 50% to $15? O’Connor believes it might be through the Northern Hemisphere’s winter to the company’s first half result, expected in February.

“The background and the tailwinds are favourable and continue into the new year as well,” the expert said.

The post Up 260% in 2022, could the Whitehaven share price double again? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Why Ainsworth, Life360, Temple & Webster, and Whitehaven Coal are charging higher
• Why are ASX 200 coal shares burning brighter on Wednesday?
• Why is the Whitehaven share price surging 7% on Wednesday?
• Broker says this ASX 200 coal share could offer a market-beating 29% return in 2023

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has 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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ASX 200 tech shares are in the green today after the Nasdaq rallied in the United States overnight.

The S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) is lifting 1.28% today, while the  S&P/ASX 200 Info Tech (ASX: XIJ) is lifting 0.83%.

Let’s take a look at what is impacting ASX tech shares today.

Tech shares rise

Tech shares in the green today include:

• Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1), soaring 5.46%
• Appen Ltd (ASX: APX), surging 11.24%
• Block Inc (ASX: SQ2), charging 7.14% higher
• TechnologyOne Ltd (ASX: TNE), rising 1.14%
• Altium Limited (ASX: ALU), leaping 1.76%

However, the BrainChip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN) and NextDC Ltd (ASX: NXT) share prices are bucking the trend, down 0.41% and 4.51%, respectively.

ASX tech shares are rising after the NASDAQ-100 Technology Sector Index (NASDAQ: NDXT) surged 5.24% in the USA overnight. Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) shares lifted 4.86%, while Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: META) shares soared nearly 8%.

Tech shares lifted after investors appeared to react to a speech from US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Speaking at the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C, Powell said it makes sense to “moderate” the pace of interest rate rises. He said:

Monetary policy affects the economy and inflation with uncertain lags, and the full effects of our rapid tightening so far are yet to be felt. Thus, it makes sense to moderate the pace of our rate increases as we approach the level of restraint that will be sufficient to bring inflation down.

The time for moderating the pace of rate increases may come as soon as the December meeting. 

Megaport is an example of an ASX tech share with a noteable presence in the United States. For example, $6.5 million of Megaport’s revenue in the first quarter of FY23 came from North America.

In addition, some investors may look at what’s happening in the United States for signs on the direction of Australia’s central bank.

The Reserve Bank of Australia is due to meet next Tuesday for a monetary policy decision. Australia’s annual inflation rose 6.9% in the 12 months to October 2022, the ABS announced yesterday. However, this was down from the 7.3% annual change reported in September.

However, InvestSmart chief market strategist Evan Lucas predicted the RBA will lift rates in an interview with Sky News. Commenting on inflation and potential rate rises, he said:

6.9% is still a long, long way from where it needs to be.

The RBA next week will raise rates.

The post Why are ASX tech shares having such a cracking run on Thursday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why is the Block share price skyrocketing today?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Analysts name the ASX tech shares to buy right now
• Is the Appen share price on the way back up?
• Best of a bad bunch: The 3 best-performing ASX 200 tech shares in November

Motley Fool contributor Monica O’Shea has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Altium, Appen, and Megaport. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Megaport and Technology One. 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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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

Stock market participants had been looking forward to Wednesday for quite a while, as they anticipated getting valuable insight when Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell gave a speech about his views on monetary policy. As it turned out, Powell’s comments were well-received by investors, and that resulted in solid gains of more than 2% for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) and even bigger advances for the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) and S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC).

Index	Daily Percentage Change	Daily Point Change
Dow	+2.18%	+737
S&P 500	+3.09%	+122
Nasdaq	+4.41%	+484

Data source: Yahoo! Finance.

Until Powell began speaking in the afternoon, major market indexes were flat to slightly lower on the day. Yet even though what Powell said didn’t really come as any big surprise to those who followed the relevant financial markets, it nevertheless seemed to give investors more confidence that their reading on the situation facing stock markets was correct.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that the immediate future won’t remain volatile, but it nevertheless led some to conclude that eventual victory over inflation and recessionary pressures was inevitable.

What Powell said

Powell continued to emphasize that there are two key components to Federal Reserve policy that some will find contradictory but that nevertheless apply. First and most important, the Fed is still concerned about the uncomfortably high level of inflation in the market.

That came at the beginning of Powell’s speech, and the Fed chair emphasized that higher prices are causing substantial hardship for tens of millions of people across the nation. Such levels of price instability are fundamentally incompatible with a working economy, and current estimates of inflation, as measured by the Fed’s preferred personal consumption expenditure metric, is coming in at 6%.

That left Powell to conclude that there’s still a lot of work to do before inflation comes under control, let alone before it gets back to the 2% long-term target that the Fed prefers to see. Indeed, Powell warned that he believes the eventual level at which interest rates will rise sufficiently to get inflation under control will likely be higher than he thought at the time of the Federal Open Market Committee’s meeting in September.

Yet at the same time, Powell acknowledged that using interest-rate increases to moderate inflationary pressures is an imprecise science. He also said there are definite lags between the time the central bank boosts rates and when the effects of tighter monetary policy actually show up in economic data, particularly concerning inflation.

Therefore, Powell said, “It makes sense to moderate the pace of our rate increases as we approach the level of restraint that will be sufficient to bring inflation down.” In addressing the timing of such moderation, the Fed chair said that a slowing of rate increases could come as soon as its December meeting.

Market watchers immediately took that comment to mean that the Fed would likely raise interest rates by just half a percentage point in December, slowing from the 0.75 percentage-point boosts that the central bank has made at its last four consecutive meetings. That, in turn, ignited the massive stock market rally, and longer-term interest rates also moved lower on the news, as bond investors foresaw a shorter period of time to fight inflation.

Not a shocker

Those watching the credit markets shouldn’t have been surprised by what Powell said because it was already largely reflected in certain securities prices. As early as four weeks ago, federal funds rate futures showed that investors thought it more likely than not that the Fed would do a December increase of only half a percentage point.

Moreover, the short-term jump in stocks seemingly ignored the rest of Powell’s monetary-policy comments. The chair repeated that restrictively high interest rates could be necessary for a significant period of time, and the central bank remains extremely wary of being premature in reversing course. Indeed, Powell pointed to several data points that remain worrisome, including above-normal wage growth, rising prices for housing services, and continued disruptions in labor markets that began with the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Of course, it’s possible that stock markets have overreacted in falling so far from their record levels in late 2021, so a reversal — in light of things going mostly as expected — is actually warranted. Regardless, investors need to be prepared for it to take more time than they might think for the Fed’s inflation-fighting saga to play out to the bitter end. 

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post Was Wednesday’s US stock market surge premature? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why are ASX tech shares having such a cracking run on Thursday?
• How the Fortescue share price defied the bears and jumped 32% in November
• Is this the start of an ASX 200 Santa rally?
• The A2 Milk share price just hit a 52-week high. What’s going on?
• Woodside share price falls as the ASX 200 giant targets 4% annual growth

Dan Caplinger 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.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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The Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price was in fine form in November.

After hitting a 52-week low late in October, the iron ore giant’s shares are now closing in on a 52-week high.

This led to the Fortescue share price recording an impressive ~32% gain for the month.

As a comparison, the ASX 200 index posted a solid 6.1% gain over the same period.

Why did the Fortescue share price storm higher?

While there’s a lot of hype (and scepticism) around the company’s green ambitions, there’s no hiding from the fact that it is still very much an iron ore business.

This means that the performance of Fortescue’s shares will invariably correlate with the iron ore price. When that rises, its shares will rise. And vice versa when the steel making ingredient falls.

In light of this, it will come as no surprise to learn that the iron ore price had a particularly strong month. After starting the period around US$80 per tonne, the benchmark iron ore price rose beyond US$100 a tonne late in the month.

This was driven by a combination of a softer US dollar and optimism that Chinese demand could increase thanks to the potential easing of COVID restrictions and the government ramping up support for struggling property developers.

Bearish brokers

Impressively, the Fortescue share price recorded its strong gain in November despite a large number of brokers continuing to rate the miner as a sell.

In fact, analysts at Bell Potter, Citi, Goldman Sachs, Macquarie, Morgan Stanley, Morgans, and UBS all have the equivalent of sell ratings with price targets implying potential downside ranging from 16% to 30% over the next 12 months.

It is also worth noting that this bearish sentiment hasn’t put off investors in December. They have continued to buy the miner’s shares today, driving the Fortescue share price a further 3% higher.

The post How the Fortescue share price defied the bears and jumped 32% in November appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• What’s boosting the Fortescue share price on Wednesday?
• The 10 ASX 200 shares responsible for 60% of all Aussie dividends last quarter
• Here’s what’s boosting these ASX 200 mining giants today
• Did Fortescue just lose out on this multi-billion dollar green hydrogen project?
• Up 30% in a month, why the Fortescue share price could have further to run: fundie

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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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is currently up close to 1%, taking the index to a level last seen in April 2022.

But, today’s rise should also be seen in the context of the last two months. Since 30 September 2022, the ASX 200 is up by over 13%. Keep in mind that the historical average return per annum of the ASX 200 is approximately 10% over the decades. So, the ASX 200 has made a year’s return in just two months.

As an example of a rise, the Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) share price is up around 5% today.

Expert points to United States Federal Reserve

Stephen Innes said in an article on The Bull that the December Santa rally has sprung alive after signals from the US Federal Reserve that its interest rate rises may moderate, with “jumbo hikes” over. This could be good news for the ASX 200.

Innes suggested that “it’s seemingly enough to mark the bottom in the bear market and could lead to a sustainable rally”.

According to reporting by CNBC, US Fed boss Jerome Powell said at the Brookings Institution that smaller interest rate rises could happen as early as next month. Powell pointed out that it takes some time for interest rate rises and a reduction of Federal Reserve bond holdings to flow through the economy. Powell said:

Thus, it makes sense to moderate the pace of our rate increases as we approach the level of restraint that will be sufficient to bring inflation down.

The time for moderating the pace of rate increases may come as soon as the December meeting.

But, he also made comments indicating that the interest rate could stay high for a while:

Given our progress in tightening policy, the timing of that moderation is far less significant than the questions of how much further we will need to raise rates to control inflation, and the length of time it will be necessary to hold policy at a restrictive level.

It is likely that restoring price stability will require holding policy at a restrictive level for some time. History cautions strongly against prematurely loosening policy. We will stay the course until the job is done.

Innes said on The Bull that investors are welcoming a confirmed reduction in uncertainty around the Federal Reserve’s expected peak interest rate. He wrote:

… positive global risk sentiment could easily persist into year-end. And the ball could even start rolling toward bull market territory if the November U.S. inflation print eases further.

So while Powell’s comments seem to cap upside interest rate risk, they also introduce the element of downside rates risk in the future, which is music to investors’ ears.

Still, inflation will need to play along.

Foolish takeaway on the ASX 200

It may well be that the share market has already seen a bottom. Some shares bottomed in June while others may have reached a low in September.

Only time will tell. But it seems investors were waiting for some sort of positive news to bump up share prices.

The post Is this the start of an ASX 200 Santa rally? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• The A2 Milk share price just hit a 52-week high. What’s going on?
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares in November
• Want healthy dividend growth? Why I’d buy this ASX 200 blue-chip stock
• Why did the NAB share price underperform the ASX 200 in November?
• Down 10% in November, why did the Pilbara Minerals share price power down?

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 positions in and has recommended Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Xero. 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 A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) share price is giving investors something to cheer about on Thursday.

Moments after the opening bell, shares in the infant formula and alternative milk company began to make strides to the upside. After a steady stream of new 52-week highs throughout November, the new month has kept the trend going.

At the time of writing, the A2 Milk share price is fetching a flavoursome $6.31 per share. However, buying pressure inched the value as high as $6.36 earlier today — setting the new glass ceiling to break.

What’s fuelling the appetite for A2 Milk shares?

The last price-sensitive announcement from the milk brand was almost a month ago. As such, it is unlikely that investors are craving more A2 Milk in their portfolio on the back of company-specific news.

Instead, there’s a good chance the 52-week record high is a byproduct of improved sentiment across the board. For reference, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is feeling the good vibes today, notching up a near 1% gain so far.

The DJ partly responsible for the uplifting atmosphere surrounding A2 Milk shares — and the broader ASX — is likely Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell. Last night, Powell provided commentary on what the Fed’s next move might look like in December.

Music to the ears of United States markets, JPow dished out his expectation of a 0.5% increase for the Fed’s final performance of 2022. In response, US markets rallied given this suggested a downshift from a series of 0.75% increases.

These upbeat comments produced a sea of green across the S&P500 overnight.

As the saying goes, “A rising tide lifts all boats”. And the performance of the ASX today might be proof of that. Nearly all sectors of the Aussie market are firmly in the green, with the exception of the energy sector.

The A2 Milk share price is now up 21.6% in the past month. Notably, the company’s shares have outperformed the broader S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) by 17.4%.

The post The A2 Milk share price just hit a 52-week high. What’s going on? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares in November
• Want healthy dividend growth? Why I’d buy this ASX 200 blue-chip stock
• Why did the NAB share price underperform the ASX 200 in November?
• Down 10% in November, why did the Pilbara Minerals share price power down?
• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares in November

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 has recommended A2 Milk. 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 Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) share price is sliding on Thursday despite the company tipping 4% annual growth to 2027.

The energy giant outlined its future plans in an investor briefing released to the market this morning.

The Woodside share price opened 1.58% lower at $36.70 on the back of the update. It continued tumbling to a low of $36.20 – marking a 2.9% tumble.

Things have since improved slightly for the stock. It’s currently trading at $36.63, 1.77% lower than its previous close.

So, what else did the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) energy giant reveal this morning? Let’s take a look.

Woodside share price falls on future-focused briefing

The Woodside share price is in the red today despite the company revealing it’s expected to post a 4% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2023 and 2027, driven by its Sangomar oil development and its Scarborough gas start-up

Sangomar’s first production is targeted for late 2023 while Scarborough’s first LNG cargo is expected in 2026. The company’s selldown of Scarborough is ongoing.

Looking further to the future, the company is hopeful of its Trion, Calypso, Browse, and Sunrise projects. It’s aiming to make an investment decision on the Trion oil project next year with its first production expected in 2028.

Woodside noted demand for oil and gas is expected to remain strong beyond 2050.

Its oil business’ internal rate of return (IRR) is tipped at 15%, with payback within five years while its gas business’ IRR is said to be 12% with payback within seven years.

New energy, meanwhile, lags. Its IRR is set to be 10% with payback within 10 years. The company is targeting $5 billion of investments in new energy products and lower carbon services by 2030.

The energy giant revealed its financial year 2023 guidance earlier this week to the disappointment of the market. The Woodside share price plummeted as much as 5% on the release before recovering to close flat.

Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill today commented:

The company is well positioned as a high margin, high yield and gas weighted business that is generating strong returns today and will continue to do so as we realise our pipeline of development opportunities for 2027 onwards.

The post Woodside share price falls as the ASX 200 giant targets 4% annual growth appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares in November
• Want healthy dividend growth? Why I’d buy this ASX 200 blue-chip stock
• Why did the NAB share price underperform the ASX 200 in November?
• Down 10% in November, why did the Pilbara Minerals share price power down?
• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares in November

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has 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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