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The wind in the sails of computer chip designers and manufacturers has dissipated in 2022. Most household names, such as Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) and Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ: AMD), have suffered scathing share price corrections this year. Yet, local chip hopefuls like BrainChip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN) shares have suffered a more minor retreat.

Waning demand has pushed the industry into oversupply following a spike in chip production during the early stages of COVID-19. Knowing this, it might be favourable that most ASX-listed chip companies are still working towards commercialisation — meaning no impact from supply overhang.

Right now, Weebit Nano Ltd (ASX: WBT) is possibly the most comparable tech company on the ASX to BrainChip. But, is it a cheaper alternative to its larger listed peer based on fundamentals?

Which cash furnace is burning hotter?

If you’re an Aussie investor searching for a profitable chip developer — you’re out of luck. Creating new intellectual property with economic potential is a costly business by nature.

These companies pour tens of millions of dollars into research and development for the chance to strike silicon-coated gold. Unsurprisingly, Weebit and BrainChip are no different, both forking out small fortunes to fund development efforts.

As of 30 June 2022, the key difference between the two companies is that BrainChip is pulling revenue, where Weebit is not. However, BrainChip’s revenue is almost completely comprised of licensing income.

Unlike BrainChip, Weebit is yet to make a cent of operational revenue. This might explain the more severe cash burn taking place over at ReRAM memory developer. At the end of FY22, Weebit posted a net loss of $27.7 million compared to BrainChip’s $19.94 million outflow.

Although, working to its advantage, Weebit holds considerably more cash on its balance sheet. Where BrainChip boasts $28.4 million in cash reserves, Weebit touts a tasty $50.2 million.

Based on these figures, the former has approximately one year and five months cash runway. While the latter has approximately one year and 10 months ahead of it before running dry.

Are BrainChip shares fundamentally cheaper?

It’s hard to discuss ‘fundamentals’ when neither company is making a profit. However, there are still a few ways of comparing the valuations of these two businesses.

Firstly, a price-to-book (P/B) ratio can indicate whether a company might be relatively cheap or expensive based on its ‘book’. In other words, how does the market capitalisation compare to the company’s net assets? The P/B ratios of the two companies are as follows:

• BrainChip — 24.1 times book
• Weebit Nano — 10.3 times book

Another metric for valuation pre-profit is the price-to-sales (P/S) ratio. This provides a way of comparing companies based on their revenue. The P/S ratios for BrainChip shares and Weebit are:

• BrainChip — 133.3 times sales
• Weebit Nano — infinite (dividing by zero)

As you can see, it is still unclear which of these ASX chip shares is the cheaper option.

For your consideration, BrainChip shares have fallen 16.5% since the beginning of the year. Meanwhile, Weebit shares have jumped 20.6%. Ultimately, a more accurate comparison of value will only be possible once both companies are generating meaningful revenue and are at least cash flow positive.

The post Is Weebit Nano a cheaper buy than BrainChip shares right now? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why is the BrainChip share price booming 6% on Friday?
• 5 reasons I would avoid BrainChip shares at all costs
• Why A2 Milk, Cettire, Lottery Corp, and Weebit Nano shares are rising
• Weebit Nano share price leaps 5% on ‘huge milestone’
• It’s not all bad news for ASX All Ords shares today. Here are some big winners

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler has positions in Advanced Micro Devices. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Advanced Micro Devices and Nvidia. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nvidia. 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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On Wednesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was out of form again and slipped into the red. The benchmark index fell 0.3% to 7,122.2 points.

Will the market be able to bounce back from this on Thursday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to fall again

The Australian share market looks set to fall again on Thursday following a poor night on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 10 points or 0.15% lower this morning. In late trade in the United States, the Dow Jones is down 0.2%, the S&P 500 has fallen 0.9% and the NASDAQ has tumbled 1.5%.

Pilbara Minerals’ lithium auction

The Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price will be on watch today following the release of the company’s latest online lithium auction. Lithium miners have fallen heavily this week amid concerns that demand is softening. However, this latest update may quash those concerns. Pilbara Minerals has received the equivalent of a bid of ~US$8,575/dmt (SC6.0, CIF China basis), up from ~US$8,000/dmt at the last auction. Though, it is worth noting that this didn’t stop lithium miners from sinking on Wall Street overnight.

Oil prices fall

Energy producers including Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) could have a subdued day after oil prices dropped on Wednesday night. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 1.7% to US$85.36 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is down 1.4% to US$92.53 a barrel. The resumption of the Druzhba pipeline and rising COVID cases in China weighed on prices.

BHP-OZ Minerals deal

BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) and OZ Minerals Limited (ASX: OZL) shares will be in focus today amid rumours the two parties have agreed a deal that will see the Big Australian acquire the copper miner. An offer of $25.00 per share was rejected by OZ Minerals earlier this year.

Gold price edges lower

Gold miners Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL) could have a subdued day after the gold price edged lower overnight. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is down slightly to US$1,776.6 an ounce. Traders appear unsure where gold is heading next amid softening inflation but hawkish comments out of the US Federal Reserve.

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

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More reading

• 3 ASX mining shares on ice today pending big news
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Why are Medibank shares lifting on Wednesday?
• Here are the 3 most traded ASX 200 shares on Wednesday
• Dig this! Look how many of the top-performing ASX 200 shares today are miners

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 Australian share market is home to a good number of ASX dividend shares offering attractive dividend yields.

But which ones should you buy? Here’s are two that analysts rate as buys right now:

Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1)

The first beaten down ASX dividend share that has been named as a buy is footwear and apparel retailer Accent. The owner of retail brands such as Hype DC, The Athlete’s Foot, Glue, Platypus, and Stylerunner has seen its shares lose 32% of their value in 2022.

Bell Potter is positive on the company and has just retained its buy rating with a $2.10 price target. The broker was pleased with Accent’s trading update and has upgraded its revenue and earnings estimates for FY 2023 to reflects its strong start to the year and greater than expected store rollouts.

The broker also likes Accent due to its “exposure to a younger customer demographic in a tougher consumer spending environment.”

As for dividends, it is forecasting fully franked dividends of 10 cents per share in FY 2023 and 12.5 cents per share in FY 2024. Based on the current Accent share price of $1.68, this will mean yields of 6% and 7.4%, respectively.

Elders Ltd (ASX: ELD)

Another beaten down ASX dividend share that has been rated as a buy is Elders. This leading agribusiness company’s shares have sunk 17% year to date and 33% from their 2022-high.

The team at Goldman Sachs believes the Elders share price weakness has created a major buying opportunity. Earlier this week, the broker declared the share price decline as”unwarranted” and reiterated its conviction buy rating with a $18.40 price target.

Goldman believes that Elders “is very well positioned to grow through the cycle” thanks to drivers such as organic market share gains, margin expansion from the backward integration of Ag Chem, and bolt-on acquisitions.

In respect to dividends, the broker is forecasting dividends per share of 53 cents in FY 2023 and 57 cents in FY 2024. Based on the current Elders share price of $10.31, this implies attractive yields of 5.1% and 5.5%, respectively.

The post Analysts name 2 beaten down ASX dividend shares to buy appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Why Elders, Flight Centre, Perpetual, and Telstra shares are dropping
• Why Accent, Block, Core Lithium, and Fortescue shares are pushing higher
• Why I think these ASX dividend shares can double in 7 years AND pay income along the way

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 Accent Group and Elders Limited. 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 plenty of blue chip ASX 200 shares to choose from on the Australian share market.

So many, it can be hard to decide which ones to buy over others.

To help narrow things down, I have picked out two that Goldman Sachs rates as buys right now. They are as follows:

Goodman Group (ASX: GMG)

The first blue chip ASX 200 share to look at is Goodman Group. It is a leading integrated commercial and industrial property company.

Goldman is very positive on the company due to its strong position in an area of the market benefiting greatly from strong demand for industrial space.

In response to its first quarter update earlier this month, the broker commented:

GMG continues to demonstrate its strong platform and positioning as evident in today’s update, 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 $24.20 price target on the company’s shares.

Woolworths Limited (ASX: WOW)

Another blue chip ASX 200 share that Goldman Sachs rates highly is Woolworths. It is the retail conglomerate behind businesses including Woolworths, Countdown, Everyday Rewards, and Big W.

Goldman believes its shares are trading at an attractive level after recent weakness. It recently commented:

Despite a noisy and softer 1Q23, we remain confident that WOW is the superior operator within AU supermarkets with a clear growth pathway to deliver ~3% sales and ~9% NPAT FY22-25e CAGR. WOW is trading at 22.1x FY24E P/E vs our TP implied 27.8x and historical average of 23.2x, providing a value entry point to a quality player in our view. Reiterate Buy (on CL).

Goldman Sachs has a conviction buy rating and $41.70 price target on the company’s shares.

The post Why Goldman Sachs rates these blue chip ASX 200 shares as buys appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Thinking about buying your first ASX shares right now? Here are 3 stocks I’d invest in
• How I’d aim to generate a growing passive income from dividend shares
• 2 ASX shares that could ride out the coming volatility: experts
• Why this broker sees ‘downside risks’ to the current Woolworths share price
• Are ASX share investors getting their mojo back?

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 prices of three ASX mining shares were on ice today.

The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) is one of only three sector indices in the green, finishing 0.86% higher today. Only the S&P ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) closed higher, with a gain of 1.18%.

Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) closed today down a modest 0.27%.

Let’s cover which mining shares were in the freezer on Wednesday.

OZ Minerals Limited (ASX: OZL)

The Oz Minerals share price was halted this morning pending a potential takeover bid.

The Fool reported that Oz Minerals could be an acquisition target by BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP).

As my colleague James notes, Oz Minerals rejected a previous bid by BHP in August for $25 per share.

It’s now rumoured that BHP has returned to the table with a higher offer.

Shares of the company will remain on ice until 18 November or when the announcement is made, whichever comes sooner.

WA1 Resources Ltd (ASX: WA1)

WA1 Resources extended its trading halt this morning, after requesting a pause on the trading of its shares on Monday.

The resources exploration company has asked for more time to prepare two significant announcements for the market.

First, it wants to release exploration results for one of its sites in Western Australia. Once these results are posted, the company will make an announcement regarding a capital raise.

WA1 Resources expects to make this announcement and for the trading halt to lift next Monday 21 November.

Element 25 Ltd (ASX: E25)

Meanwhile, manganese miner Element 25’s shares have been frozen since Tuesday.

The mineral explorer wants to raise money to pay for its new project and to improve its existing operations. It has requested a trading halt in preparation to announce its plans to the public.

Funds will go towards its high-purity manganese Butcherbird in the southern Pilbara region of Western Australia and for other capital expenditure purposes.

The halt will last until 17 November or when Element 25 makes its capital raise announcement.

The post 3 ASX mining shares on ice today pending big news appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Why are Medibank shares lifting on Wednesday?
• Here are the 3 most traded ASX 200 shares on Wednesday
• Looking to buy BHP shares? Here’s why the miner could be in for a $2b windfall
• Despite surging 9% in a week, are BHP shares still cheap?

Motley Fool contributor Matthew Farley 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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Of all the ASX 200 shares on the share market, it’s probably a fair bet to say that investors in Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG) shares would be amongst the most unhappy today.

These investors have had to watch the Magellan share price lose almost half of its capital over 2022 alone. The Magellan share price is also down by a depressing 67% or so over the past 12 months. And the company is down a whopping 85% from the all-time highs of over $70 a share that we saw back in early 2020.

Today, the Magellan share price has closed at $10.72. That tells you all you need to know.

There are a few things that went wrong at Magellan over the past two or three years. But these can be summed up by the chronic underperformance of its funds.

Not to mention the undignified departure of its co-founder and former stock-picking star Hamish Douglass. And we can’t forget the loss of several high-profile investing mandates from institutional clients.

So it might be perhaps a bit galling for some investors in Magellan to hear that the company is seeking a pay rise for its top brass in 2022.

According to an ASX ‘chairman’s letter’ released on Monday, Magellan informed its shareholders that the company is undertaking a “board renewal program”.

Mo money, less problems for Magellan directors?

The company has called an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) for 14 December next month to seek shareholder approval for this program, mainly the price tag. Here’s what Magellan’s management had to say:

The purpose of this EGM is to seek shareholder approval to increase the maximum aggregate remuneration payable to non-executive Directors of Magellan.

This approval is an important step in the Board renewal program to ensure that Magellan can attract and retain high calibre non-executive Directors, with the right experience and skills to support Magellan’s new strategic direction, whilst providing sufficient headroom to facilitate our target Board size.

The Board recently engaged an independent adviser to provide benchmarking data on non-executive Director remuneration and was advised that the current fees paid to Magellan’s non-executive Directors are significantly below those of market peers.

Having regard to benchmarking data, as well as other factors including the additional roles and complexity of the work being undertaken by the non-executive Directors, the Board considers it is necessary to increase Director remuneration in line with market rates and feedback from the search process.

With the search for additional non-executive Directors in progress, the Board believes this approval will assist with facilitating an efficient and effective Board renewal program.

It’s not an insignificant pay rise that is being proposed either. On December 14, shareholders will vote on raising “the maximum aggregate remuneration that may be paid to all non–executive Directors in any financial year” from $750,000 to $1.75 million. That’s an extra million apiece.

No doubt some investors may find this objectionable. Considering the recent woes of the Magellan share price and all. But we shall have to wait until 14 December to see if the board can convince stakeholders to stump up the extra cash.

The post The Magellan share price has caved 50% so far this year. Are directors seriously asking for a pay rise? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• 5 of the craziest things making news on the ASX this week
• Amidst the ongoing tech stock wreck, value shares are everywhere. There’s just one catch…
• Why Magellan, News Corp, REA, and Whitehaven Coal shares are dropping today
• The Magellan share price has crashed 50% in 2022. Is the company looking for a buyer?

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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Many of Australia’s top brokers have been busy adjusting their financial models again, leading to the release of a large number of broker notes this week.

Three ASX shares brokers have named as buys this week are listed below. Here’s why they are bullish on them:

Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1)

According to a note out of Bell Potter, its analysts have retained their buy rating on this footwear retailer’s shares with an improved price target of $2.10. This follows the release of a trading update which revealed strong sales growth and margin expansion financial year to date. Bell Potter believes that the company is well-placed going into the key seasonal period, particularly given its healthy inventory position. The Accent share price is trading at $1.69 on Wednesday afternoon.

Life360 Inc (ASX: 360)

A note out of Goldman Sachs reveals that its analysts have retained their buy rating on this location technology company’s shares with an improved price target of $8.40. Goldman Sachs was pleased with Life360’s quarterly update and believes it reinforces its view that the company is executing well on its long-term strategy to grow subscription lifetime value. The Life360 share price is fetching $6.85 this afternoon.

QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE)

Analysts at Macquarie have retained their outperform rating and $14.00 price target on this insurance giant’s shares. According to the note, the broker has been looking at a number of industry updates and has been pleased with what it saw. Overall, it remains confident that QBE is performing in line with expectations and highlights that its shares are trading at a discount to global peers. The QBE share price is trading at $11.92 today.

The post Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Down 30% so far in 2022, leading fund manager Firetrail sees a bright future for this under-the-radar ASX small-cap share
• Why Accent, Block, Core Lithium, and Fortescue shares are pushing higher
• Why I think these ASX dividend shares can double in 7 years AND pay income along the way
• Goldman Sachs names the ASX retail shares to buy in the current environment
• Brokers say these top ASX dividend shares are buys

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Life360, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Life360, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Accent Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by 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.

Of all the tech titan stocks that have been clobbered this year, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is arguably one of the more surprising losers. Shares of the e-commerce and cloud computing giant have fallen over 40% so far in 2022. That fall comes despite Amazon holding onto the retail gains it picked up during pandemic lockdowns, and the continual growth in its AWS [Amazon Web Services] cloud segment by a strong double-digit percentage.  

Investors weren’t pleased with the Q3 2022 report. Management indicated more slowing growth could lie ahead as a record run-up in the dollar (a result of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s huge interest rate increases this year). But, despite this weakness, Amazon is putting massive amounts of cash to work to bolster its most important business. Is now a once-in-a-decade buying opportunity for this top tech stock?

Re-allocating investments from e-commerce to tech

Amazon CFO Brian Olsavsky said on the last earnings call that the company was going to wind up allocating about $60 billion on capital expenditures (or capex, spending on property, plant, and equipment) in 2022. This figure is roughly in line with capex spend in 2021, even though Amazon’s growth has slowed significantly. This level of capex also dwarfs the capex spend of fellow tech titans — even Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) and its huge bill on data center equipment in support of its metaverse aspirations.  

Data by YCharts

Why does Amazon spend so much more on capex than its peers? For one thing, Amazon isn’t just tech. It’s also an online retailer. While an online store like Amazon looks like an asset-light business, it isn’t. Behind the scenes, Amazon has been spending heavily on things like distribution centers and delivery services to accommodate the explosion of sales it picked up in 2020 and 2021.

But there’s something interesting going on with Amazon’s capex. Specific numbers were not revealed, but Olsavsky said that $10 billion in capex has been reduced from fulfilment and transportation projects as e-commerce has quieted down. However, that $10 billion has been reallocated to “technology infrastructure, primarily to support the rapid growth, innovation and continued expansion of … [its] AWS footprint.”

Betting big on the business that matters most

This is incredibly significant, especially considering that the AWS cloud computing segment is — and has been for years now — the primary engine of Amazon’s profitable growth. You see, as great as a seemingly endless collection of products and fast delivery times may be, e-commerce just isn’t all that profitable a business for Amazon. Add-on services via Amazon Prime and selling ads within its marketplace are. But at the end of the day, it’s AWS that’s generating the positive income. 

Amazon segment	First nine months 2022 operating income (Loss)	Operating margin (as % of segment revenue)
North America	($2.61 billion)	-1.2%
International	($5.52 billion)	-6.6%
AWS	$17.6 billion	30%

Data source: Amazon

But why allocate so much extra capex to AWS now, especially given the tough economic climate we’re weathering right now? After all, lots of companies out there are cutting spending to boost profits. It was even reported that AWS customers have been working with the company to reduce their spending on the cloud right now, by switching to lower-cost computing workloads and services. 

As a result, while AWS has grown revenue by 32% so far in 2022, management indicated Q4 year-over-year growth was trending toward just a mid-20% growth rate. Meanwhile, Amazon has dipped deep into the red as it puts lots of money to work to promote future (and uncertain) growth. Free cash flow (operating income minus capex) was negative $26 billion over the last 12 month stretch.  

Nevertheless, Amazon sees a big opportunity, so it’s expanding its cloud footprint into new geographies and bolstering its capabilities in existing data centers. Just as disruption from the pandemic forced many organizations around the globe to accelerate their adoption of the cloud, Olsavsky said inflation (especially in energy and computing hardware costs) is having a similar disruptive impact right now. By switching their tech infrastructure to a cloud provider like AWS, a company can ultimately get more flexible with, or reduce, their expenses. Olsavsky explained:

[T]he benefit of cloud computing is really showing up right now because we allow customers to turn what can normally be a fixed expense into a variable expense, and they can let us manage the highs and lows of inflation and other cost of electricity and everything else. And they can get … to do their business using our services in a very highly secure way. So I think just like in 2020, these time periods are good for long-term adoption on cloud computing. But the offset in the short run is that some companies have demand that drops.

Long story short, Amazon sees behavior-altering changes happening in the economy right now, which spells opportunity for AWS to get aggressive and acquire lots of new customers. Wall Street clearly isn’t comfortable with the company spending so heavily, but what else is new? This is far from uncharted territory for Jeff Bezos’ empire. If AWS’s expansion right now pays off like it has in times past, Amazon stock’s giant drop this year can mean opportunity for farsighted investors as well.

Of course, since Amazon has fallen into unprofitability at the moment, it’s difficult to accurately stick a fair value on shares. However, management also said it expects to taper down its aggressive spending in the coming years, which would create some earnings leverage. In other words, this stock is incredibly cheap right now. That is, of course, assuming you think Amazon’s profitability, as measured by earnings per share, will sharply spike at some point in the next couple of years, and then level back off to a high single-digit or low-teens percentage growth rate after that. (Or if you think free cash flow will spike and turn positive again).

If you have ever felt like you missed the boat on Amazon stock over the last decade, now looks like a prime opportunity to buy.

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

The post Is Amazon’s AWS creating a once-in-a-decade buying opportunity for the stock? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Amazon unveils new healthcare service: Is the stock a buy?
• Don’t be fooled. Amazon’s international business is more profitable than you think
• Amazon is set for major layoffs. Here’s what it means for the stock
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• Why Amazon stock finished lower today

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon 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 Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Nicholas Rossolillo and his clients have positions in Amazon and Meta Platforms, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Amazon and Meta Platforms, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon and Meta Platforms, Inc. 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 Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE) share price has done well, rising by around 5% over the past week.

That compares to the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), which only went up by around 2%, so it has materially outperformed.

The winemaker hasn’t announced anything recently. But, it may be what’s going on elsewhere in the world that could be helping boost the Treasury Wine Estates share price.

Thawing of relations

The last few years have been difficult for TWE, as China put tariffs on the Australian wine sector. Treasury Wine Estates saw a sizeable chunk of its earnings dry up. The company has been hard at work finding new markets to sell its wine, and (in my opinion) been largely successful with this strategy.

However, since the change of Australian Government, there has been a slow but steady shift in communication between the two countries.

It culminated earlier this week when Prime Minister Albanese met with China’s leader, Xi Jinping. This was the first meeting between leaders of the two countries in years.

As reported by the ABC, Albanese said ahead of the meeting that even having a meeting with Australia’s largest trading partner was a “successful outcome”.

The meeting was reportedly 32 minutes long, which was 12 minutes longer than originally scheduled.

The ABC reported that Xi said China and Australia should “improve, maintain, and develop” the relationship, which has “encountered some difficulties” in the past few years. That sounds like a promising thing for the TWE share price, right?

Xi also said that “China-Australia relations have long been at the forefront of China’s relations with developed countries, and they deserve to be cherished by us”.

Albanese seemed pleased with the meeting, calling the talks “warm” and “constructive”. The PM also said that both countries took an important step to “moving forward”.

The ABC quoted Albanese saying:

There are many steps, of course, that we are yet to take… we will cooperate where we can, [and] disagree where we must act in the national interest.

At this stage, there was no official announcement on wine tariffs, or any of the commodities that China has put tariffs on.

The media outlet suggested that there are conditions – that China “wants to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and wants Australia to continue its one-China policy.” Also, the ABC reported that Xi wants Australia to see China as a partner, not a rival.

Foolish takeaway

Any progress that Australia can make that would help the wine industry may seemingly be a benefit for the Treasury Wine Estates share price.

Any change may take a while, and if tariffs are changed it may only be a reduction. We’ll have to see what happens next. Regardless, the business is growing in other markets to make up for the loss of Chinese sales.

The TWE share price is still down more than 20% from the pre-COVID price.

The post Why has the Treasury Wine share price jumped 5% in a week? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Stressed about your ASX share portfolio? I’d take these 3 dead-simple steps to sleep easy

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Treasury Wine Estates Limited. 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 we approach the end of trading on Wednesday, the top 10 best-performing shares of the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) are all miners bar one.

That one outlier is ASX agricultural share Nufarm Ltd (ASX: NUF), up 7% to $5.80. The crop protection and seed technology company released its full-year results today and raised its full-year dividend by 150%.

As for the rest of the top 10 on the ASX 200 today, they’re all ASX mining shares but represent a big range of metals and minerals. And not an iron ore share in sight.

Top 10 ASX 200 shares today

Nufarm was leading the pack until ASX copper share, Sandfire Resources Ltd (ASX: SFR) rose to the top.

The Sandfire Resources share price is 7.3% higher at $4.97.

ASX coal shares followed second-placed Nufarm, with Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) shares up 6.99% to $8.81 and New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC) shares up 5.08% to $5.59.

Then came ASX mineral explorer IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO). The nickel and lithium miner’s share price is up 4.69% to $16.08.

Next is rare earths miner, Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC). Lynas shares are up 4.58% to $8.79.

Another ASX coal share, Coronado Global Resources Inc (ASX: CRN) takes seventh place. Coronado shares are up 2.95% to $2.10.

Nickel miner Nickel Industries Ltd (ASX: NIC) is rounding out the top eight ASX 200 shares today, up 2.83% to 98 cents.

The final two in our top 10 ASX 200 shares are ASX lithium shares.

The Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE) share price is up 2.95% to $14.67.

The Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price is up 2.69% to $4.96.

The post Dig this! Look how many of the top-performing ASX 200 shares today are miners appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are the 3 most traded ASX 200 shares on Wednesday
• Why Arafura, Nufarm, Pilbara Minerals, and Whitehaven Coal are charging higher
• Why is the Whitehaven share price whizzing 7% higher today?
• Can ASX lithium shares really keep dining out at these price levels?
• The future of ASX lithium shares: Are investors looking through rose-coloured glasses?

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

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