Well, the ASX looks like it's finally going to break the six-day losing streak that has gripped investors' attention over the last week or so.
At the time of writing, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (INDEXASX: XJO) is up 1.69% to 6,499 points and seems to have staunched the bleeding, at least for now.
That leads me to think it might be a great time to top up your income portfolio. Shares are still a lot cheaper than they have been for most of the year so far. And cheaper stock prices usually mean higher dividend yields.
So here are two ASX shares I would buy for income today.
Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL)
Coles shares are up over 2.5% today and are going for $15.05 at the time of writing. Despite this bounce, Coles is still down substantially from the all-time high of $17.25 it was asking just two weeks ago. Thus, I think it's still a great time to pick up some Coles shares if you've been eyeing this grocery giant off for its defensive, recession-resistant earnings base.
Coles also has a long-term policy to pay out 80-90% of its earnings as dividends, so I think you can be reasonably confident in the reliability of this company in your income portfolio.
At these prices, Coles shares are offering a trailing dividend yield of 3.59% (or 5.13% grossed-up). That doesn't look too bad to me, especially if the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) cuts interest rates today.
WAM Research Limited (ASX: WAX)
WAM Research is a Listed Investment Company (LIC) that primarily invests in mid-cap ASX shares. It's also a company that has a stellar reputation as a strong dividend income payer. Right now, WAX shares offer a trailing fully franked dividend yield of 6.79% (or a whopping 9.7% grossed-up).
Perhaps because of this, WAM Research does typically trade at a premium to the company's underlying Net Tangible Assets per share. At the time of writing, this premium stands at around 19% (as of management's most recent filing).
Investors will have to decide if this premium is worth the massive dividend yield that WAM Research offers (although it is a lot lower than it was two weeks ago).
Foolish takeaway
If the RBA does indeed decide to slash interest rates today, I think these two ASX dividend-payers could be a great place to have your money.
Getting a decent yield on your money is becoming harder and harder these days, but I think these two shares are a good place to start.
