Why these 3 ASX 200 shares grabbed the Motley Fool's headlines this record-breaking week

With the ASX 200 hitting new record highs, there was plenty of action amongst the top stocks this week.

Bernd Struben

Author bio Bernd Struben earned his BA in economics from the University of Michigan in 1991, with post-graduate studies in environmental economics at the University of Connecticut. Over the years he’s written about and analysed the tourism industry in the Caribbean; Europe’s commercial real estate markets; and, since moving to Australia in 2010, global and Aussie share markets. Bernd studies geopolitical and macroeconomic trends, alongside sector and company specific data, to gauge what he believes could be tomorrow's best investments. In his free time, you might find Bernd at the beach with his family or working on his next science fiction novel. Areas of expertise Australian and global share markets Macroeconomic and geopolitical trends Real estate Education Economics, University of Michigan Favorite investment quote "The four most dangerous words in investing are: 'This time it's different." — Sir John Templeton

Published March 10, 2024 3:30 am AEDT

There was plenty of competition amongst S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares to get into the Motley Fool's headlines this week. Especially with the benchmark index hitting new record highs on Monday and again on Friday.

Here's what saw these three large-cap stocks grab our attention.

Two men and a woman sitting in a subway train side by side, reading newspapers. — Image source: Getty Images

ASX 200 shares grabbing the Motley Fool's headlines

The first ASX 200 share catching the Motley Fool's attention this week was lithium stock Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS).

Pilbara made headlines on Tuesday when shares in the lithium producer closed the day down 7.0%.

It wasn't just Pilbara shares under selling pressure on Tuesday. Most all ASX lithium stocks ended the day deep in the red.

This looks to have been driven by a 6.8% overnight decline in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB). That fall came after the North American lithium giant announced it was issuing new shares to raise US$1.9 billion.

With lithium prices down some 80% from their peak, investors likely feared that lithium stocks like Pilbara might be next in line to announce a dilutive capital raise.

Which brings us to the second ASX 200 share leaping into the Motley Fool's headlines this week, UK-based banking stock Virgin Money UK (ASX: VUK).

Virgin Money made news on Friday after its shares soared more than 33%.

This came after the bank reported that it had received a potential cash takeover offer from Nationwide Building Society.

Based on Friday's exchange rates with the British pound, the offer values Virgin Money at $4.26 per share. That's almost 39% above Thursday's closing price.

Rounding off the list of ASX 200 shares that claimed the Motley Fool's headlines this week is mining giant BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP).

BHP made the news on 7 March when the miner's stock traded ex-dividend.

This saw the BHP share price close the day down 1.1%, as investors buying on the day were no longer eligible to receive the fully franked $1.10 interim dividend. Investors who owned BHP shares at market close on Wednesday can expect to see that cash payout hit their bank accounts on 28 March.

BHP, the biggest stock on the ASX 200, trades on a fully franked trailing yield of 5.4%

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