Month: May 2022

It’s a story that’s starting to become rather familiar. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is once again falling today, scraping off another 1.53% so far. And once again, it seems to be ASX tech shares that are leading the ASX’s falls, with the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) down by 2.43%. C’est la vie, it seems. This carnage has not escaped the Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP) share price.

Zip is currently down by another 4.42% so far this Thursday, and is now being priced at 86.5 cents a share. That comes after what is now the ASX’s largest buy now, pay later (BNPL) share hit another 52-week low of 86 cents a share this morning. It’s a new four-year low for Zip too, with the company not seeing these kinds of share pricing levels since back in 2018.

So what’s behind this latest slump in Zip shares?

Why is the Zip share price falling yet again?

Well, nothing specific it seems. There’s been no news out of Zip for a while. So it looks like today’s falls are just the result of further punishment for the tech sector from ASX investors.

Most tech shares are falling steeply today. Block Inc (ASX: SQ2), the new owner of Zip’s old rival Afterpay, is down by 2.78%. Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) has lost 3.53%. And Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) shares have lost 4.37%. Zip’s fellow BNPL share Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL), which Zip is still in the process of acquiring, has slumped 5.83% and hit a new multi-year low of 56 cents too.

But investors haven’t been impressed with Zip for a while now. As my Fool colleague Aaron covered this week, investors have seemingly been losing confidence in the company since its April third-quarter update.

No doubt shareholders will be hoping a bottom can be found soon. But we shall have to wait and see.

At the current Zip share price, this ASX BNPL share has a market capitalisation of $622 million.

The post Zip share price dives to yet another multi-year low appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 midday update: Aristocrat’s earnings beat, Webjet flops, retailers smashed
• These ASX 200 companies just lost market share to a small-cap rival
• ASX 200 shares tumble following worst day on Wall Street in 2 years
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today

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 positions in and has recommended Altium, Block, Inc., Xero, and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Block, Inc. and 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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It’s another white-knuckle day for investors in S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) tech shares.

A good reminder, perhaps, not to get too caught up in the daily price swings and keep your eye on your long-term investment goals.

But with our own eyes glued to the trading screens at the moment, we can’t help but note the big retreat among ASX 200 tech shares.

Today’s sell-off is hitting almost every corner of the market, with the ASX 200 down 1.6% at the time of writing.

Tech shares are faring worse, with the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) down 2.43%.

Only one ASX 200 tech share is in the green

The sole ASX 200 tech share that’s shrugging off the selling action is Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME).

Shares in the healthcare imaging software and services provider are up 1.84% to $40.97.

The other big-name stocks aren’t faring quite as well.

The Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) share price, for example, is down 3.28%, while shares in WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) are down 2.23%.

Meanwhile, global payments giant Block Inc (ASX: SQ2) has seen its shares fall 3.19%, following a 3.3% drop in its US-listed shares yesterday (overnight Aussie time).

Why the big tech sell-off?

ASX 200 shares are under selling pressure today following the biggest single-day losses in US markets posted in almost two years.

The S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX) finished the trading day down 4% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQ: .IXIC) lost 4.7%. European markets broadly retreated as well, with the German Dax Performance Index dropping 1.3%.

The selling in international markets and among ASX 200 tech shares comes as investors remain concerned and uncertain about fast-rising prices across most Western nations, and the resulting interest rate rises needed to keep that inflation in check.

Slowing retail sales figures out of the US are also pointing to the increasing possibility the world’s biggest economy could be heading for a recession.

Commenting on the latest market falls, Carl Ludwigson, managing director of Bel Air Investment Advisors, said (quoted by Bloomberg):

The threat to asset prices is broad-based inflation pushing central banks to tighten monetary policy even more rapidly. If the Federal Reserve’s policy response proves too aggressive, then Treasuries and high-quality municipal bonds will again be the place to hide as tighter financial conditions lead to demand destruction.

With ASX 200 tech shares often priced with future earnings in mind, they’re particularly sensitive to investor fears over aggressive interest rate rises.

Of course, five or 10 years from now, this will all likely just be a bump in the road.

The post What’s happening with ASX 200 tech shares today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• This ASX 200 tech share has $380 million in cash and no debt but has fallen 32% this year. Is it a bargain?
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• 2 beaten down ASX tech shares analysts say have major upside potential
• You won’t find more profitable ASX tech shares than these companies right now
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Block, Inc., Pro Medicus Ltd., WiseTech Global, and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Block, Inc., Pro Medicus Ltd., WiseTech Global, and 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 Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) share price is falling on Thursday.

In afternoon trade, the online travel agent’s shares are down 3% to $5.61.

Why is the Webjet share price falling?

As well as being dragged lower by a broad market selloff, the release of a softer than expected full-year result appears to be weighing on the Webjet share price.

According to the release, Webjet reported a 261% increase in total transaction value (TTV) to $1,638 million, a 258% jump in revenue to $138 million, and an EBITDA loss of $15 million.

As a comparison, analysts at Goldman Sachs were expecting the company to deliver revenue of $143.6 million and positive EBITDA of $1.5 million.

Goldman commented:

WEB reported FY22 results below GSe driven by lower than expected activity levels in the Bedbanks business. However, we note that 2H22 is a seasonally weaker half for the Bedbanks business and view the return to above pre-COVID level activities for this segment in May 2022 as encouraging progress for the business.

Were there any positives?

Fortunately, it wasn’t all bad news. For example, the company’s operating cash flow came in at $71.5 million. This was well ahead of Goldman’s estimate of $43.4 million, which itself was significantly higher than consensus estimates for a negative operating cash flow of $28.3 million.

This is a big positive according to Goldman due to cash now being a key focus for the market.

In addition, the broker highlights that Webjet’s key WebBeds business was trading at above pre-COVID levels in May. Furthermore, it notes that management stated that it expects to see strong growth in the North American business even beyond current levels, which were 204% and 349% above pre-pandemic levels in USA and Canada, respectively.

The broker explained:

While the group reported an EBITDA miss vs. GSe and Consensus, we believe the cash results and early indications into FY23 remain very strong. While no outlook has been provided in terms of FY23 profitability, the 20% cost reduction guidance has been maintained. Overall, we view the results as a positive in terms of the 2 key factors we were watching for, namely, cash results and longer term outlook in the Bedbanks business.

Goldman Sachs currently has a buy rating and $6.90 price target on its shares. Based on the current Webjet share price, this implies potential upside of 23%.

Though, it is worth remembering that this rating and price target could change in the coming days once the broker has updated its financial model.

The post Webjet share price falls on earnings miss, but broker sees ‘results as a positive’ appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 midday update: Aristocrat’s earnings beat, Webjet flops, retailers smashed
• Webjet share price on watch amid 258% revenue jump in FY22
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Why is the Webjet share price outperforming on Monday?
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares

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 Webjet Ltd. 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.

What happened

Cryptocurrencies lost ground Wednesday as investors continued to attempt to assess the state of the U.S. economy and what steps the Federal Reserve will need to take to rein in high inflation.

As of 1:25 p.m. ET, the price of the world’s largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) had fallen 3.4% over the prior 24 hours. The world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), had fallen about 4%, and meme token Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) was off by more than 5%. The stock market was down as well, with the broad S&P 500 index off by about 3.5%

So what

Like many other relatively risky assets such as tech and growth stocks, Bitcoin and most other cryptocurrencies have not fared well recently as interest rates have risen and are on course to head still higher. The Federal Reserve has boosted its overnight benchmark lending rate, the federal funds rate, several times already as it undertakes a fiscal tightening regimen designed to bring inflation back under control. The federal funds rate now sits in the range of 0.75% and 1%, and the price of Bitcoin is down nearly 39% this year. 

Data released earlier this month showed that the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which tracks the prices of a market basket of goods and services, was up by 8.3% year-over-year in April. While that’s still unusually high, it was down from March’s 8.5% year-over-year increase, suggesting that inflation may be starting to slow. But comments from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell Tuesday seem to have spooked investors. He essentially said that the Fed will keep raising interest rates until inflation settles.

“If that involves moving past broadly understood levels of neutral we won’t hesitate to do that,” Powell told The Wall Street Journal. “We will go until we feel we’re at a place where we can say financial conditions are in an appropriate place, we see inflation coming down.”

Assuming conditions don’t change markedly, most investors expect the Federal Open Market Committee will raise rates by 50 basis points (0.5 percentage points) following both its June and July meetings.

When the federal funds rate rises, that increases the yield on safer assets such as U.S. Treasury bills, which in turn makes riskier assets less appealing. Rising rates also make the cost of doing business more expensive, which can hurt corporate earnings — not that cryptocurrencies are businesses that generate earnings.

In other news, several prominent figures in recent days have made negative public statements regarding the future of Bitcoin. Former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said during a CNBC interview earlier this week that he doesn’t ever expect consumers to make ordinary, everyday purchases with Bitcoin because it would be “too expensive and too inconvenient to do that.”

Also earlier this week, Sam Bankman-Fried, the CEO and co-founder of the crypto exchange FTX, told the Financial Times that he doesn’t think Bitcoin has any future as a payments network. In his view, Bitcoin won’t be able to scale enough to keep up with demand, largely because of its proof-of-work mining process, which requires massive amounts of computing power and consumes a profligate amount of electricity in the process. Many other cryptocurrencies have moved away from proof-of-work protocols because they are bad for the environment, but Bitcoin is not expected to — at least, not anytime soon.

Now what

It’s very hard to value cryptocurrencies, but given that Bitcoin pioneered blockchain technology and was the first cryptocurrency, and Ethereum is now the main blockchain network for smart contract functionality and decentralized applications, I fully expect both to be here long term. Therefore, I view these two as good long-term investments.

Dogecoin was started as more of a joke and has no real technical advantages or real-world use cases, which is why I would not recommend investing. 

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

The post Why Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin are falling today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why Bitcoin and Ethereum popped on Tuesday
• Using Bitcoin to diversify your portfolio? Read this
• Why Shiba Inu is down today
• Good riddance to meme speculators ditching Bitcoin: expert
• Can regulators prevent another US$45 billion crypto stablecoin meltdown?

Bram Berkowitz has positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Bitcoin and Ethereum. 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 Strike Energy Ltd (ASX: STX) share price is one of the better performers on the ASX market today.

This comes after Wall Street recorded its biggest loss since 2020 due to investor fears over rising inflation.

At the time of writing, the energy producer’s shares are pushing 4.92% higher to 32 cents.

By comparison, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is 1.61% lower at 7,307.2 points.

What’s pushing the Strike Energy share price higher?

ASX investors are driving up the Strike Energy share price after the company delivered an update regarding its fertiliser offtake process.

According to its release, Strike Energy advised it has concluded its process and selected Koch Fertilizer as the preferred bidder.

The offtake is for 1.4 million tonnes per annum of granulated urea production from Strike Energy’s proposed Project Haber development.

Both parties have signed a non-binding term sheet and will now enter into negotiations to finalise the offtake agreement.

This will be reflected in the key terms agreed in the term sheet. The terms include a 10 to 15-year supply period. The pricing is set to be “linked to international benchmarks and a condition precedent relating to Project Haber’s final investment decision.”

Strike managing director and CEO, Stuart Nicholls commented:

This award creates the foundations for an exciting and transformational period for the Company, at the conclusion of which Strike will have completed its journey to becoming a fully vertically integrated manufacturer of high energy intensive and low carbon emission products.

Securing Koch Fertilizer as Strike’s sole offtaker would give Project Haber a high degree of creditworthiness and financial security. Having a single long-term offtaker for 100% of the urea production will provide the foundation for the financial architecture required to successfully finance this nationally significant development.

Quick take on Project Haber

Project Haber is a fully-integrated low carbon urea development. The project is located along the West Australian Wheatbelt in the mid-west region.

The company is aiming to develop a low carbon urea product to support the abatement of Australia’s agricultural emissions. This is through its adjacent low-impurity natural gas, best-in-class ammonia technology, domestic fertiliser supply, and incorporated green hydrogen.

Project Haber’s urea will support Australia’s farmers by improving the availability of nitrogen-based fertiliser and removing expensive supply chain costs.

The post Here’s why the Strike Energy share price is avoiding the bloodshed today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras 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 Calix Ltd (ASX: CXL) share price is swinging between red and green today after the company landed another chunk of funding. Amid the payday news, investors are undecided on which direction to take in the green technology developer.

At the time of writing, Calix shares are up 0.28% at $7.05, having earlier sunk as low as $6.75. The positive move stands out among a sea of red on Thursday as the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) nosedived in sympathy to a bloody session on Wall Street last night.

Let’s take a closer look at the news keeping Calix’s head above water today.

Money rains down for green tech

Only a few days ago, it was revealed that Calix would be receiving government funding in partnership with Boral Limited (ASX: BLD) to help reduce the materials company’s emissions. That grant was worth $30 million.

However, today involves a different materials company and a different amount of funding. Though, the reason for the latest government grant is quite similar.

According to the release, Calix will receive $11 million from the government’s carbon capture, use, and storage (CCUS) hubs and technologies program to bring low emissions lime production to Adbri Ltd (ASX: ABC). The additional government funding bodes well for the Calix share price.

Much like with Boral, the funding is intended to go towards developing a low emissions lime kiln using Calix’s ‘low emissions intensity lime and cement’ (LEILAC) technology. When constructed, the proposed plant in Kwinana, Western Australia, would be the world’s first commercial-scale low emissions lime production.

Commenting on the announcement, Calix managing director and CEO Phil Hodgson said:

A few years ago, I doubted a world-first commercial scale application of our technology would have been built in Australia, and as a result our efforts were concentrated offshore. However, with the support of the Federal Government and the Technology Investment Roadmap, the HILT-CRC, and companies such as Adbri, who are now starting to lead low emissions efforts, it is now a reality.

Additionally, the company confirmed this morning that it has received $5.19 million as part of the Federal Government’s research and development tax incentive.

How has the Calix share price performed?

The Calix share price has been outperforming the broader ASX 200 so far this year. Whether this is a byproduct of increased investor interest as emission reduction becomes more topical, or a consequence of several government grants, the situation is a positive for Calix shareholders.

Since the start of the year, shares in the company have returned almost 9%. Meanwhile, the ASX 200 is down nearly 7% — representing an outperformance of 16%.

The post Calix share price bounces about on $16 million payday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s why the Calix share price is leaping 6% on Tuesday
• Boral share price climbs amid ‘game changing’ carbon project
• The Boral share price has been smashed 10% so far in May. What’s happening?
• 2 ASX All Ords shares helping the planet and the back pocket

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 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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At lunch on Thursday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has followed the lead of Wall Street and is tumbling notably lower. The benchmark index is currently down 1.55% to 7,072 points.

Here’s what is happening on the ASX 200 today:

Aristocrat shares storm higher

The Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL) share price is storming higher today despite the market selloff. This follows a positive reaction to the gaming technology company’s half-year results. Aristocrat reported a 23.1% increase in operating revenue to $2,745.4 million and an impressive 40.9% increase in NPATA to $580.1 million. The latter was well ahead of the consensus estimate of $523 million. Aristocrat also announced a $500 million on-market share buyback.

Webjet falls on full-year results

The Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) share price is sliding on Thursday following the release of the online travel agent’s full-year results. For the 12 months ended 31 March, Webjet reported revenue growth of 258% to $138 million and an EBITDA loss of $15 million. According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, it was expecting Webjet to report revenue of $143.6 million and EBITDA of $1.5 million. One positive, though, was that the company’s operating cash flow of $71.5 million was well ahead of Goldman’s estimate of $43.4 million.

Retail shares tumble

The retail sector has been hammered on Thursday, with the likes of JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH) and Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) falling particularly heavily during the morning session. This has been driven by the release of very disappointing results from a couple of major retailers in the United States overnight. Target Corp saw its shares crash 25% lower on Wall Street after it revealed that rising inflation is denting customer spending.

Best and worst ASX 200 performers

The best performer on the ASX 200 on Thursday has been the volatile Imugene Limited (ASX: IMU) share price with a 7% gain on no news. Going the other way, the worst performer has been the Novonix Ltd (ASX: NVX) share price with a 7% decline amid broad weakness in the battery materials industry.

The post ASX 200 midday update: Aristocrat’s earnings beat, Webjet flops, retailers smashed appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why is the JB Hi-Fi share price being slashed 8% today?
• These ASX 200 companies just lost market share to a small-cap rival
• ASX 200 shares tumble following worst day on Wall Street in 2 years
• Jackpot! Aristocrat share price jumps on stellar half-year results
• Webjet share price on watch amid 258% revenue jump in FY22

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 positions in and has recommended Wesfarmers Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Webjet Ltd. 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 JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH) share price is currently down more than 8%. It’s currently one of the worst performers in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

ASX growth shares, particularly technology stocks, have been particularly hurt by the volatility and sell-off during 2022. But today it’s retail shares in the spotlight.

There is a lot of investor attention on both inflation and what central banks might do to get it under control by raising interest rates.

So why are ASX retail shares, including the JB Hi-Fi share price, hurting so much today?

Inflation could be the culprit

Overnight, there was a painful sell-off in the US share market.

The Nasdaq-100 Index (NASDAQ: NDX) plunged 5%. One of the heaviest falls was the Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) share price which dropped by around 7%.

But, it has been other major retailers that may have sparked investor uncertainty. Walmart {NYSE: WMT) shares are down 17% in the last two trading sessions and the Target (NYSE: TGT) share price dropped around 25% overnight.

Both retailers have told the market about how inflation has been impacting profitability.

Target reported that customers didn’t spend as much on discretionary items, leading to more discounting. Elevated supply chain costs and higher wages also weighed on earnings, leading to the company’s adjusted earnings per share (EPS) plunging over 40% and underperforming expectations in the three months to 30 April 2022.

JB Hi-Fi is not the same business as Amazon, Target or Walmart. However, there may be concerns that the same sort of inflation problems and lower consumer demand could impact a retail ASX share like JB Hi-Fi.

How is the company performing?

The latest sales update we’ve heard from the company was for the three months to 31 March 2022.

It said that for the three months, total JB Hi-Fi Australia sales went up 11.9%, JB Hi-Fi New Zealand sales rose 4.8% in New Zealand dollar terms and The Good Guys sales rose 5.5%.

Management said that in the third quarter, it saw “heightened customer demand and strong sales growth.” That update, on 4 May 2022, also said that “sales momentum had continued” into the fourth quarter of FY22.

However, JB Hi-Fi did mention ongoing disruption to stock availability and operations arising from COVID-19 impacts, as well as other local and global uncertainties.

What next?

The company didn’t think it was appropriate to provide FY22 sales and earnings guidance.

Unless management think it’s important to give another update over the next couple of months, the next we’ll hear from the business is in reporting season in August 2022 when the company releases its FY22 full year result.

At that time, the company is likely to give another trading update and perhaps provide commentary on the operating conditions.

The post Why is the JB Hi-Fi share price being slashed 8% today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. 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 Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon. 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 shares are taking a rather nasty tumble today, erasing the gains from earlier in the week. At the time of writing, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has lost 1.6% and is well back below 7,100 points.

This comes after some horror moves on US markets overnight (our time). The US flagship Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX: .DJI) fell a nasty 3.57% last night. But it was the tech-heavy NASDAQ-100 (INDEXNASDAQ: NDX) that really copped it. The NASDAQ fell a whopping 5.06% and back below 12,000 points.

This has led to some equally depressing moves today for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that cover the US markets directly. Take the Vanguard US Total Market Share Index ETF (ASX: VTS). VTS units are down by a hefty 3.34% at the time of writing to $280.15. That’s getting pretty close to the 52-week low of $272.83.

Vanguard US Total Market Shares Index ETF cops a belting

The VTS ETF is a rather special one on the ASX markets. It’s the only ASX ETF out there that tracks the CRSP US Total Market Index. This index consists of more than 4,100 individual companies that are all listed on the US markets. It’s far larger in scope than the popular iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV), which only tracks the largest 500 shares in the US. The VTS ETF also has the distinction of being among the cheapest ETFs on the ASX. It only charges a management fee of 0.03% per annum.

Even though the Vanguard US Total Market Shares Index ETF has more than 4,000 underlying shares, it is heavily weighted to America’s largest tech companies. Its top 10 holdings have a collective portfolio weighting of more than 25%. And this is dominated by the likes of Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL), and Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN).

Last night, Apple shares fell by more than 5%. Microsoft dropped 4.55%, while Alphabet’s shares ticked down 3.7%. But Amazon’s 7.16% plunge takes the cake.

No wonder VTS ETF units are getting punished today.

The post Vanguard US Total Market Shares Index ETF tumbles following Wall Street sell-off appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• This ASX 200 tech share has $380 million in cash and no debt but has fallen 32% this year. Is it a bargain?
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John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in Alphabet (A shares), Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long March 2023 $120 calls on Apple and short March 2023 $130 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, Apple, and iShares Trust – iShares Core S&P 500 ETF. 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 Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) share price is in reverse today following a senior leadership change within the company.

During mid-morning trade, the oil and gas explorer’s shares are down 5% to $1.615.

In comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is also deep in negative territory, down 1.67% to 7,063 points. This is likely in part due to heavy Wall Street losses overnight on the back of investor fears surrounding rising inflation.

Beach Energy appoints new CEO

In a statement to the ASX, Beach Energy advised it has appointed Morné Engelbrecht as its new CEO, effective today.

This concludes the board’s extensive international search to fill the top job which commenced late last year.

Notably, Engelbrecht secured the role after spending the last six months as acting CEO.

His strong performance in overseeing the company’s progress of its major capital programs put him as the ideal candidate.

With more than 20 years’ experience across the oil, gas, and resource sector, Engelbrecht joined Beach Energy in 2016.

Holding the role of chief financial officer, he became instrumental in the acquisition and integration of Lattice Energy.

Prior to 2016, Engelbrecht held various senior financial, commercial, and advisory roles at InterOil, Lihir Gold, Harmony Gold, and PwC.

Notably, he was appointed to the Board of the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA) in November 2021.

Beach Energy chair Glenn Davis touched on the appointment, saying:

We are very pleased that Morné has accepted the role of Chief Executive Officer.

Morné has clearly demonstrated his leadership capabilities over many years with Beach and his credentials are ideally suited for continuing the delivery of our strategy.

On behalf of the Board, we welcome Morné to the role.

Beach Energy share price snapshot

Over the last 12 months, the Beach Energy share price has surged 24%. It is also up 27% this year to date.

Its shares hit a 52-week high of $1.77 in March before travelling in circles. 

Based on today’s price, Beach Energy has a market capitalisation of roughly $3.96 billion.

The post Why is the Beach Energy share price sinking 5% on Thursday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras 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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