Why is the Block share price charging higher today?

The Block Inc (ASX: SQ2) share price is leaping higher in morning trade, up 4.4%.

Block shares closed yesterday trading for $96.65 and are currently trading for $100.94 apiece.

The ASX buy now, pay later (BNPL) share, which acquired Afterpay in January this year, isn’t the only tech stock enjoying a good run today.

While the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up a healthy 0.4%, the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) is charging 1.9% higher at the time of writing.

Rival BNPL shares Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP) and Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL) are also both outperforming. Zip shares are currently up 3.6% and the Sezzle share price has gained 3.5%.

What’s piquing investor interest?

The Block share price is leaping higher following a strong rebound in US markets yesterday (overnight Aussie time).

The tech-heavy NASDAQ led the charge, closing up 2.1%.

Block is dual listed. And its NYSE-listed shares also outperformed yesterday, closing the day up 3.9%. Typically, when the Block share price gains on the NYSE, you’ll find a similar trend playing out on the ASX the following day.

So why the broader market rally?

According to Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda (courtesy of Bloomberg):

Stocks are rebounding as the global bond market selloff takes a break. Economic momentum remains for the US economy, and that could only improve if inflation continues to soften. Investors seem poised to enter a holding pattern until the September 13th inflation report.

Should US inflation figures come in on the lighter side, that would portend potentially less aggressive tightening for the Federal Reserve. That, in turn, would offer some welcome tailwinds to BNPL stocks.

Block share price snapshot

It’s going to take a fair bit more than today’s rally to see the Block share price return to where it stood when the company first listed on the ASX on 20 January.

At that time, Block shares were swapping hands for $176.63. Shares closed for highs of $194.36 on 30 March, but it’s been mostly downhill since then.

Since 20 January, the Block share price is down a painful 43%. That compares to an 8% loss posted by the ASX 200 over that same period.

The post Why is the Block share price charging higher today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

(function() {
function setButtonColorDefaults(param, property, defaultValue) {
if( !param || !param.includes(‘#’)) {
var button = document.getElementsByClassName(“pitch-snippet”)[0].getElementsByClassName(“pitch-button”)[0];
button.style[property] = defaultValue;
}
}

setButtonColorDefaults(“#43B02A”, ‘background’, ‘#5FA85D’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#43B02A”, ‘border-color’, ‘#43A24A’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#fff”, ‘color’, ‘#fff’);
})()

More reading

• Why has the Block share price dumped 24% in a month?
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Why is the Block share price plunging 8% today?
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares

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 positions in and has recommended Block, Inc. and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Block, Inc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/LipYEqH