After a lot of volatility for the stock market, there are a large number of opportunities out there that look like very cheap ASX shares, in my opinion.

We can’t control share prices, but we can control when we invest. When valuations are hitting, or close to, 52-week lows, I think there’s good chance to pick up a bargain.   

I think the two stocks below are excellent opportunities today.

Charter Hall Long WALE REIT (ASX: CLW)

The first business I want to highlight is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that’s invested across a range of commercial properties in different sectors.

It provides exposure to industrial and logistics, data centres, social infrastructure, offices, hotels, service stations and retail.

The prospect of even higher interest rates is acting as a headwind on the unit prices of REITs like Charter Hall Long WALE REIT. Over the past year, the Charter Hall Long WALE REIT unit price has dropped 27%, making it a lot cheaper.

The business is generating almost as much rental income as possible from its portfolio. Its occupancy rate was 99.9% at the end of FY26, with 99% leased to reliable blue-chip tenants. Pleasingly, it has a weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of around nine years, which means a lot of rental income has already been locked in for the years ahead.  

It’s a lot cheaper and it now looks very good value compared to its underlying balance sheet. It reported net tangible assets (NTA) of $4.71 as at June 2026, so it’s trading at an appealing 31% discount to that NTA.

One of the main reasons why I think it’s an obvious cheap ASX share pick is because it’s projected to pay an annual distribution of 25.5 cents per security in FY27. That means it could pay a distribution yield of 7.9%! I think that’s close to the best forward distribution yield investors could get from the REIT over the past decade.

Collins Foods Ltd (ASX: CKF)

Another ASX share that looks to me like it’s trading far too cheaply is Collins Foods, a KFC franchisee operator with operations in Australia and Europe.

As a consumer-facing business, the company may be viewed by some investors as being exposed to a potential downturn. The Collins Foods share price has fallen 27% over the past year, making it seem a lot cheaper.

But, the company’s financials don’t seem to show any sign of a downturn.

At the start of September, the company announced a trading update for the first 17 weeks, total company sales were up 6.6%, with 6.4% growth for Australian sales, 44% growth for Germany and a 2.5% decline in the Netherlands.

Management are optimistic that initiatives in Australia and Germany can continue to deliver solid performance in those two important markets. For example, it is trialling breakfast in Gold Coast restaurants.  

With plans to continue to expand its global restaurant network over time, I think the prospects look promising for both revenue and earnings growth for Collins Foods, so the sell-off makes this look like a very cheap ASX share to me.

Based on the projection on CMC Invest, the Collins Foods share price is now trading at under 15x FY27’s estimated earnings.

These aren’t the only two cheap ASX shares out there that look really good value to me, so I’d add other stocks to my watchlist, too.

The post 2 very cheap ASX shares near 52-week lows I’d buy today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• I’d buy 37,648 shares of this ASX stock to aim for $800 a month of passive income
• 15 ASX shares going ex-dividend next week
• How much is needed in superannuation to target a $95,000 annual passive income?
• How to build a $50,000 passive income from ASX shares
• These 2 ASX fast food companies could jump 23% to 33%

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 Collins Foods. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

At 2:30pm AEST, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was up 0.1% at 8,687.5 points as investors awaited today’s interest rate decision.

Then the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) released that rate decision, and the ASX 200 promptly dropped 0.2% to 8,668.3 points.

With concerns over persistently high inflation rising, market expectations of an RBA interest rate increase had jumped to 92% prior to today’s announcement, according to the ASX’s RBA rate tracker.

And the market’s expectations proved to be spot on.

At its meeting today, the RBA board decided to increase the cash rate target by 0.25% to the new 4.60%.

This marks the fourth interest rate hike by Australia’s central bank this year. And it sees Australia’s official cash rate at the highest levels since October 2011.

When Aussies turned over the calendar onto 2026, the rate stood at 3.60%. And most analysts were forecasting rate cuts ahead.

Here’s why that’s not happening.

ASX 200 wobbles as RBA boosts interest rates again

Commenting on today’s decision, the RBA noted, “Inflation remains elevated and some of the upside risks flagged in August are materialising.”

And ASX 200 investors look to have both the fallout from the Iran war and the ongoing AI boom to thank for today’s interest rate boost.

According to the RBA:

The conflict in the Middle East has broadened and global energy prices are now much higher than had been assumed in the August forecasts. AI-related demand is driving rapid growth in global prices for technology-related goods.

As far as the domestic economy is going, the central bank cited “heightened” uncertainties about the outlook for Australia’s economic activity and inflation.

The RBA noted:

There are signs that growth in consumer spending is easing gradually as expected, although housing prices have fallen in most capital cities and new housing loans have declined noticeably. Labour market conditions have eased broadly as expected in recent months, and labour market leading indicators are broadly stable. Meanwhile, growth in business investment and debt is strong.

The board’s decision to lift interest rates today was unanimous.

What are the experts saying?

Commenting on today’s RBA interest rate decision that’s pressuring the ASX 200, Ronak Bhimjiani, real estate economist at JLL Australia, said, “While largely anticipated by markets, the move reflects a Board increasingly focused on persistent underlying inflation and stronger-than-expected economic growth.”

Bhimjiani added:

For real assets, higher borrowing costs will continue to sharpen investor discipline, with pricing and underwriting assumptions likely to remain conservative in the near term.

However, income resilience remains a defining theme. With inflation still tracking above the RBA’s target band, rental growth continues to provide a natural buffer, helping preserve real returns and supporting the appeal of well-leased assets relative to other investment classes.

The post ASX 200 slips as RBA boosts interest rates to 15-year highs appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 holds steady as investors brace for a big afternoon
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• ASX 200 rallies from June lows. Is the worst over?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday

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 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.

Dateline Resources Ltd (ASX: DTR) shares are rocketing higher again on Tuesday.

The Dateline share price is currently up 34.41% to 12.5 cents after climbing as high as 14 cents earlier in the session.

That follows Monday’s enormous 47.62% gain, when the gold and rare earths explorer jumped from 6.3 cents to 9.3 cents.

It’s been quite a turnaround after the stock traded near its 52-week low earlier this month.

In fact, anyone who invested $5,000 in Dateline shares just one week ago would already be sitting on a pretty impressive profit.

So, how much would that investment be worth today?

What would $5,000 be worth today?

Dateline shares finished last Tuesday 22 September at just 6.5 cents.

At that price, a $5,000 investment would have bought approximately 76,923 shares, excluding brokerage costs.

Fast forward one week and those shares are currently changing hands for 12.5 cents each.

That means the original $5,000 investment would now be worth approximately $9,615.

That’s a profit of around $4,615 in just one week, representing a return of roughly 92%.

And it could have been considerably more for anyone who managed to sell near today’s high.

At today’s intraday high, those shares would have been worth approximately $10,769.

That’s more than double the original investment in the space of a week.

So, what’s behind the incredible run?

Why are Dateline shares taking off?

The rally really picked up on Monday after Dateline provided another update on its Colosseum Gold and Rare Earths Project in California.

The Department of Justice has stepped in, asking the court to suspend the injunction that has stopped work at Colosseum.

The injunction has been in place since 10 August following legal action from environmental group, National Parks Conservation Association.

The US Government wants Dateline to be able to get back to work while the appeal continues.

It argues that keeping the project on hold is hurting US national security interests, particularly given Colosseum’s rare earth potential.

Where to from here?

After nearly doubling in a week, Dateline shares have certainly caught the market’s interest.

But there’s still a big hurdle ahead.

The court is scheduled to hear the applications to suspend the injunction on 26 October.

If successful, Dateline could get back to work at Colosseum while the appeal continues.

Until then, I’d expect plenty more movement in the Dateline share price as investors weigh up what could happen next.

The post Invested $5,000 in Dateline shares a week ago? Here’s how much you’d have now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Guess which ASX stock is rocketing 46% today

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.