On Tuesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) ended the day in the red. The benchmark index fell 0.3% to 8,816.9 points

Will the market be able to bounce back from this on Wednesday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 to rebound

The Australian share market is expected to rise on Wednesday following a mixed session on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 32 points or 0.35% higher. In the United States, the Dow Jones rose 1% and the S&P 500 climbed 0.3%, but the Nasdaq was down a fraction.

Oil prices fall

ASX 200 energy shares Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) could have a poor session after oil prices fell overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 2.5% to US$101.09 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is down 0.5% to US$108.97 a barrel. Traders were selling oil amid optimism over diplomatic progress in the Middle East.

Sigma update

Sigma Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SIG) shares will be on watch on Wednesday when the Chemist Warehouse owner releases a trading update at its annual general meeting. Bell Potter is expecting the company to reveal that it started the financial year strongly. It said: “We expect 1Q27 network LFL network sales growth in the range of 12-13%.”

Gold price falls

ASX 200 gold shares including Westgold Resources Ltd (ASX: WGX) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) could have a subdued session after the gold price fell overnight. According to CNBC, the gold futures price is down 0.45% to US$4,141.3 an ounce. Traders were selling gold in response to rate hike fears.

Buy Pro Medicus shares

Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX: PME) shares could be a top pick for Aussie investors according to Morgans. It has upgraded the health imaging technology company’s shares to a buy rating with a $230.00 price target. It said: “PME has announced a further seven-year, A$24m full stack cloud contract with Billings Clinic Logan Health, its third new community health system win in FY27 to date (A$72m TCV, A$10.3m new ARR). The FY27 wins are modest individually but consistent in size, term and scope, pointing to a repeatable mid-market playbook that broadens the pipeline beyond large Integrated Delivery Networks. Near-term focus shifts to RSNA in late November as the likely window for a larger deal, and to execution on a busy 1Q’CY27 go-live schedule underpinning FY28. We upgrade to a BUY (from Accumulate), with no change to our A$230 target price.”

The post 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Pro Medicus. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Pro Medicus. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Pro Medicus. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Share prices are always changing, so investors have an opportunity to find undervalued ASX shares. Expert analysts spend all day trying to find the best stock ideas.

When one analyst thinks a business is a buy, that’s interesting. When multiple experts think a stock is a buy, that could be a sign of a clear opportunity.

Of course, buy ratings don’t guarantee returns, but I think it’s very interesting to consider the ideas. Let’s look at two highly rated businesses.

Collins Foods Ltd (ASX: CKF)

Collins Foods is a large KFC franchisee business with operations across both Australia and Europe.

According to Commsec, there are currently seven analysts that rate the business as a buy.

FY26 was a solid performance by the company, with revenue growth of 8.6% to $1.6 billion and underlying net profit growth of 13% to $61.4 million.

The most recent update from the company was very promising and was revealed at the annual general meeting (AGM) at the start of September 2026.

In Australia, for the last four weeks (at the time of the AGM), total sales were up 5% with same-store sales (SSS) growth of 3.1%. The company said it has initiatives to further strengthen its core further, the Kwench (a drink) national rollout was happening for its launch before summer, the late-night trading rollout was close to completion and the breakfast trial started in September.

In Germany, the last four weeks saw total sales growth of 58.8%, amid a 0.1% SSS decline (compared to a 7.2% SSS decline for the first eight weeks of FY27). It benefited from the JJ acquisition from week five. The Bavarian acquisition is delivering higher average store sales than the existing portfolio. The ASX share said it’s working to lift performance now and in the longer term. It’ll remain disciplined with investments in new restaurants, and a return to SSS growth will help accelerate new-store growth.

In the Netherlands, total sales were up 4.9% over the last four weeks, with SSS up 3.1%, compared to a 7.8% SSS decline in the first eight weeks of FY27.

Overall, the company has clearly driven an improvement in performance, and the fact that it’s growing in both Australia and Europe is exciting for its growth runway to deliver returns. I think its global KFC outlet network can keep growing.

Netwealth Group Ltd (ASX: NWL)

The other ASX share I’ll mention is Netwealth, a financial technology services company that provides superannuation (including accumulation and retirement income products), investor-directed portfolio services, managed accounts, managed funds, SMSF administration and non-custodial administration and reporting services.

According to Commsec, there are currently 13 buy ratings on the business.

The Netwealth share price has fallen more than 35% in the past six months, so it’s significantly cheaper.

It recently reported its FY27 first-quarter update, which showed ongoing growth, though perhaps not as much as the market hoped.

Total funds under administration (FUA) increased by $3.4 billion to $139.2 billion, up 2.5% for the quarter and up 15.2% year-over-year.

It revealed that custodial inflows were $7.8 billion, while FUA net flows were $3.6 billion (excluding pension payments of $0.4 billion and two institutional client outflows totalling $0.6 billion) – broadly consistent with the prior quarter.

The ASX share said that funds under management (FUM) net inflows reached $2.4 billion, including managed account net flows of $2.2 billion. Total FUM rose 24% year-over-year to $36.6 billion.

Netwealth said there were 3,822 net new accounts and 21 financial intermediary relationships were added during the quarter.

Finally, the company noted the launch of individual HINs, Netwealth Private and the acquisition of Paradino.

The post 2 ASX shares highly recommended to buy: Experts appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 Netwealth Group. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Netwealth Group. 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.

Shares in Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) and Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) are both trading near their 12-month highs, but one is a clear standout for shareholder return performance over the past year.

Woolworths shares are up 55.8% on a 12-month basis, while Coles shares have risen just 4.5%.

So, is Coles poised to catch up over the next 12 months?

Broker has run the numbers on the ASX retailers

The Jarden analyst team examined the retailers and came to a conclusion as to which one of the major supermarket operators represents the best value from a shareholder perspective.

The broker has just finalised its 15^th fast-moving consumer goods survey, which points to 2% sector growth over the next six months, with Woolworths tipped to be the top performer again.

Jarden said themes over the past 12 months have remained consistent, with suppliers ceding terms to retailers, and shoppers increasingly seeking out promotions.

The broker said:

The results support stronger margins for COL and WOW, which could suggest some upside to FY27/28 forecasts for 10 basis points of expansion. We leave forecasts unchanged, with the view that WOW’s investment in below the line, momentum from Ooshies and customer offer reset opportunity leave it well placed to maintain momentum. Overall we believe retailers are extracting better terms and looking to put this into price. The question is whether this will flow through into margins? We would argue consensus assumes WOW can maintain stronger top-line, with neither COL or WOW banking margin.

Woolworths Chief Executive Officer Amanda Barwell said recently while announcing the company’s full year results that they had had a “pleasing” start to the year supported by the strong performance of the Disney Ooshies collectibles program.

She added:

Customers are expected to remain value-focused in the year ahead and we are committed to limiting the impact of rising costs through low and dependable prices. Wage growth is also expected to remain elevated by historical standards reflecting the current year’s annual wage increase of 4.75% in Australia and progressive changes to pay for our 18 and 19-year-old retail team members. These cost pressures challenge us to be even more efficient, leveraging technology to be more productive in order to reinvest back into the business for our customers.

Woolworths edges out its rival

Jarden has an overweight rating on Woolworths shares. Its price target is $42, which sits slightly above the current price of $41.74.

It has a neutral rating Coles shares. Its price target is $22.80, which sits below the current share price of $24.22.

Among other retailers, Jarden has overweight ratings on Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) and Metcash Ltd (ASX: MTS), and a buy rating on Sigma Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SIG).

The post Which ASX retailer is a better buy, Coles or Woolworths? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Buy, hold, sell: Sigma Healthcare, Collins Foods, IKO ETF shares
• Woolworths shares jump 9% to all-time high: Buy, sell, or hold?
• How much must I invest in Wesfarmers shares to earn $2,000 of passive income?
• 3 ASX shares I’d buy and hold for the next 10 years
• Guess which ASX 200 share was just hit with a broker downgrade

Motley Fool contributor Cameron England has positions in Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.