Category: Stock Market

Finally, a decent day of trading for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). After an indecisive few trading days, the ASX 200 is today upswinging with a vengeance, up 0.91% at the time of writing at around 7,060 points.

The post Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Thursday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why AMP, OFX, Rio Tinto, and Telstra shares are dropping
• Why Block, Lake, Mirvac, and QBE shares are racing higher
• Why has the Block share price exploded 9% on the ASX today?
• Here’s why the BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF (NDQ) is outperforming the ASX today
• Why is the Core Lithium share price rocketing 5% 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 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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) us having a very strong day on Thursday. In late trade, the benchmark index is up 1% to 7,061.2 points.

Four ASX shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here’s why they are dropping:

AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP)

The AMP share price is down 2% to $1.14. Investors have been selling this financial services company’s shares following the release of its half year results. Not even the promise of a $1.1 billion capital return has been able to boost its shares today. Investors appear to be focusing more on its underlying after tax profit of $117 million, which was down 24.5% on on the prior corresponding period.

OFX Group Ltd (ASX: OFX)

The OFX share price is down almost 6% to $2.61. This morning the foreign exchange company released its annual general meeting update. At the event, the company reaffirmed its guidance for FY 2023. However, judging by its share price performance, investors appear to have been hoping there would be an upgrade to its EBITDA guidance of $55 million to $60 million.

Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO)

The Rio Tinto share price is down 4% to $95.34. The catalyst for this has been the mining giant’s shares trading ex-dividend this morning for its upcoming dividend. Eligible shareholders can now look forward to being paid a fully franked $3.837 per share interim dividend in around six weeks on 22 September. This was the miner’s second largest interim dividend in its history.

Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)

The Telstra share price is down 1.5% to $3.95. This telco giant’s shares were having a good day this morning following the release of a strong full year result. However, they have faded as the day went on. This is despite its earnings coming in ahead of expectations in FY 2022. It’s possible that a rotation back into higher risk shares has reduced the appeal of Telstra today.

The post Why AMP, OFX, Rio Tinto, and Telstra shares are dropping appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Thursday
• Equity markets threaten to ‘melt up’ as Nasdaq enters bull market territory
• Everything you need to know about the latest Telstra dividend
• AMP share price slides as $1.1b pledged to investors
• Do any ASX lithium shares pay dividends?

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 Telstra Corporation Limited. 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 share price of Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN)’s takeover target Alliance Aviation Services Ltd (ASX: AQZ) is taking off after the charter operator posted its full-year earnings after the market closed on Wednesday.

After opening 1.5% lower at $3.31, the Alliance Aviation share price has rebounded to trade at $3.42 at the time of writing – representing a 1.79% gain.

Alliance Aviation share price lifts despite $7.1 million loss

• Underlying before tax profit of $45.3 million – an 11% drop on that of the prior corresponding period (pcp)
• Statutory loss before tax of $7.1 million
• Revenue came in at $367.5 million – a 19% increase
• Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of $91 million – a 1% improvement
• Underlying operating cash flow of $99.3 million – down 52%
• Declined to pay a dividend.

The ASX airline share posted a loss for the financial year 2022 despite recording higher revenue after being hit with additional costs and write-downs.

It incurred $14 million in E190 expansion related-costs in the second half, bringing the full year total to $39.1 million. It also incurred a non-cash $12.1 million write-down of its Fokker 50 fleet, a $400,000 inventory stocktake adjustment and $750,000 in fees relating to the Qantas takeover.

The company saw 4% more contract flight hours last financial year but 57% fewer charter flight hours. It also recorded a 612% jump in wet lease flight hours.

It noted an expected uplift in financial performance in the June quarter didn’t occur due to the ongoing impacts of COVID-19.

What else happened in FY22?

Of course, the major news from the airline in the financial year 2022 was the takeover bid posted by Qantas.

The national carrier’s offer to hand over one Qantas share for each Alliance Aviation share – implying an equity value of $764.5 million at the time – was recommended by the smaller airline’s board in May.

The Alliance Aviation share price surged 21% on the takeover news.

However, the acquisition must jump through many regulatory hoops before it can be implemented.

What did management say?

Alliance Aviation managing director Scott McMillan commented on the company’s earnings, saying:  

For Alliance to be able to service the capacity demands of all our clients in the 2023 financial year and beyond it was essential that the company continued to invest in growth during the second half of the year with the full knowledge that forecast activity growth would only commence from April 2022.

What’s next?

The company hasn’t provided any new guidance today. Though it did outline several steps it will take going forward.

The company noted it has recently experienced greater pilot turnover. In reaction, it will increase training and recruitment of pilots and provide non-monetary incentives to those staying with the airline.

It will also converge the Unity Aviation Maintenance operations into those of Alliance Airlines and retire its Fokker 50 fleet early in a bid to simplify the business.

It maintains a positive outlook amid continually strong wet lease demand. The company also expects that, by the end of January 2023, it will have deployed all 33 of its E190 aircraft.

Alliance Aviation share price snapshot

It’s been a rough year for the charter services provider’s stock.

The Alliance Aviation share price fell 13% over the six months ended 30 June. That was in line with the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO)’s performance.

It’s currently 15% lower than at the start of 2022, while the index is recording an 8% fall year-to-date.

The post Alliance Aviation share price lifts despite full-year loss appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why Alliance, Aurizon, MVP, and Suncorp shares are dropping today

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper 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 Alliance Aviation Services 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 Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) share price is climbing during afternoon trade on Wednesday.

This comes after the company announced an acquisition of a crucial gas pipeline to service the east coast domestic market.

At the time of writing, the energy producer’s shares are up 0.86% to $7.02 apiece.

Santos procures Hunter Gas Pipeline

Investors are pushing Santos shares into positive territory despite the S&P/ASX 200 Energy (ASX: XEJ) sector shedding 0.36% today.

According to its latest release, Santos advised it has acquired a critical component for delivering gas from Northern Australia.

The Hunter Gas Pipeline owns an approved underground pipeline route from Wallumbilla in Queensland to Newcastle in New South Wales.

As this pipeline passes close to Santos’ Narrabri Gas Project, management is seeking to team up with infrastructure developers to service the east coast domestic market.

Santos wants to construct the pipeline and connect it to the Wallumbilla Gas Supply Hub in the shortest timeframe possible.

The pipeline will also be designed to transport hydrogen as customer demand progresses during the energy transition.

Santos’ midstream and clean fuels president Brett Woods said:

At a time when the ACCC is forecasting domestic gas shortfalls, our Narrabri project, which is 100 per cent committed to the domestic market, will inject new supply into southern domestic markets and put downward pressure on gas prices for New South Wales businesses, manufacturers and families.

It will make more gas available to cover peak demand periods, especially in circumstances where gas power generators are called on unexpectedly to replace wind, solar and coal outages, as we have seen this winter.

Woods also went on to talk about the next stage of development, adding:

Acquiring the Hunter Gas Pipeline route is an important step for the Narrabri project, with appraisal drilling planned later this year, pending various native title and environmental management plan approvals.

Once fully operational, Narrabri has the potential to deliver more than half NSW’s gas demand, creating a more secure, local and affordable supply for businesses, manufacturers and families.

Santos share price snapshot

A choppy 12 months marred by volatile energy prices have led the Santos share price to register a 10% gain.

The company’s shares hit a 52-week high of $8.86 on 8 June before tumbling on the back of a gloomy economic outlook.

Listed as the second biggest energy player on the ASX, Santos commands a market capitalisation of roughly $23.59 billion.

The post Own Santos shares? Here’s what the company just announced appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• ASX 200 energy shares mixed amid bearish oil price outlook
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy 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.

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When it comes to ASX exchange-traded funds (ETFs), it can be argued that the BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF (ASX: ASIA) hasn’t been the best performer of late.

Sure, ASIA units have gained a healthy 1.33% so far today. But this tech-heavy ETF remains down a painful 27.3% or so over 2022 thus far. It’s also down by more than 34% over the past 12 months. And a whopping 51.3% off of the all-time high of over $14 a unit that we saw back in February 2021.

In stark contrast, the ASX’s most popular index fund, the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS) is only down by 9.62% over the past 12 months. The tech-heavy BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ), which is far more similar to ASIA, has lost 10.2% over the same period.

So what’s gone so wrong with the ASIA ETF?

So this fund is designed to be an Asia-based alternative to the US NASDAQ Index. According to its provider, ASIA comprises “the 50 largest technology and online retail stocks in Asia (ex-Japan)”.

Its largest weighting is towards China at almost 54% of the underlying portfolio. But other countries like Taiwan, South Korea, India and Hong Kong are also represented.

As one might expect, ASIA is dominated by Asian tech companies, These include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), Chinese e-commerce giants Alibaba, JD.com and Tencent, Samsung Electronics and Meituan.

Even though ASIA has 39 underlying holdings, the ETF’s portfolio is rather concentrated as well. Alibaba and TSMC make up more than 20% of ASIA’s total weighted holdings alone. Thrown in Samsung and Tencent and we’re at almost 40%.

So if we look at the performance of these top holdings, we can probably understand why ASIA has had such a tough time of late.

TSMC shares are down a painful 31% year to date so far, probably thanks to the geopolitical tensions across the Taiwan Straight.

Alibaba shares are also down by 21.4% over this year. Samsung shares have lost just over 24%. Tencent has given up a notable 34% of its value.

So with these moves in mind, it’s not hard to see why the BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF has had such a difficult time of late. No doubt investors will be hoping the tide turns soon.

The ASIA ETF charges a management fee of 0.67% per annum.

The post Why the BetaShares ASIA ETF is 50% below its former glory appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 3 ETFs for ASX investors to buy right now
• Why I think these ASX tech shares are buys in August
• 3 ETFs for smart ASX investors in August
• 3 popular ASX ETFs for investors to buy

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS, JD.com, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF and JD.com. 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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In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has followed the lead of US markets and stormed higher. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.9% to 7,056.9 points.

Four ASX shares that are climbing more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are racing higher:

Block Inc (ASX: SQ2)

The Block share price is up almost 9% to $126.67. This is despite there being no news out of the payments company today. However, it is worth noting that its shares were on fire in the US overnight after the tech sector launched higher following softer than expected inflation data. The S&P/ASX All Technology Index is up 2.2% today.

Lake Resources N.L. (ASX: LKE)

The Lake Resources share price has jumped 14% to $1.51. A number of lithium shares are racing higher today after the softer inflation data boosted investor sentiment, particularly in higher risk assets. In addition, with Lake currently one of the most shorted ASX shares, it appears that a short squeeze could be occurring this afternoon.

Mirvac Group (ASX: MGR)

The Mirvac share price is up 3.5% to $2.16. This morning the property company delivered a full year result ahead of guidance. Mirvac reported an 8% increase in operating profit after tax to $596 million. This allowed the company to lift its full year distribution by 3% to 10.2 cents per share.

QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE)

The QBE share price is up 3% to $12.53. Investors have been buying this insurance giant’s shares after its half year results release. Although QBE reported a sharp decline in its profits, investors appear to be focusing more on its strong gross written premium growth, which rose 13.78% over the prior corresponding period.

The post Why Block, Lake, Mirvac, and QBE shares are racing higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why are ASX 200 tech shares flying higher on Thursday?
• Why has the Block share price exploded 9% on the ASX today?
• QBE share price lifts despite $840 million income hit
• Why is the Lake Resources share price up so much more than other ASX lithium shares today?
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Wednesday

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 positions in and has recommended Block, Inc. 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.

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S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) tech shares have caught a bid on Thursday as risk sentiment shifts between various asset classes following US inflation data overnight.

Consumer prices for the month of July remained largely unchanged from the previous month, thanks to a wind back in gasoline prices.

Following the update, ASX shares have advanced today, prompting high growth and technology stocks to rally the most.

Both the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) and the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) are leading sectors in the session, with the latter today’s top gainer.

However, global inflation is still at multi-decade highs, and the US still recorded an 8.5% year on year gain in the consumer price index (CPI) for July.

Why the shift in tone from investors then?

Whilst the raw data is still concerning, it appears as if investors are optimistic about what the flat CPI print means for the future of risk-assets like stocks.

As Randy Frederick, VP of trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab said in a note from yesterday, “8.5% if still very high, but there is optimism that perhaps June was the peak”.

Perhaps more importantly, is what a reduction in headline inflation actually means for the real economy, and for us as investors.

If we just rewind for a second – central banks are the ones typically tasked with curbing inflation. One of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)’s core functions, for instance, is to maintain inflation within a level of 2–3%.

However, central banks also have no direct influence on productivity, output, or things like business efficiency for instance – all factors that impact price stability.

Instead, they use monetary policy, that is, setting key policy interest rates to influence the level of aggregate demand and supply within the economy.

Put simply, using Australia as an example, if inflation begins to rise beyond 2-3%, the RBA will lift its key interest rates.

This is called monetary tightening, and the interest rate in question is called the ‘cash rate’ in Australia.

This ideally results in a pullback to flows of credit and money, whilst also influencing the cost of capital investment. Beauty, inflation sorted! (although, and of course, it’s not so simple). Alas, the RBA has done this several times in the past with success.

As such, and in reality, these moves from central banks have reigned in soaring global inflation on numerous occasions over the past 100 years.

There does exist, a key tradeoff, however.

With each increase in base interest rates, the probability of the country entering into an economic recession increases as well.

That’s because, typically, in order to wind back surging producer and consumer prices, market forces must also be willing to accept this.

By lifting base interest rates, central banks also increase the cost of obtaining credit (business financing, overdrafts, etc.) and the cost of servicing existing debt, leaving less free cash flow available for discretionary purposes or business expansion, ultimately reducing the level of economic activity.

So with rising inflation also comes the prospect of rising interest rates that spell trouble for the real economy in terms of GDP and economic growth.

Therefore, investors see a potential cooling inflation as a signal that central banks may be less aggressive in their tightening regimes, thereby reducing the chance (or severity) of potential economic recession.

It might seem farfetched, but it is completely logical for sophisticated investors and money managers to position for ‘where the puck is going’, not where it came from. We don’t get paid from the past, or from what’s already happened, that’s for sure.

Mike Owens, trader at Saxo Markets, agreed in a note from yesterday. “The sign of slowing in the rate of inflation offers hope the Fed’s rate increases won’t need to go as far as previously thought,” he said.

This is what’s happened overnight, and the yields on US Treasury notes – often served as a proxy for risk sentiment – also receded.

As such, technology shares, whose valuations are sensitive to changes in Treasury yields, have advanced in today’s session as the US 10-year yield contracted sharply overnight.

The strength has continued into the Australian session and the result has been an uptick in ASX 200 tech shares.

The upside has been especially generous to beaten down tech names such as Block Inc (ASX: SQ2), Wisetech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) and Xero Limited (ASX: XRO), who’ve each secured a bid today.

As to how far this turnaround-tech-rally can last, only the market will decide, and it’s been anyone’s guess as to what direction it will head next this year.

The post Why are ASX 200 tech shares flying higher on Thursday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why has the Block share price exploded 9% on the ASX today?
• What’s going so wrong for ASX 200 tech shares on Wednesday?
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Why Block, CBA, Mesoblast, and NAB shares are dropping today
• ‘Capital light and scalable’: Expert picks 2 ASX shares to buy now while CHEAP

Motley Fool contributor Zach Bristow 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., WiseTech Global, and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Block, Inc., 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 price of lithium carbonate remains top-heavy in FY23 while various commodity baskets have either cooled off or pared their 2022 gains completely.

With the demand for electric vehicles (EVs) continuing to stretch higher, so too is the demand for battery metals such as lithium and its derivatives.

With that, these two ASX lithium shares have booked double-digit gains today following new discoveries.

Ragusa Minerals Ltd (ASX: RAS)

Ragusa advised today it has completed the initial desktop review of previous works conducted at its NT Lithium Project and compiled all results received to date.

A portion of these historical works identified numerous high-grade lithium samples. As such, the results have identified “numerous priority drill targets”, Ragusa says.

Chairman Jerko Zuvela said the discovery will help Ragusa “rapidly accelerate the development” of the project.

“We have a significant opportunity to utilise our exploration and development experience to … realise the massive upside value potential in a Tier 1 jurisdiction close to major infrastructure at a time of record lithium prices,” he added.

This ASX lithium share is up 50% today to 15 cents apiece.

Lithium Plus Minerals Ltd (ASX: LPM)

Lithium Plus Minerals also provided test results from its maiden Phase 1 diamond drilling program at the Lei Prospect, located at the Bynoe Project.

The company says it intersected a thick downhole interval of 43 metres of pegmatite from 191.9 metres. This extends previously discovered pegmatites at the location.

Core samples have been sent to the company’s logging facility in Darwin and will undergo more detailed logging and sampling.

The first drill hole is the first of a potential 9-hole 2-phase diamond drilling program at Lei, targeting 1,800 metres in depth.

Lithium Plus says the second Phase 1 diamond hole is currently underway.

Speaking on the results, the executive chairman, Dr Bin Guo, said the company is “pleased with the samples”.

“[O]ur maiden diamond hole at the Lei Prospect, which have visibly validated the historical spodumene-bearing pegmatite system at Depth, [now] provide us confidence that we may have a significant lithium discovery at Bynoe,” he added.

Lithium Plus shares are up 14% today. They have risen by 176% since listing in April of this year. The ASX lithium share now trades at 69 cents apiece.

The post Here are 2 ASX lithium shares surging on new discoveries appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Guess which ASX mining share is rocketing 55% on a new lithium find

Motley Fool contributor Zach Bristow 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 Province Resources Ltd (ASX: PRL) share price won’t be going anywhere on Thursday after the company requested its shares be placed in a trading halt.

The minerals producer’s stock has been one of the best performers on the market recently, rising 80% in the past month.

Currently, the share price is frozen at 14.5 cents apiece – roughly an eight-month high for the company.

Why are Province Resources shares halted?

Prior to the market opening today, management requested the Province Resources share price be halted while it prepares an announcement.

According to the release, Province Resources is finalising the terms of its Joint Development Agreement with Total Eren for the HyEnergy Project.

The company has requested that the trading halt remains in place until those terms are finalised.

Should no announcement come before next Monday, Province Resources shares will resume trading on the ASX.

More on the HyEnergy Project

Led by Province Resources, the HyEnergy Project is aiming to generate 550,000 tonnes annually of green hydrogen.

The renewable green hydrogen project is located in Western Australia’s Gascoyne Region.

Currently in the detailed planning stage, it is proposed the HyEnergy Project be built in two stages. This includes using a mix of wind turbines and a solar farm.

Province Resources share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the Province Resources share price has remained relatively flat despite surging in recent times. It is down 3.3% over the past year and up 3.6% so far in 2022.

Its shares hit a 52-week low of 5 cents in June before moving upstream in the following weeks.

Trading volumes have also largely increased as investor hype ramps up around the company’s prospects.

Based on valuation grounds, Province Resources commands a market capitalisation of roughly $171.14 million.

The post Up 80% in a month, why is the Province Resources share price on ice today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

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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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is having a pretty decent run so far this Thursday. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 is up a healthy 0.87%. But that’s nothing compared to the Block Inc (ASX: SQ2) share price.

Block shares are on fire today. This ASX 200 tech share is currently up a pleasing 8.89% at $126.93 share.

So, what’s going on with Block, the US fintech company that is the owner of Afterpay?

Well, let’s get one thing straight. This share price boost doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the company itself. Block, which was formerly known as Square, has not released any significant ASX announcements today. Or indeed since the company dropped its quarterly report back on 5 August.

But we are seeing similar moves among many other ASX 200 tech shares this Thursday.

Life360 Inc (ASX: 360) shares have risen more than 9% so far today. Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP) is up more than 5%, as is REA Group Limited (ASX: REA).

Why is the Block share price on fire today?

It’s more likely that Block’s stellar performance today comes down to the performance of its US-listed sister stock. See, Block’s ASX listing is actually a CDI (CHESS Depositary Interest).

This means it is essentially a vehicle that really represents an investment in an underlying company. In this case, that underlying company is Block’s primary US listing of Block Inc (NYSE: SQ).

One SQ2 share on the ASX is essentially one SQ share on the US markets, just priced in Australian dollars. Hence, these two investments usually trade in tandem, taking into account currency fluctuations, of course.

So, in last night’s trading, Block’s US-listed shares rose an impressive 9.54% to US$88.84 each.

Thus, it’s no coincidence that the ASX-listed Block shares are rising by a similar amount on our markets today. This is probably why we are seeing such a strong move with Block.

Even so, Block shares remain down more than 28% since they first listed on the ASX back in January.

At the current Block share price, this ASX 200 tech share has a market capitalisation of $64.41 billion.

The post Why has the Block share price exploded 9% on the ASX today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here’s why the BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF (NDQ) is outperforming the ASX today
• 3 rising ASX shares to buy that have passed the bottom: expert
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• 3 ASX All Ordinaries shares rocking new 52-week highs on Wednesday
• Does this signify more bad news for ASX BNPL shares like Zip?

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in Block, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Block, Inc., Life360, Inc., and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Block, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended REA Group Limited. 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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