Category: Stock Market

Although the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price has been trading sideways in recent months, that hasn’t stopped it from smashing the market in 2021.

Since the start of the year, the banking giant’s shares are up 29%. This is more than triple the return of the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

Could the Westpac share price hit $30.00 by Christmas?

The good news for investors is that one leading broker still sees a lot of upside in the Westpac share price.

A recent note out of Goldman Sachs reveals that its analysts have retained their buy rating and $29.83 price target on the bank’s shares.

Based on the current Westpac share price of $25.35, this implies potential upside of almost 18% for investors before dividends.

And with Goldman forecasting a 128 cents per share fully franked dividend in FY 2022, the total potential return on offer stretches close to 23%.

All in all, the team at Goldman Sachs appears to believe there is a possibility the Westpac share price could be trading near $30.00 at Christmas.

What did the broker say?

There are a number of reasons that Goldman is positive on the Westpac share price. This includes its belief that the company’s bold cost reduction plans pose upside risk to earnings estimates in the coming years.

Goldman explained: “We maintain our Buy rating given: i) the balance of risk to our earnings remains skewed to the upside, with our FY24E cost forecast about 10% above management’s FY24E target of A$8 bn (on a like-for-like basis), which, if achieved, would drive our FY24E cash earnings up by c. 7%; ii) volume momentum appears to have been reinvigorated, now tracking at 7.5% 3-month annualised as at Jun-21 (vs 0.2% 6 months ago), and iii) the stock is trading more than one standard deviation cheap versus the sector on PPOP multiples (15% discount vs. 1.5% long-run average discount), and our revised TP offers 22% TSR.”

The post Could the Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price hit $30 by Christmas? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• What these top brokers are saying about the Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Westpac’s $1.3bn earnings hit, Ansell sinks
• Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price edges lower following $1.3bn hit to earnings
• Why this top broker is bullish on the Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price
• How did ASX bank shares perform in the last quarter?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of Westpac Banking Corporation. 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 Bruce Jackson.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is having a pretty wild day of trading so far this Wednesday. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 is down at 7,275 points. However, the ASX 200 has been both up and down today, and by some swinging margins too. At least it’s not dull!

But let’s digress for a moment, and instead, check out the ASX 200 shares that are topping the trading volume charts so far this Wednesday. That’s according to investing.com.

The 3 heaviest traded ASX 200 shares this Wednesday so far

Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT)

ASX 200 oil driller Beach is our high volume share today. Beach has seen a sizeable 13.35 million of its shares trade on the markets so far this Wednesday. Like the ASX 200, Beach has had a volatile day.

It rose as high as $1.46 a share this morning (up 2%) before falling all the way down to $1.43, where it sits presently. There is not much in the way of news out from the company today, so this volatility is the likely culprit behind Beach’s high trading volume.

Scentre Group (ASX: SCG)

ASX 200 Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) Scentre is next up here. A hefty 13.75 million Scentre units have swapped hands so far on the ASX boards today.

Again, there are no major news or announcements we can point to for this volume, so it’s probable that the 1.51% rise Scentre units have enjoyed so far today, is behind this volume. Scentre is currently trading at $3.02 a unit.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

And last but certainly not least is a familiar face for this list, ASX 200 lithium producer Pilbara Minerals. Pilbara has seen a significant 28.45 million shares bought and sold so far this Wednesday. Pilbara has also had a wild and woolly day on the markets thus far.

This company opened at $1.99 per share this morning before spiking to $2.03 (up more than 3%) around lunchtime. Afterwards, Pilbara has been on the slide, and is currently sitting at $1.96, flat from where it closed yesterday. My Fool colleague Brooke looked at some recent developments with Pilbara this afternoon, but it seems that this volatility is once again behind the elevated trading volumes we are seeing today.

The post Here are the 3 heaviest traded ASX 200 shares this Wednesday so far appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Own ASX lithium shares? Here’s what the IMF is predicting for the sector
• Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) share price struggles despite plant restart milestone
• Here are the 3 heaviest traded ASX 200 shares on Tuesday so far
• Why is the Beach Energy (ASX:BPT) share price falling on Tuesday?
• ASX lithium shares lift as spot prices hit all-time highs

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 Bruce Jackson.

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The rise in popularity of the exchange-traded fund (ETF) as an investment vehicle on the ASX is not a new one. We have covered ASX investors’ seemingly insatiable appetite for ETFs many times here on the Fool.

But the age of the ETF might only be getting started, going off of the latest data.

According to ETF provider BetaShares, the ASX just had its best month ever in terms of ETF inflows. BetaShares’ latest Australian ETF Review covers the month of September, and it makes for some interesting reading for any ETF (or investing) enthusiast.

The report found that September ended up experiencing the highest monthly net inflows on record for the ETF industry, with the entire ETF sector swelling by an unprecedented $2.9 billion over the month just passed. There are now $125.3 billion in ETF funds under management on the ASX, another record high.

Incredibly, BetaShares reckons the ETF market in Australia has grown by a compounded average growth rate of 46% per annum between July 2001 and September 2021. The growth rate over the past 12 months to September alone was 76%.

September also saw $9 billion in trading activity alone, matching the previous highs seen in March 2020. If you remember, March 2020 saw the worst of the COVID crash that dominated investor sentiment last year.

Which ASX ETFs got the most love from investors?

The ETFs which experienced the highest fund inflows in September were:

1. BetaShares Australian High Interest Cash ETF (ASX: AAA) with $361.68 million in inflows
2. iShares Core S&P/ASX 200 ETF (ASX: IOZ) with $313.01 million
3. Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS) with $195.41 million

Meanwhile, the top-performing ETFs over September were:

1. ETFS Ultra Short Nasdaq 100 Hedge Fund (ASX: SNAS), up 14.1% over the month
2. BetaShares US Equities Strong Bear Hedge Fund (ASX: BBUS), up 11.4%
3. BetaShares Crude Oil Index ETF (ASX: OOO), up 9.8%

Interestingly, the top two performers were geared (leveraged) inverse ETFs, which are designed to rise in value when the broader markets fall. That makes sense since the US markets had a pretty dreadful month over September, as did the ASX 200. BetaShares characterised this trend as investors “buying the dip” using ETFs.

If the ETF sector keeps growing even when markets are falling, it certainly bodes well for its future.

The post ASX ETF sector continues to boom and hit record highs appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Cannon (ASX:CNR) share price rockets 39% on first drill results
• Star Entertainment (ASX:SGR) share price surges despite police probe
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: BOQ results, A2 Milk shares jump
• Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price on watch after broker downgrade
• 2 ASX shares that doubled our money in a month: expert

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 Bruce Jackson.

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The Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) share price is surging 15% higher today and currently trades at 48.5 cents apiece.

Shares in the lithium explorer have now rallied 21.5% in the past week, against a backdrop of strong commodity markets and recent project developments.

While there has been no market sensitive information for the company today, it’s worthwhile diving a little deeper to understand what’s behind the gains today.

Why is the Core Lithium share price climbing 14%?

News last month that the company made its final investment decision regarding the Finnis Lithium Project wasn’t enough to spike Core Lithium’s shares at the time.

The company expects the maiden production of lithium to commence by the end of 2022 and the project is fully funded after recent injections of capital.

Its shares traded sideways until the start of October when investors began bidding up their price again.

One factor that could be lighting a fire under the Core Lithium share price is the premium that lithium is fetching in the spot and futures markets.

Lithium shares have been hot contenders on the ASX this year with lithium prices soaring more than 300% in the last 12 months to now trade at A$34,882.35/tonne.

Lithium contracts popped again in August. At this time, the rate of change triggered another 100% jump in pricing to reach all time highs of A$37,630.66 just two days ago.

This was after an 8% jump over the weekend to roll into the start of trade on Monday.

Core Lithium’s exposure to the silvery-white metal means that its share price can and does fluctuate with volatility in the broader commodity markets.

That’s because it is a price taker that must accept the going rates for the markets it sells into. As much is true for all ASX resource companies that produce a commodity.

With this in mind, it makes sense as to what might be fuelling investors’ buying activity today.

And the strengths appear to be carried through the broader sector as well. The Battery Tech & Lithium ETF (ASX: ACDC) – a good proxy to gauge growth in the industry – is also climbing 1.2% higher so far today.

Core Lithium share price snapshot

The Core Lithium share price has soared this year to date, posting a gain of 234% since January 1.

This extends its gain over the past 12 months to 870%, a whole solar system away from the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)’s return of about 20% in that time.

The post Why is the Core Lithium (ASX:CXO) share price surging 15% today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Own ASX lithium shares? Here’s what the IMF is predicting for the sector
• ASX lithium shares lift as spot prices hit all-time highs
• Here’s why the Core Lithium (ASX:CXO) share price is lifting today
• Core Lithium (ASX:CXO) share price lifts amid bosses’ optimistic outlook
• ASX lithium shares are rallying across the board today. Here’s why.

The author Zach Bristow has no positions 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 Bruce Jackson.

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In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a small decline. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down slightly to 7,278.2 points.

Four ASX shares that are falling more than most are listed below. Here’s why they are dropping:

Bank of Queensland Limited (ASX: BOQ)

The Bank of Queensland share price is down 5% to $9.25. Investors have been selling the regional bank’s shares following the release of its full year results. Although the bank delivered an 83% increase in cash net profit after tax to $412 million, its outlook appears to have spooked investors. Management warned that it expects its net interest margin to decline by ~5 to 7bps in FY 2022. This is due to competition and the low interest rate environment.

Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG)

The Fortescue share price is down 5% to $14.07. This appears to have been caused by weakness in iron ore prices overnight. According to CommSec, the spot benchmark iron ore price tumbled US$8.45 or 6.2% to US$128.50 a tonne during overnight trade. Low grade iron ore prices also tumbled along with the benchmark price.

Liontown Resources Limited (ASX: LTR)

The Liontown Resources share price is down 3.5% to $1.40. This may have been driven by profit taking from some investors. After all, prior to today, the lithium developer’s shares were up a massive ~250% since the start of the year. Earlier this week Liontown spun off its gold operations via an IPO.

Pact Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: PGH)

The Pact share price has sunk 11% to $3.05. This morning the packaging company released a trading update which revealed that it has had a mixed start to the year. While some sides of the business are performing well, the Contract Manufacturing (CM) segment is underperforming. In light of the latter, the company has decided against selling the CM business as it doesn’t believe it will get a fair price in the current environment.

The post Why Bank of Queensland, Fortescue, Liontown, & Pact shares are dropping appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• The Minerals 260 (ASX:MI6) share price has lost 28% since yesterday’s open
• Here’s why ASX hydrogen shares are leaping higher today
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: BOQ results, A2 Milk shares jump
• Why the Pact Group (ASX:PGH) share price is sinking 15% today
• Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) share price tumbles 4% on FY 2021 results

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 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 Bruce Jackson.

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The Minerals 260 Ltd (ASX: MI6) share price has been losing momentum the minute it debuted on the ASX.

The new company is a spin-off of Liontown Resources Limited (ASX: LTR) and its non-core lithium assets.

Minerals 260 had a successful oversubscribed initial public offering (IPO), raising $30 million at a listing price of 50 cents per share.

It made its way to the ASX at 1:00 pm on Tuesday, opening as high as 74.5 cents.

Traders might have used its strong open as an opportunity to offload shares. After all, who wouldn’t want to lock in a 50% gain?

The Minerals 260 share price closed at 60 cents on Tuesday, a 20% return for those who managed to participate in the IPO but a 20% decline from its opening price.

Its share price has continued to crater on Wednesday, sliding 13.33% at the time of writing to 52 cents.

Why the Minerals 260 share price is plunging

It’s not uncommon for IPOs to fizzle out after listing, especially if there’s a lot of hype surrounding the company.

Take Zoom2u Technologies Ltd (ASX: Z2U) for example. The delivery Software as a Service (SaaS) company closed at 43 cents on its first day of listing after an IPO offer price of just 20 cents.

It would continue to rally for the next 5 trading days, reaching highs of 83.5 cents.

Just two weeks after its all-time high, the Zoom2u share price almost halved, trading at around 45 cents.

A similar narrative has applied to a number of recent IPOs including high profile listings such as Li-S Energy Ltd (ASX: LIS), Global Lithium Resources Ltd (ASX: GL1) and Airtasker Ltd (ASX: ART).

Some of these listings have managed to climb and surpass prior highs, while others have continued to trade sideways for quite some time.

Fortunately for the Minerals 260 share price, it’s currently trading just above its listing price.

The post The Minerals 260 (ASX:MI6) share price has lost 28% since yesterday’s open appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Minerals 260 (ASX:MI6) share price leaps 36% following IPO
• ASX lithium shares lift as spot prices hit all-time highs
• Minerals 260 (ASX:MI6) shares set to hit ASX boards today
• Liontown (ASX:LTR) share price lifts ahead of Minerals 260’s IPO
• How did ASX lithium shares perform in the FY22 first quarter?

Motley Fool contributor Kerry Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Airtasker Limited. 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 Bruce Jackson.

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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is predicting lithium prices will be in for a good run over the coming decades, and ASX shares might bask in the benefits.

As The Motley Fool Australia reported yesterday, the price of lithium is already near all-time highs. But, according to the international financial institution, it’s likely about to go higher.

The IMF has released its predictions for the future of 4 metals critical to renewable technology; copper, nickel, cobalt, and lithium. It notes demand for lithium and cobalt will likely lead the pack.

That’s good news for Australia and Australian lithium shares. Australia produces most of the globe’s lithium and houses many of its reserves.

On the back of the report, some market watchers might want to keep an eye on the big players in the ASX lithium sector. Such giants include Orocobre Limited (ASX: ORE) and Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS).

Additionally, smaller lithium producers such as Piedmont Lithium Inc (ASX: PLL) and Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) might be in for a productive few decades.

Is the future green for ASX lithium shares?

The future looks bright for ASX lithium shares, according to the IMF’s World Economic Outlook.

The report predicts that, if the world follows the IEA’s Net Zero by 2050 emissions scenario, demand for lithium and cobalt will soar. The IMF’s report states:

In the IEA’s Net Zero by 2050 emissions scenario, total consumption of lithium and cobalt rises by a factor of more than six, driven by clean energy demand…

Prices [of critical metals] would reach historical peaks for an unprecedented, sustained period under the Net Zero by 2050 emissions scenario. The prices of cobalt, lithium, and nickel would rise several hundred percent from 2020 levels.

In fact, the IMF estimates that, under the 2050 scenario, the cumulated real revenue from the global production of lithium would rise from US$18 billion in 2021 to US$1,170 billion in 2040. If the body’s predictions come true, it will be brilliant news for ASX lithium shares.

Currently, most of the world’s lithium is produced in Australia, while only Chile’s reserves outstrip those of Australia.

Further, it takes less time to get a lithium project up and running than those of other metals. That means lithium can react faster to the market’s shifting demands.

However, the IMF predicts critical metal prices will peak in the 2030s as renewable technology is implemented. Demand for critical metals is expected to wane after such infrastructure is built.

Additionally, the IMF warned surging prices of critical metals could hamper the global shift to net zero. It stated in its report:

A credible, globally coordinated climate policy; high environmental, social, labour, and governance standards; and reduced trade barriers and export restrictions would allow markets to operate efficiently, directing investment to sufficiently expand metal supply— thus avoiding unnecessarily increasing the cost of low-carbon technologies and supporting the clean energy transition.

The post Own ASX lithium shares? Here’s what the IMF is predicting for the sector appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) share price struggles despite plant restart milestone
• Here are the 3 heaviest traded ASX 200 shares on Tuesday so far
• Why Alumina, Aurelia Metals, Netwealth, & Piedmont Lithium are storming higher
• ASX lithium shares lift as spot prices hit all-time highs
• Could the Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) share price hit $2.80 by the end of 2021?

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 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 Bruce Jackson.

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The Cannon Resources Ltd (ASX: CNR) share price is racing to incredible highs following the company’s first drill results.

During morning trade, Cannon shares rose to an all-time high of 45 cents before being driven lower by profit takers. At the time of writing, its shares are now up 39.29% to 39 cents.

What were the results?

In today’s update, Cannon advised it has received assay results from its drilling campaign at the Fisher East Nickel Project in Western Australia.

The first 3 diamond drill holes have highlighted significant zones of high-grade nickel sulphides at the Musket prospect. They included the following:

• 14.94 metres at 1.90% nickel from a depth of 366.15 metres in hole MFED083
• 4.94 metres at 1.79% nickel from a depth of 559.77 metres in hole MFED084
• 5.81 metres at 2.29% nickel from a depth of 584.35 metres in hole MFED088

Cannon stated that the drilling intercepted substantial thicknesses of mineralisation on the northern margin of the main channel (MFED083). This extended the mineralisation to roughly 100 metres below the existing Musket resource.

The drilling program successfully identified mineralisation trends and is expected to lead to future follow-up drilling.

Cannon CEO Steve Lynn commented:

The diamond drilling results and DHEM modelling are an excellent and significant development at Musket and highlight our ability to predict mineralisation trends and grow the orebody.

The assay results show that the mineralisation continues down-plunge at better than the average grade of the existing resource. The system is totally unconstrained at depth and laterally within the northern mineralisation trend. This current round of drilling confirms that significant resource growth can be expected with well targeted future drilling.

Cannon commenced a diamond drilling campaign at the Camelwood, Musket and Sabre prospects in August 2021. While drill results have been collected for Musket, assays are still pending for Camelwood and Sabre.

Down-hole electromagnetics surveys are currently underway on existing holes. It is anticipated that these will be completed over the next 10 to 15 days.

About the Cannon share price

Since listing on the ASX in August, Cannon shares have gained almost 90% for the period, reflecting positive investor sentiment.

Cannon presides a market capitalisation of about $25 million and has approximately 66.4 million shares on its books.

The post Cannon (ASX:CNR) share price rockets 39% on first drill results appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Star Entertainment (ASX:SGR) share price surges despite police probe
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: BOQ results, A2 Milk shares jump
• Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price on watch after broker downgrade
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• 2 ASX shares delivering rapid growth

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 Bruce Jackson.

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S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gold shares haven’t been having the best of years so far.

A number of factors have been at play impacting the share prices of each individual gold producer. But the slumping gold price, as you’d expect, has been a major tailwind across all ASX 200 gold shares.

What’s been going on with gold?

The yellow metal hit an all time high of US$2,035 per troy ounce back on 7 August 2020. While some analysts were calling for gold to keep marching higher, it went the other way.

Gold began 2021 trading at US$1,899 per ounce. By 29 September it had slid down to US$1,726 per ounce, a loss of 9.2% for the year and down 15.2% from the record high.

Since then, gold’s been trending slightly higher, currently worth US$1,761 per ounce. But that hasn’t been enough to lift the top ASX 200 gold shares back into the green in 2021.

How have these ASX 200 gold shares been performing?

To give you some idea of the impact of the sluggish gold price, we’ll look at the price moves of 3 leading ASX 200 gold shares.

Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) kicked off 2021 trading for $27.01 per share. Today the Newcrest share price is $24.28, down 10.1% year-to-date. In line with the rising gold price in recent days, Newcrest’s shares are up 4.3% over the past 5 days.

Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) opened the calendar year trading for $5.30 per share. The Evolution share price has since fallen 28.9%, currently trading for $3.75. As we saw with Newcrest, Evolution’s shares have gained 1.4% over the last 5 days.

Rounding out our list of ASX 200 gold shares is Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST). The Northern Star share price opened on 4 January at $13.29 per share. At time of writing Northern Star shares are worth $9.40, down 29.3% year-to-date. Northern Star is also in the green over the past 5 days, up 2.2%.

Which brings us to…

Could renewed inflation fears rekindle these ASX 200 gold shares?

Gold is often viewed as a hedge against inflation. Meaning that investors tend to see it as a stable asset to own when fiat currencies are losing value each year.

Although the correlation isn’t perfect, bullion prices tend to rise when inflation spikes. And a growing number of economists are speculating that the inflation the world is witnessing, particularly for energy and many essential metals (not to mention housing), could be longer lasting than first hoped.

That’s seen central banks from Europe to the United States and even Japan, mulling potential rate hikes sooner than planned.

As the Australian Financial Review reports, “the Bank of England [is] setting the stage to be the first major central bank to hike rates since the pandemic hit”. The article notes that:

Futures markets are betting the Bank of England will lift interest rates from 0.1 per cent on November 4 to 0.25 per cent, following South Korea, Norway and New Zealand. They are pricing in a 90 per cent chance of a 15 basis points rate hike by the BoE before the end of the year, and two more increases next year.

Inflation concerns and potential rate rises haven’t yet had a major impact on the gold price or ASX 200 gold shares. But they have seen US 10-year Treasuries reach a 4-month high of 1.62%. The Aussie government 10-year bond yields have ramped up to 1.77%.

Inflation is even impacting Japan, a nation which has long battled deflationary forces.

Bloomberg notes that, “Japan’s consumer prices stopped falling in August for the first time in 13 months, ending the country’s longest deflationary stretch since 2011.”

According to Katsutoshi Inadome, a strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities:

Japan’s breakeven is unlikely to fall immediately as it typically tracks the US breakeven inflation rate which is also on the rise. US inflation worries are lingering with the rise in commodities prices and supply constraints.

As for gold?

Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank said:

Gold remains stuck in neutral as attempts to catch a bid on the back of surging energy prices have so far failed. A bigger-than-expected CPI print could be the trigger needed to send it through resistance.

The consumer price index (CPI) print Hansen refers to relates to US inflation. That data will be out today (overnight Aussie time).

If inflation appears to be running hotter than forecast, gold prices could benefit. And that should come as good news for ASX 200 gold shares.

The post Could renewed inflation fears rekindle these ASX 200 gold shares? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 ASX shares rated as strong buys by brokers
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Newcrest (ASX:NCM) share price lifts as upcoming projects valued at $3.2b
• 3 reasons this broker thinks the Newcrest (ASX:NCM) share price is a buy
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday

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 Bruce Jackson.

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Yesterday I looked at three ASX shares brokers have given buy ratings to this week.

Unfortunately, not all shares are in favour with them right now. Three that have just been given sell ratings are listed below. Here’s why these brokers are bearish on these ASX shares:

Ansell Limited (ASX: ANN)

According to a note out of Macquarie, its analysts have downgraded this health and safety solutions company’s shares to an underperform rating with a $32.00 price target. The broker made the move on the belief that demand for PPE is softening. Unlike in FY 2021 when demand was very strong, Macquarie feels this will make it hard to lift prices to offset increasing costs. As a result, its analysts suspect that Ansell could fall short of the market’s earnings estimates in FY 2022. The Ansell share price is trading at $32.26 today.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)

A note out of Morgan Stanley reveals that its analysts have retained their underweight rating and $90.00 price target on this banking giant’s shares. The broker notes that CBA’s total loan book has significant exposure to the housing market. In light of this, it has concerns that recent changes by APRA could lead to lower housing loan approvals and hit the bank’s revenue and earnings. The CBA share price is fetching $103.34 today.

Platinum Asset Management Ltd (ASX: PTM)

Analysts at Credit Suisse have retained their underperform rating and cut the price target on this fund manager’s shares to $3.20. This follows the release of Platinum’s latest funds under management update which revealed another sizeable outflow. Unfortunately, Credit Suisse believes this trend could continue for some time. It fears this could weigh on its earnings in the near term. The Platinum share price is trading at $3.27 on Wednesday afternoon.

The post Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 Ansell Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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