Are you looking for growth options for 2023? If you are, you may want to look at the two ASX growth shares listed below.

Here’s why analysts are saying that these are growth shares to buy right now:

Altium Limited (ASX: ALU)

The first ASX growth share to look at is this printed circuit board (PCB) focused electronic design software provider.

Altium appears well-positioned for long term growth thanks to its industry-leading platform and a number of tailwinds which are underpinning ever-increasing demand for electronic design software.

These tailwinds include the rapidly growing artificial intelligence and internet of things markets, which are leading to a proliferation of electronic devices of all shapes and sizes globally.

One broker that believes the Altium share price is good value at the current level is Jefferies. Its analysts currently have a buy rating and $42.32 price target on its shares.

Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW)

Another ASX growth share that could be in the buy zone is Temple & Webster. It is a leading online furniture and homewares retailer.

Temple & Webster has been tipped to grow strongly over the long term thanks to its strong position in a retail category that is still in the early stages of shifting online.

Goldman Sachs highlights that the category in Australia remains under-penetrated online relative to other markets with 16.5% of sales made online versus 28% in the UK and 25% in the United States.

Another positive is that this side of the retail market has higher barriers to entry, which bodes well for Temple & Webster’s future as more and more sales move online.

In light of this, it is forecasting strong sales growth over the next few years and has put a buy rating and $7.50 price target on its shares.

The post 2 explosive ASX growth shares to buy for 2023: analysts appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Stock market millionaire: I’d put $500 a month into the ASX 200 to aim for 7 figures
• These are the explosive ASX growth shares to buy for 2023 according to experts
• ‘Strong buy’: Experts name 2 ASX shares enjoying a post-COVID resurgence
• I’d aim for $1 million, buying just 10 cheap ASX shares
• With $5,000 to invest, I’d aim to make a 1,000% return from ASX shares

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Altium. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Altium and Temple & Webster Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Temple & Webster Group. 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 Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) share price hasn’t been doing too much ‘popping’ of late. Wesfarmers stock remains one of the worst-performing blue-chip shares in 2022 thus far.

The retail and industrial conglomerate is down more than 20% year to date, including today’s 1.1% drop to $47.66 a share.

This sustained fall in the value of the Wesfarmers share price over the past 12 months or so is a rather unusual occurrence in the company’s long history as an ASX share, as you can see below:

This company has historically been a top ASX blue-chip performer, and bounced back relatively quickly during the COVID crash of 2020, climbing back to its February 2020 highs by July of that year.

So by now, the value investors out there might be paying attention. Could this drop we have seen in 2022 be a buying opportunity for Wesfarmers shares? Is this company primed for a big pop next year?

Is Wesfarmers stock about to pop?

Well, at least one broker thinks so. As we covered earlier this week, ASX broker Morgans reckons Wesfarmers shares are primed for a popping. Morgans currently rates Wesfarmers as an add, with a 12-month share price target of $55.60.

If that were to be realised over the next year, it would represent an upside of 16.8% from where the shares are today. That would indeed be quite a popping, if Morgans is on the money.

The broker reckons Wesfarmers represents good value today thanks to its top-notch portfolio of Australian retailers.

Here’s some more of what Morgans had to say about its optimistic share price target:

WES possesses one of the highest quality retail portfolios in Australia with strong brands including Bunnings, Kmart and Officeworks. The company is run by a highly regarded management team and the balance sheet is healthy.

We believe WES’s businesses, which have a strong focus on value, remain well-placed for growth despite softening macro-economic conditions.

Morgans is also expecting Wesfarmers to keep its dividends rising over the coming years too. It is expecting a total of $1.82 per share in fully-franked dividends in FY 2023, rising to $1.89 per share in FY 2024.

So Morgans clearly thinks Wesfarmers shares are a bargain buy right now. But only time will tell if the broker’s assessment proves to be accurate.

In the meantime, the current Wesfarmers share price gives this ASX 200 blue-chip share a market capitalisation of $54.67 billion, with a dividend yield of 3.78%.

The post Should you buy Wesfarmers stock before it pops? 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
• I’m 45 and have no investments. Could I still use the Warren Buffett method to build enough wealth for retirement?
• Forget the Santa Rally: Why January could be big for ASX 200 shares
• Why is the Core Lithium share price cratering 8% today?
• Can you time the stock market with ASX value investing?

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in Wesfarmers. 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 Wesfarmers. 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 ASX share market includes businesses from a wide array of different sectors, which have differing levels of exposure to weakness in the economy.

The rapid increase of interest rates and the high rate of inflation has led to increasing uncertainty, and a higher risk to the economy.

While a downturn wouldn’t be the end of the world, it could cause profit pain to some businesses.

It’s impossible to know which ASX shares would suffer the most, but some ASX shares may be able to provide stability if there is a recession.

Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW)

We all need to eat food, so a supermarket business could be an effective investment to protect against the risk of a downturn.

The ASX share has also just announced it’s buying the majority of the parent business of PETstock, which could provide defensive earnings as well – pets are usually an important part of the family that need food and other items. Management believes this business can deliver attractive growth in the coming years.

Woolworths is slowly adding to its network of stores in Australia, increasing its ability to generate earnings and achieve organic growth.

The Woolworths share price has dropped 13% since mid-August, so it looks better value.

Bapcor Ltd (ASX: BAP)

Bapcor is one of the leading auto part businesses in the Asia Pacific region. It owns a number of brands including Burson, Autobarn, Autopro, Midas, ABS and a number of speciality wholesalers focused on different parts of the market including large trucks, small trucks, electrical parts and so on.

In a recession, I think it’s logical to expect that new car sales would reduce. Instead, I think that people would try to make their current car last longer – if a car part breaks, it would make financial sense just to replace the part. A recession could lead to more demand for some areas of Bapcor’s business.

I think the Asian expansion of the business is promising. It is slowly building a Burson network in Thailand, which has a large population for Bapcor to tap into.

It wasn’t long ago that Bapcor acquired 25% of Tye Soon, an Asian-listed auto parts business that has a presence in a number of south-east Asian businesses. This provides extra Asian diversification for the ASX share.

As a bonus, Bapcor has grown its dividend every year since it first started paying one several years ago.

Centuria Industrial REIT (ASX: CIP)

Higher interest rates have had an impact on some asset prices, but demand for quality industrial buildings remains strong. Once the rental contract is signed, the tenant has to keep paying, even if there is a downturn.

This real estate investment trust (REIT) is the largest ASX-listed, Australian-based pure play on industrial property. It recently announced that the rental growth is substantially offsetting the impact of higher interest rates.

It also announced the sale of stakes in some of its properties, which is being used to reduce its level of gearing (debt). As a bonus, the ASX share is expecting to pay a distribution of 16 cents per unit in FY23, which translates into a forward distribution yield of around 5%.

The post 3 ASX shares to buy for a possible recession next year appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Woolworths share price pushes higher on $600m acquisition
• Brokers say these ASX 200 shares are buys for income investors
• Bell Potter says these are some of the best ASX shares to buy for 2023
• Why is the Endeavour share price sinking today?
• Woolworths share price higher on Endeavour selldown: What’s going on?

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 Bapcor. 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) traded in the red on Thursday. The Index closed 0.64% lower at 7,204.8 points.

It followed a similar fall on Wall Street after the US Federal Reserve hiked the nation’s interest rates by 0.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) fell 0.4% on the back of the hike while the S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX) slipped 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) dropped 0.8%.

Interestingly, however, it was miners that dragged on the Aussie bourse today. The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) dropped 1.3% as lithium shares weighed heavily.

Retailers also suffered on Thursday, dragging the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) 1.2% lower.

Meanwhile, S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) stocks led the market. The sector lifted 0.7%.

At the end of Thursday’s session, two of the ASX 200’s 11 sectors were in the green. But which stock took out today’s top-performing trophy? Keep reading to find out.

Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown

Consumer staples stock Blackmores Ltd (ASX: BKL) led the index on Thursday, gaining 7.5% despite the company’s silence.

Today’s biggest gains were made by these shares:

Our top 10 shares countdown is a recurring end-of-day summary to let you know which companies were making big moves on the day. Check in at Fool.com.au after the weekday market closes to see which stocks make the countdown.

The post Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Why Cettire, Endeavour, Global Lithium, and Whitehaven Coal are charging higher
• Here are the old and new energy ASX 200 shares that investors were buying last month
• 2 undervalued ASX 300 shares to be ‘bullish’ about: fund manager
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Wednesday
• Why Bendigo Bank, Endeavour, TPG, and Zip 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 Blackmores and Elders. 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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It’s been a pretty disappointing day for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) so far this Thursday. After recording a few gains in a row, the ASX 200 is retreating today. 

At the time of writing, the index has slipped by a nasty 0.6%, putting the ASX 200 down to just under 7,210 points thus far.  

But let’s not dwell on all that for too long this close to the weekend. So instead, it’s time to check out the shares now topping the ASX 200’s share trading volume charts, according to investing.com.

The 3 most traded ASX 200 shares by volume this Thursday

Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS)

First up this Thursday is the ASX 200 telco Telstra. This session has had a notable 18.4 million Telstra shares called in for trade at this point of the day. This volume could be a result of the market-trailing performance this blue-chip share has served up to investors today 

As we covered earlier, Telstra shares have been performing even worse than the ASX 200 this Thursday. This could be a result of some less-than-impressive market share data that has just come out.

Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO)

Our next share to take a glance at is ASX 200 lithium producer Core Lithium. So far today, a chunky 46.84 million Core shares have been dug up and sold on the share market. This is almost certainly a result of the rather horrible share price performance we have seen afflicting Core this session.

At present, Core shares are down by a nasty 8.84% to $1.06 each. As my Fool colleague Bernd went into this afternoon, lithium shares are getting whacked from multiple sides today.

It’s likely that investors are hitting the panic button over rising US interest rates and uncertain demand for lithium.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

Our third ASX 200 share this Thursday is another lithium stock in Pilbara Minerals. The ASX has seen a whopping 64.8 Pilbara shares exchanged at the time of writing. This, sadly, looks like another result of a massive share price fall.

But if you thought it was tough for Core Lithium investors today, spare a thought for those with Pilbara Minerals shares. This leading lithium producer has seen its share price decimated today, with Pilbara down a rather dire 11.43% to $4.03 a share.

It was worse earlier this afternoon too, when Pilbara touched $3.88 a share, a fall of almost 15%. With this amount of selling pressure, it’s no wonder so many Pilbara shares have been flying around.

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

• I’m 45 and have no investments. Could I still use the Warren Buffett method to build enough wealth for retirement?
• Why is the Telstra share price lagging the ASX 200 today?
• Forget the Santa Rally: Why January could be big for ASX 200 shares
• Why is the Core Lithium share price cratering 8% today?
• Can you time the stock market with ASX value investing?

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in Telstra Group. 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 Group. 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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Billionaire Warren Buffett is often touted as the world’s best value investor. But the investing great denies being a stock picker. Instead, he is a self-described business picker – he buys shares in businesses he believes will succeed and, like any other business owner, he holds on for the long haul. Thus, if you’re in your mid-forties without any investments up your sleeve, you can use Buffett’s wisdom when building retirement wealth.

What’s the magic secret behind much of Buffett’s wealth? It is, of course, compounding.

Warren Buffett’s (not so) secret: Compounding

Any investor has the potential to take advantage of compounding – even with no investments at age 45.

Buffett buys shares in companies he truly believes will perform well and invest in growth. That is, as long as they’re trading for a decent price.

Measures such as a company’s price-to-earnings (P/E) or price-to-book (P/B) ratios can come in handy when assessing if a share is trading below its intrinsic value.

After finding such shares, he holds onto his investments and lets compounding do its thing.

Building a diverse portfolio of ASX shares likely to post consistent returns is, in my opinion, one of the best and perhaps safest ways to capitalise on compounding.

Now, how quickly one can build their portfolio will be a major factor in the kind of growth they achieve.

What would it take to compound retirement wealth?

Say, if I were 45 and starting my investing journey from scratch, I would be aiming to build a $545,000 retirement nest egg. That’s the amount the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia estimates a single person needs to retire comfortably.

Let’s also assume I could build a portfolio capable of posting the average annual return of the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) over the 10 years to 2021 – 9.3%.

If I invested just $700 a month, I could surpass my wealth goal by the time I reached the Australian retirement age by investing like Buffett. That’s under $200 a week!

Importantly, however, past performance is no indication of future performance, and no investment is guaranteed to provide returns or downside protection.

And what if one could outperform the market or invest more than our figurative amount each month? Well, that might help to speed up the process, potentially even allowing one to retire early.

Still, a 45-year-old with retirement in mind would be wise to consider other factors, such as their personal budget and inflation when considering an investment plan.

The post I’m 45 and have no investments. Could I still use the Warren Buffett method to build enough wealth for retirement? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Forget the Santa Rally: Why January could be big for ASX 200 shares
• Why is the Core Lithium share price cratering 8% today?
• Can you time the stock market with ASX value investing?
• Is Qantas stock a cheap ASX 200 buy right now?
• ASX 200 shares slump amid Fed 5% fears

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 Scott Phillips.

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We don’t know when the next recession will be. Nor does anyone. Even economists have a mighty hard time predicting what the economy will do next year, or even next month. But what we do know is that there will be another recession at some point. Booms and busts are an inevitable part of our capitalist system.

We also know that periods of rising interest rates often come before a recession. That’s what happened in the global financial crisis of 2007-2008. And in the early-2000s recession before that.

Australia technically escaped these recessions, but the world didn’t. And the Australian economy was far from healthy during these periods, escaping the official definition of two quarters of negative GDP growth in 2008 by a whisker.

But we digress. Interest rates have indeed been rising in 2022, and by one of the fastest trajectories in modern times. Here in Australia, our official cash rate was just 0.1% at the start of the year. Today, following the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)’s recent December hike, it’s now at 3.1%.

So if these hikes do lead to a recession in 2023, what are ASX investors to do? Sell out of everything, move to cash and wait for the good times to return? Perhaps we should start selling now, just in case?

That would be a big, wealth-destroying mistake in my view. I’ll be following the advice of the legendary investor Warren Buffett instead.

Some Buffett wisdom for a recession

Perhaps Buffett’s most famous quote is, “be greedy when others are fearful and be fearful when others are greedy”. It’s another way of saying ‘buy low, sell high’, which is the timeless advice everyone knows when it comes to the share market.

But this quote from Buffett’s 2009 letter to shareholders of his company Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE: BRK.A)(NYSE: BRK.B) was written in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. It directly addresses investing in recessions and is some of the best advice he has given on the topic:

Big opportunities come infrequently. When it’s raining gold, reach for a bucket, not a thimble…

We’ve put a lot of money to work during the chaos of the last two years. It’s been an ideal period for investors: A climate of fear is their best friend. Those who invest only when commentators are upbeat end up paying a heavy price for meaningless reassurance. 

In the end, what counts in investing is what you pay for a business – through the purchase of a small piece of it in the stock market – and what that business earns in the succeeding decade or two.

So here is Buffett calling a recession “an ideal period for investors”. That’s the attitude I’ll be taking into the next recession we have.

Here’s a clip of Buffett, courtesy of CNBC, discussing this principle further:

When a recession hits (or is about to hit), investors are often overcome by fear of losing money. As such, many have a tendency to throw the baby out with the bath water and sell out of everything. Thus, most share prices, not just those businesses likely to be hardest hit in a recession, can fall dramatically.

One of Buffett’s biggest investments is in Coca-Cola Co (NYSE: KO) shares.

Do people stop drinking Coke in a recession? No.

And yet, in the global financial crisis, the Coca-Cola stock price fell by more than a third. It did so again during the COVID crash of 2020.

Yet today, Coca-Cola shares aren’t too far from an all-time high. It would have been a bargain in hindsight to load up on this company at either of these periods.

So try and remember Buffett’s wisdom if there is a recession next year. If you are greedy when others are fearful and put out the bucket while it’s raining gold, it may well be the best thing that’s ever happened to your share portfolio.

The post A recession could be coming in 2023. Here’s Warren Buffett’s investing advice appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Is it safe to invest in ASX shares now? Take advice from Warren Buffett
• Almost ready to retire? I’d follow Warren Buffett’s tips to enjoy a growing passive income from ASX dividend shares
• One Warren Buffett-style stock I’m ‘never’ selling
• I’d aim for a million by buying just a few ASX shares
• Will the Nasdaq or S&P 500 have a better 2023?

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in Berkshire Hathaway and Coca-Cola. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long January 2023 $200 calls on Berkshire Hathaway, long January 2024 $47.50 calls on Coca-Cola, short January 2023 $200 puts on Berkshire Hathaway, and short January 2023 $265 calls on Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Berkshire Hathaway. 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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It’s been a pretty depressing day for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) so far this Thursday. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 has slipped by 0.5%, leaving the index at just under 7,220 points. But it’s been even worse for the Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price today.

Telstra shares have had a disappointing showing. The ASX 200 telco has lost a hefty 0.61% of its value over this session thus far, falling from the $4.08 it closed at yesterday to the $4.06 we are currently seeing.

So why is the Telstra share price so on the nose today that the company’s shares are lagging even the ASX 200 Index?

Well, it’s not entirely clear. There has been no fresh news or announcement from Telstra itself today. Or indeed since 7 December.

However, there has been a development that could be impacting investor sentiment towards Telstra today.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has just released its latest NBN Wholesale Market Indicators Report. This quarterly report reveals data surrounding the use of the national broadband network (NBN), which Telstra, along with other telcos, onsells to customers.

The latest report covers the three months to 30 September 2022. It shows that, while Telstra remains the market leader in the provision of fixed-line internet services, its market share has fallen.

Telstra falls

Over the quarter in question, Telstra commanded 42.7% of wholesale NBN market share. The next closest provider was TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG), with a 22.8% market share. Optus came next with 13.4%, followed by Vocus Group with 6.9%. ‘Others’ made up the remaining 14.2%.

So why is this bad news for Telstra? Well, in the previous report covering the three months to 30 June, Telstra had a 43.3% share, meaning its share of the total market fell 0.6% in just one quarter.

In fact, market share for the largest three providers (Telstra, TPG, and Optus) all fell over the quarter, taken up by smaller providers like Aussie Broadband Ltd (ASX: ABB). The ‘big three’ had a combined market share of 87.4% in the June quarter, but this fell to 85.8% for the September quarter.

Not exactly inspiring stuff for Telstra and its investors.

So this could be what is dragging on the Telstra share price this Thursday. It’s a bit of a dampener for Telstra shares, which have enjoyed a very solid month, rising more than 4.5% since mid-November:

Telstra shares remain down by around 4% year to date. At the current Telstra share price of $4.06, the ASX 200 telco has a (wildly coincidental) trailing dividend yield of 4.06%.

The post Why is the Telstra share price lagging the ASX 200 today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Why Bendigo Bank, Endeavour, TPG, and Zip shares are dropping today
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• 3 top dividend payers of the ASX 200
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Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in Telstra Group. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Aussie Broadband. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Telstra Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Aussie Broadband and Tpg Telecom. 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 Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) share price is sliding on Thursday amid the bank’s annual general meeting (AGM) and a shareholder vote on a major structural change.

Right now, the ANZ share price is 0.23% lower at $23.955.

For comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 0.53% at the time of writing. Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) has slumped 0.25%.

So, what’s happening with the smallest of the big four banks today? Let’s take a look.

ANZ share price slips amid ‘milestone day’

The ANZ share price is in the red this afternoon. Its struggles follow the bank’s AGM and a shareholder vote on a structural change. ANZ chair Paul O’Sullivan commented on the change first flagged earlier this year, saying:

This is a milestone day as we prepare the bank for the future.

The vote relates to a restructure that seeks to establish a new non-operating holding company to be the listed parent of the banking group. Such a change will allow ANZ’s banking business to be separated from some of its non-banking businesses.

It will not impact shareholders’ dividends or the bank’s financial position. O’Sullivan explains:

[T]raditional banking is facing significant disruption from new non-bank competitors, mainly global technology companies launching financial services products.

Understandably, these businesses are not regulated in the same way as banks like ANZ.

Essentially, the restructure is about making our banking business more efficient by creating a better structure for investing in our non-bank partners.

If approved by shareholders, the restructure will be put before the Federal Court of Australia.

If successful there, the change will see ANZ operating in a way similar to financial names such as Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN) and Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG).

It’s also expected that we’ll see ANZ shares suspend trade on 20 December, returning on 4 January under the new structure.

What else happened at the AGM?

ANZ’s leaders also discussed the operating environment the bank finds itself in at today’s AGM. O’Sullivan commented:

After almost three years of living with COVID, the operating environment remains highly uncertain stemming from rapidly rising inflation, geopolitical tensions – most notably the War in Ukraine – and the impact of rapidly tightening monetary policy across the globe.

While most Aussie households are in good financial shape, the chair acknowledged rising cost of living pressures are straining some. “The next six months will be testing for many,” O’Sullivan said.

The bank will therefore keep its hardship resources – implemented during the pandemic – in place for those who need them.

ANZ also provided an update on its ANZ Plus platform. Deposits on the platform are growing faster than any new bank ever launched in Australia, ANZ CEO Shayne Elliott told the meeting:

Today, we have more than 113,000 customers – around a third of which are new to the bank – and over $2.3 billion in deposits.

To put this into better perspective, those numbers have more than doubled since we announced our result at the end of October.

The platform also launched a staff pilot for the bank’s new digital home loan this month. It’s expected to be introduced to all customers next year. Elliott said:

To be clear, this will not be a fancy digital frontend but paper-based backend like many in the market offer today, but a fully digital end-to-end experience from application all the way through to settlement.

The post What’s with the ANZ share price on Thursday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 Macquarie Group. 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) shares are still awaiting the sound of reindeer hooves to announce the vaunted Santa Rally.

The Santa Rally, if you’re unfamiliar, refers to the historical tendency for stock markets to outperform in the lead up to Christmas.

Depending on who you ask, the rally is meant to occur either in the five trading days leading up to Christmas, or the last five trading days of the year.

Whatever the timeline, with ASX 200 shares down 0.6% so far in December, a late-month rally would be welcomed.

But data from Bank of America suggests that investors may want to look beyond the man in the red suit and position themselves for a strong run from the benchmark index in January.

Why January could be big for ASX 200 shares

While January 2022 was a shocker for ASX 200 shares, the previous two years saw a strong uptick in the first month of the year.

What happens in 2023 remains to be seen. But, as reported by the Australian Financial Review, Bank of America’s equity analysts said January “typically” kicks off with strong retail investor buying.

According to the analysts, January is normally the strongest month for equity inflows. Driven by retail investors, BofA has recorded client inflows for 11 out of the past 15 years.

That trend is particularly strong when the S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX) has fallen in the prior year, with inflows in January reported to be well above average.

And with the S&P 500 down almost 17% year to date, 2022 looks almost certain to fall into the down year category.

Narrowing it down to specific ASX 200 sectors, financial shares were said to typically have enjoyed the biggest average inflows in January. Consumer discretionary shares, perhaps because it’s right after the big holiday splurges, have normally seen outflows.

Whatever the timing of the next big market rally turns out to be, investors still sitting on the sidelines will merely be spectators.

The post Forget the Santa Rally: Why January could be big for ASX 200 shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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.

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