This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

In calm markets, the volatility index generally sits somewhere around 10. In the recent market upheaval, it has touched the 30s. The volatility index measures how quickly the market expects stock prices to change.  The higher the index, the wilder the anticipated swings in price. 

That spike in the volatility index raises a key question: Should you buy stocks now, or wait? As simple as that question is to ask, the answer depends as heavily on you as an investor as it does on stocks themselves.

You need to be able to have a long-term focus

High volatility means stocks are expected to move aggressively — sometimes up, sometimes down. When that volatility is combined with the bear market we’re in, there’s very real risk that there will be more aggressive moves downward. As a result, it’s critically important that you have a long-term focus with any money you’re willing and able to invest in the market.

After all, if you buy and the stocks you purchase later go down, you will have less in total net worth than you would have if you had just held cash. It can be a very frustrating feeling, as if you’re throwing good money after bad.

With a long-term focus, however, you can better recognize that when you buy shares and they go down, you still have the same number of shares — and thus ownership stake — as you did before. In addition, it gets easier to see how investing the same number of dollars after the stock crashes buys more shares than it did before the crash, helping new money go that much further.

A reasonable valuation estimate helps, too

Speaking of converting dollars to shares, investing when volatility spikes gets much easier if you have a good valuation tool, such as the discounted cash flow model, at your side. With the discounted cash flow model, you estimate the amount of cash the company will generate in the future. Then, you dial back (or discount) that cash flow based on how far in the future you expect the company to earn it. Add up those discounted cash flows and the total is your estimate of what the company is worth.

You’ll never get it perfect — you are predicting the future, after all — but if you do your homework and seek to really understand the business, you can often get reasonably close. The power of getting reasonably close, though, is that sometimes, severe market volatility in a bear market drives a company’s stock well below your estimate of its fair value. When that happens, you can swoop in and buy shares for less than you think they’re worth.

Turning a volatility-driven market crash into a bargain hunting expedition is an opportunity to take advantage of a very choppy market, and it’s one you usually only get when the volatility index is high.

Diversification reduces the impact when you get it wrong

Of course, there’s usually a good reason for a crashing market and spiking volatility index. In this case, it’s the combination of stagflation risks and rising interest rates. That combination can make it very difficult for weaker companies to survive. It can also radically throw off your otherwise reasonable valuation estimates, as rapidly rising costs can seriously mess with a business’s ability to generate cash.

As a result, it is incredibly important to spread your investments out across multiple companies in different industries. That way when (not if) one of your investments fails, the loss of that investment will have far less of an impact on your overall portfolio than it would have had if that company had been the only one you owned.

Put it all together and you have a path to buy even when volatility spikes

It’s scary to invest when the market is down and volatility is high. With a combination of a long-term focus, a decent valuation estimate, and diversification on your side, you’ve at least got a chance to turn it to your advantage. It’s not easy to invest in times like these, but history suggests that if you’re able to, you’re likely to come out successful on the other side. So make today the day you get these tools in your arsenal and are well prepared to invest despite spiking volatility. 

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post Volatility index spikes: Should you buy stocks now or wait? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• What’s dragging on the Qantas share price today?
• Down 33% in a month, is the Megaport share price in ‘value’ territory?
• Has 2022 proven Woolworths is a defensive ASX share?
• Is this why ASX lithium shares are being crushed today?
• What to expect from the Bitcoin price following last week’s thrashing

Chuck Saletta 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. 

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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The Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) share price is in the red on Wednesday.

Its slump comes amid findings that passengers of the airline and its subsidiary Jetstar suffered more delays and cancellations in May than those of competing airlines.

At the time of writing, the Qantas share price is $4.525, 0.55% lower than its previous close.

For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is also recording a 0.21% fall.

Let’s take a closer look at what’s going on with Australia’s national airline on Wednesday.

Qantas share price slips amid unfavourable findings

The Qantas share price is sinking amid the release of data from the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics.

The data found Qantas cancelled more flights last month than both Virgin Australia and Regional Express Holdings Ltd (ASX: REX). Qantas’ subsidiary Jetstar also saw more late take-offs and delayed landings than its competitors did.

Here are some of the key figures:

• 38.5% of Qantas’ May flights departed late,
• 39.3% landed late, and
• 7.1% were cancelled

Meanwhile, its subsidiary Jetstar saw 42.3% of flights leave late, 39.4% land late, and 5.7% cancelled.

Rex performed best in terms of delays and cancellations last month. Just 1.4% of its flights were cancelled while 21.5% departed late, and 24.5% landed late.

Meanwhile, 5% of Virgin flights were cancelled, 35.6% took off late, and 34.3% landed late.

However, the news is unlikely to have dinted the ASX 200 airline’s stock today. It’s slipping alongside its home sector – the S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ). The sector is currently down 0.57%.

The company’s fellow ASX 200 travel stocks are also struggling. The Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price is down 3.1% right now, the Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) share price has slipped 2.65%, and the Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD) share price has fallen 4.64%.

Finally, the share price of Qantas’ ASX-listed competitor Rex is currently up 2.45%.

The post What’s dragging on the Qantas share price today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• ASX 200 travel shares take off again on Tuesday. Here’s why
• What’s boosting the Qantas share price on Tuesday?
• Why are ASX 200 travel shares lifting off on Monday?
• Qantas share price lifts amid new sustainability partnership
• What happened to the Qantas share price 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 Corporate Travel Management Limited, Flight Centre Travel Group Limited, and Webjet 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 Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) share price has sunk another 2.17% on Wednesday. At the time of writing, it’s sitting at $4.96 on no news.

This brings Megaport’s losses to 33% for the month, or 74% this year to date.

In wider market moves, the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) has crept 50 basis points lower today. It too is down, 39% this year to date.

Is the Megaport share price in value territory?

Megaport shares are being punished in 2022. Now, with the market sell-off, losses have extended and the share is deep in the red.

Despite the pressure, analysts at Goldman Sachs remain constructive on its outlook and price Megaport at $13.10 per share.

At the current market price of $4.96, some might suggest it is trading at a deep discount to Goldman’s price objective.

Structural tailwinds in the cloud-usage and networking-as-a-service (NaaS) space are key drivers of Megaport’s growth, Goldman says.

The total market could reach $129 billion for these areas, the broker reckons. Certainly optimistic projections that could bode well for Megaport.

Further, whilst the market has been unkind to Megaport, if it is considered a value share, this could play in well to the case.

That’s because value stocks are likely to outperform growth after a slumped period, according to Cliff Asness, CIO at AQR Capital.

Speaking to Goldman Sachs’ June macroeconomic research paper Top of Mind, Asness said:

Looking ahead, I’m confident that Value can continue to outperform over a medium-term, say, three year, horizon precisely because the valuation spread between Value and Growth remains incredibly stretched, which would represent a stark break from the post-GFC cycle where Value delivered somewhere between subpar and dismal returns.

Irrespective, the Megaport share price has a long way to run to reach its former closing high of $21.88 reached on 17 November 2021.

The post Down 33% in a month, is the Megaport share price in ‘value’ territory? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Megaport share price slides 11% on dire day for ASX tech
• 3 ASX tech shares that could pop when the mood turns
• 3 ASX All Ordinaries shares that defied Thursday’s slump to leap higher
• 3 fantastic ASX shares that analysts reckon have huge upside potential
• Megaport share price hits multi-year low: Is this a buying opportunity?

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 MEGAPORT FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended MEGAPORT FPO. 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 no secret that 2022 thus far has proven to be an exceptionally difficult year for ASX shares. Over the year to date, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is still down by a notable 13.7% or so, even with today’s gains. But let’s check out how the Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) share price has fared.

Woolworths shares are often held up as ‘defensive’. That’s probably because Woolworths is a large, mature blue-chip, dividend-paying ASX share that operates in the consumer staples sector of the market. Because the company sells food, drinks, and household goods, it has a reputation as being recession-resistant, inflation resistant, and stable.

This is true to an extent. We all need to eat, drink, and keep our households running, no matter the economic conditions.

But does this truly make Woolworths shares a defensive investment? Let’s see how this company has fared over 2022. After all, this year has been dominated by concerns over inflation, interest rates, and a possible looming recession. So it will be interesting to see how Woolies shares have fared amid these concerns, given its defensive reputation.

So Woolworths shares started the year at a share price of $38.01. Today, the company is going for $34.24 a share at the time of writing. That’s a year-to-date loss of 9.9%.

That loss is a few percentage points less than what the ASX 200 has delivered over the year so far. Therefore, we can say that Woolworths shares have outperformed the market over 2022 as it currently stands. And, by extension, we can indeed conclude that, at least over this year, Woolworths has been an effective defensive share.

Is the Woolworths share price a 2022 buy?

It could get even better for Woolies investors too. As my Fool colleague James recently discussed, broker Goldman Sachs reckons the Woolworths share price could decisively recover over the next 12 months. This ASX broker currently rates Woolworths shares as a buy, with a 12-month share price target of $41.70. If that came to pass, it would mean an upside of more than 22% from the current share price.

Goldman justified this optimism by noting it is “encouraged by the resilience and superior operations” of Woolworths. The broker expects continuing price growth from the company, which should protect its margins as “COVID costs roll-off and cost efficiencies continue”.

No doubt that will come as good news for investors today.

At the current Woolworths share price, this ASX 200 blue chip has a market capitalisation of $41.49 billion, with a dividend yield of 2.75%.

The post Has 2022 proven Woolworths is a defensive ASX share? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• ASX 200 midday update: St Barbara and Zip drop to multi-year lows
• 3 reasons why I think the Soul Pattinson share price is an excellent buy right now
• Why is the Fisher & Paykel share price heading south today?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• How does the Macquarie dividend stack up against the ASX big four banks?

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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It has been another difficult day for ASX lithium shares on Wednesday.

In afternoon trade, a number of lithium shares are underperforming the market and sinking deep into the red.

Which lithium shares are sinking?

Here’s a summary of some of the notable moves in the industry:

• The Argosy Minerals Limited (ASX: AGY) share price is down 7%
• The Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) share price has sunk 9.5%
• The Lake Resources N.L. (ASX: LKE) share price has dropped 12%
• The Liontown Resources Limited (ASX: LTR) share price is down 5%
• The Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA) share price has fallen 7%

What’s happening?

Concerns over increasing supply and the potential impact this could have on lithium prices in the coming years have been weighing on lithium shares in recent weeks.

However, today’s decline appears to relate to the demand side of the equation.

This follows reports in Europe that Germany is planning to defy the European Union by backtracking on future plans to outlaw internal combustion engine (ICE) cars.

According to the Financial Times, Germany’s finance minister, Christian Lindner, has rejected plans for the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2035. This raises the prospect that the region’s green agenda will be watered down.

Germany is understood to be against the plan as there are concerns that it could lead to the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs in the sector.

If Germany does go against the ban and ICE cars continue to be manufactured, this could have a major impact on the number of electric vehicles on European roads in 2035.

This could ultimately mean that lithium demand falls well short of forecasts, meaning we won’t need as much supply as previously thought. This may not bode well for prices of the white metal in the future.

The post Is this why ASX lithium shares are being crushed today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Why this top broker is tipping 200% upside for the Liontown share price
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Tuesday
• Why is the Lake Resources share price crashing 25% today?
• Why Bowen Coking Coal, Lake Resources, Premier, and ResApp shares are tumbling lower
• Why is the Core Lithium share price slipping today?

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 Scott Phillips.

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The Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) price isn’t exactly rocketing back to new highs after the horror week just past.

But the world’s biggest token by market cap has stabilised, at least.

At the time of writing, the Bitcoin price stands at US$20,401 (AU$29,408). That’s just about where it was trading at this time yesterday, after hitting an overnight high of US$21,620, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

Like we said. Not shooting the lights out. But still some 17% above the US$17,709 lows the token hit on Sunday, its lowest price since 2020.

Why did the Bitcoin price tumble last week?

Bitcoin has been under pressure amid rising interest rates that have driven other cryptos, like the TerraUSD stable coin and its supporting token Luna, over the edge.

The end of historic low rates has seen most risk assets — think high-growth tech shares — sell off sharply.

Last week, the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 5%, despite Friday’s rally.

The Bitcoin price fared even worse, with Glassnode reporting that crypto investors’ realised losses on their Bitcoin holdings hit a record US$7.3 billion over the week.

Now what?

Looking ahead, the wider crypto market is unlikely to shake off its notorious volatility any time soon.

Feroze Medora, director of APAC trading at Cameron on the Gemini crypto platform, said (courtesy of Bloomberg), “A toxic mix of bad news cycles and higher interest rates has hurt the crypto market and we can anticipate more volatility in the upcoming weeks.”

Glassnode noted in a report that fewer forced sellers in the months ahead could offer some support to the Bitcoin price. “With forced sellers appearing to drive much of the recent sell-side, the market might begin to eye whether signals of seller exhaustion are emerging over the coming weeks and months.”

But any sustained relief rally looks to be some way off yet.

Discussing the recent Bitcoin price moves, Katie Stockton, founder of Fairlead Strategies, said (quoted by Bloomberg):

It’s a very natural place to see some stabilisation, a kind of relief rally. We do think that relief rally would be muted, however, just given the downside momentum really across the board.

The post What to expect from the Bitcoin price following last week’s thrashing appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Is Solana the next Bitcoin?
• The key driver behind the recovery in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana today
• Bitcoin price rockets 14% but experts say cryptos aren’t out of the woods yet
• Why US$19,500 is a line in the sand for the Bitcoin price
• Why tech billionaire Bill Gates is ‘not involved’ in crypto or NFTs

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 positions in and has recommended Bitcoin. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Bitcoin. 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 Humm Group Ltd (ASX: HUM) share price is plunging amid news five members of the company’s six-person board have resigned in the wake of the termination of a planned $250 million sale.

The sale was vehemently opposed by Humm founder, director, and largest shareholder Andrew Abercrombie – who the resigning members of the board now reject working beside.

The Humm share price plunged almost 4% to 50.5 cents in early trading today before regaining ground to 51 cents at the time of writing.

For context, the broader market is in the green on Wednesday. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is currently up 0.168% while the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) has gained 0.12%.

Let’s take a closer look at what might be weighing on the finance and buy now, pay later (BNPL) provider’s stock today.

Humm share price slumps amid board resignations

The Humm share price is sinking on Wednesday. Its tumble comes after the company announced its chair and all directors – except Abercrombie – are stepping down.

It follows last week’s news that the sale of Humm’s BNPL business to Latitude Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: LFS) had fallen through. Its termination was said to be due to “major disruption in financial markets”.

“The events leading to the termination of the proposed sale of Humm Consumer Finance to Latitude Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: LFS) … have caused the majority directors of Humm … to conclude that they cannot remain on the board of directors with Andrew Abercrombie,” the company said in a release to the ASX this morning.

The release detailed the immediate resignation of directors Alistair Muir and John Wylie.

Meanwhile, Humm chair Christine Christian and directors Carole Campbell and Rajeev Dhawan will resign when replacement directors are appointed.

The company noted the gradual handover would allow the company to “deal with the challenges and opportunities ahead”.

Abercrombie labelled the now deceased deal – that would see the company’s BNPL leg sold to Latitude – a “dud” and “nothing but a garage sale”.

That’s despite Humm noting the business hadn’t turned a profit in 2022 and risks the company’s share price.

Board unanimous ‘excluding one lone dissenting director’

The board further outlined its position regarding the failed sale in a letter to shareholders last night that accused Abercrombie of undertaking “a strident campaign against the proposed sale”. The board went on to say:

The majority directors have been prepared to act to secure [the sale] despite multiple aggressively worded private threats of legal action against us personally from Andrew Abercrombie.

[T]his was the entire board of highly experienced people acting unanimously in all these decisions, excluding one lone dissenting director.

Humm’s stock has struggled this year. It has fallen 45% year to date. It’s also 50% lower than it was this time last year.

The post Humm share price tumbles 4% as majority of board exits appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why Block, Fortescue, GUD, and Humm shares are sinking today
• Latitude share price lifts on cancelled Humm deal
• Humm share price sinks 11% following termination of $250m BNPL sale to Latitude
• Why Humm, Inghams, Link, and Smartgroup shares are falling
• ‘A dud deal’: Why is the Humm share price falling on Thursday?

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 Humm 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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Leading fund manager Wilson Asset Management (WAM) has picked a few S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares as opportunities.

There has been a lot of volatility on the ASX share market in recent weeks and months amid the focus on inflation and interest rate rises. No one can truly know when conditions will die down. But experts think that the lower valuations represent good prices for many businesses.

WAM manages a selection of listed investment companies (LICs). These include WAM Capital Limited (ASX: WAM), WAM Research Limited (ASX: WAX) and WAM Active Limited (ASX: WAA).

Moreover, a key focus of the WAM LICs is to find “undervalued growth companies” where there is a catalyst that could send the share price higher.

These are two of the ASX 200 shares WAM identifies in its recent update.

ARB Corporation Limited (ASX: ARB)

ARB designs, manufactures, distributes and sells motor vehicle accessories.

In May 2022, the company gave investors a market update citing “numerous” challenges to its business operations. These include an increase in commodity prices, a global shortage of new vehicles, and global logistics and pricing issues. Further to this is a labour and skills shortage and exchange rate volatility.

WAM notes that ARB pointed out it expects an increase in total capital expenditure to $57 million in FY22. That would be up from $33 million in FY21. The company attributes this to costs associated with its factories and upgrades to its retail stores and manufacturing equipment.

The fund manager is “upbeat” that the ASX 200 share will “likely” achieve its projected FY22 revenue of $700 million, supported by its 18% year-on-year increase in sales revenue over the nine months to 31 March 2022.

Wilson Asset Management is positive on the outlook for ARB as it delivers on growth opportunities in Australia and in export markets, development of new products, and fostering of partnerships with major customers.

Worley Ltd (ASX: WOR)

Another business named as an opportunity by WAM is Worley.

Worley provides engineering, procurement and construction expertise to the upstream, midstream, chemicals, power, energy and minerals sectors.

Last month, the ASX 200 share was given three new contracts. It also signed an agreement with Avantium Renewable Polymers to provide engineering, procurement and construction services.

WAM said that the services Worley will provide to these companies aims to support the growth of their assets and their sustainability targets.

With new contracts in the pipeline and FY22 costs expected to be less than half of FY21, the fund manager thinks the revenue and earnings target for the second half of FY22 is “well supported”.

The post This expert thinks these 2 ASX 200 shares are great buys right now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 3 ASX shares to pounce on after tax-loss selling: report
• 3 ASX 200 shares rocking new 52-week highs on Thursday
• 2 ASX shares the Aussie lifestyle can’t do without
• 3 high-quality ASX 300 shares trading at 52-week lows today
• 3 ASX shares to buy in troubled times: expert panel

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 ARB 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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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

What happened

Over the past 24 hours, the price of the meme token Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) has jumped roughly 27% as of 10:30 a.m. ET for no obvious reason, although the crypto market is rebounding today after what has been a brutal sell-off as of late. 

There are also a few other recent events that show how Shiba Inu continues to gain traction among the crypto and investing community.

So what

Some are touting a new milestone for Shiba Inu because the token recently reached 3.4 million followers on Twitter, which is now tied with Shiba Inu’s rival Dogecoin.

Both are meme tokens and very similar, so investors may view this as Shiba Inu starting to catch up to Dogecoin. Dogecoin currently has a bigger market cap, but it’s definitely within reach. 

Another interesting phenomenon is that Ethereum whales, investors that on average own $14 million in their crypto wallets, seem to be growing more and more interested in Shiba Inu, which runs on the Ethereum blockchain. Shiba Inu is now the second-largest holding among Ethereum whales.

Whales are the crypto equivalent of “smart” money. These are the investors that likely know how to invest in crypto better than the rest, so their moves are followed closely.

Now what

The rebound in the crypto sector today looks to be investors taking a break from what has been intense selling and perhaps using this as an opportunity to buy the dip.

While Shiba Inu certainly moves with the crypto market to some extent, I am not a believer in this token because it possesses no real-world use case or any kind of technical advantage over other cryptocurrencies. 

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post Why Shiba Inu popped today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Thinking about buying Shiba Inu? Read this first
• Why Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and Shiba Inu are falling today

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

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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At lunch on Wednesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on track to record a modest gain. The benchmark index is currently up 0.1% to 6,531.5 points.

Here’s what is happening on the ASX 200 today:

St Barbara share price tanks

The St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) share price has been sold down to a multi-year low on Wednesday. This morning the gold miner revealed that it has deferred making a final investment decision on the Simberi sulphide expansion in favour of a strategic review. St Barbara also advised that there is a near-term risk of disruption to its Touquoy Operation.

Fletcher Building shares jump

The Fletcher Building Limited (ASX: FBU) share price is storming higher today. This follows the release of the building products company’s investor day update. That update reveals that Fletcher Building has reiterated its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) guidance for FY 2022. It expects EBIT before significant items to come in at ~NZ$750 million.

Zip shares drop to multi-year low

The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP) share price has continued its slide and hit a new multi-year low. This buy now pay later provider’s shares have come under pressure this week amid speculation it could be about to give up on the UK and US markets. This is due to the large losses the company is making internationally.

Best and worst ASX 200 performers

The best performer on the ASX 200 on Wednesday has been the Fletcher Building share price with a 6% gain following the release of its investor update. Going the other way, the worst performer has been the St Barbara share price with a 12% decline. This follows the aforementioned update out of the gold miner.

The post ASX 200 midday update: St Barbara and Zip drop to multi-year lows appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 3 reasons why I think the Soul Pattinson share price is an excellent buy right now
• Why is the St Barbara share price crashing 14% to a multi-year low?
• Why is the Fisher & Paykel share price heading south today?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• The Zip share price is down 90% in 2022. Why I won’t be buying

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 ZIPCOLTD FPO. 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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