In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record another sizeable decline. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down 1.3% to 6,597.3 points.

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

Block Inc (ASX: SQ2)

The Block share price is down 6% to $87.29. This follows another poor night for this payments company’s NYSE listed shares on Tuesday. However, Block isn’t the only tech share falling today. With heavy declines being recorded across the sector, the S&P ASX All Technology index is down 3% at the time of writing.

Nanosonics Ltd (ASX: NAN)

The Nanosonics share price is down 3% to $2.99. This appears to have been driven by broad market weakness and a broker note out of Morgans. In respect to the latter, this morning Morgans retained its add rating but slashed its price target on the infection prevention company’s shares by 10% to $4.86. The broker has downgraded its earnings forecasts to reflect higher costs and softer growth.

St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM)

The St Barbara share price is down 3% to $1.10. Investors have been selling St Barbara and other gold miners after a pullback in the gold price overnight. This has led to the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold index tumbling 1.4% this afternoon.

Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS)

The Woodside share price is down 3% to $32.03. The catalyst for this was weakness in energy prices overnight. This has put pressure on energy producers like Woodside on Wednesday. So much so, the S&P/ASX 200 Energy index is down 2.5% at the time of writing.

The post Why Block, Nanosonics, St Barbara, and Woodside shares are dropping appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why is the Block share price tumbling another 5%
• This fund manager is optimistic on these 2 leading ASX 200 energy shares
• ASX 200 midday update: ResMed’s US$1bn acquisition, tech shares continue to sink
• Can the St Barbara share price recover its losses in 2022?
• Why BHP, Block, Harvey Norman, and PointsBet shares are sinking

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Block, Inc. and Nanosonics Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Block, Inc. and Nanosonics Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Health Care Index (ASX: XHJ) is in the red today, but this one ASX share is bucking the trend.

The ResApp Health Ltd (ASX: RAP) share price is currently at 17 cents, a 3.03% gain. It comes despite the ASX 200 healthcare index being down 2.11% so far today.

ResApp’s share price is trading at its highest level since 26 June 2020.

Let’s take a look at why ReApp Health is having such a good day.

Why is this ASX share rising?

ResApp shares are climbing a further 3% today after rocketing a massive 50% yesterday.

ResApp is a digital health company that works on smart phone apps to diagnose and manage respiratory disease.

Investors appear to be continuing to snap up Resapp shares today after pharmaceutical giant Pfizer improved its takeover offer for the company.

ResApp had entered a trading halt on 31 May pending the announcement and emerged from the freeze yesterday.

Pfizer has agreed to boost its offer from 11.5 cents per share to 14.6 cents per share or 20.7 cents per share.

ResApp originally announced it had entered an agreement with Pfizer in April. The two companies also entered a research and development licence agreement to work together on COVID-19 products.

ResApp’s CEO and managing director Tony Keating said the revised offer provides an “attractive premium” to the ResApp share price. He added:

We believe that it represents significant value for all shareholders and the ResApp Board strongly recommends shareholders vote in favour of the transaction in the absence of a superior proposal.

The final offer will depend on the results of a clinical validation study on Resapp’s COVID-19 cough detection tool.

The results of this study are expected to be announced on or near 20 June.

Share price snapshot

The ResApp shares price has soared by nearly 55% in the past 12 months while it is up 162% year to date.

In contrast, the S&P/ASX 200 Health Care Index has slipped nearly 15% in the past year and also year to date.

ResApp has a market capitalisation of around $146 million.

The post This ASX share is defying the odds to crack new 52-week highs appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why Computershare, Lithium Plus, Lynas, and ResApp shares are pushing higher
• Here’s why the ResApp share price is rocketing 50% today
• Why Australian Clinical Labs, Lake Resources, PolyNovo, and ResApp are rising
• ResApp share price halted ahead of Pfizer takeover update

Motley Fool contributor Monica O’Shea 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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S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) bank shares are having another rough day of it, as investors remain cautious ahead of tonight’s interest rate decision by the US Federal Reserve.

In late afternoon trading the ASX 200 is down 0.6%, with all but one of the ASX 200 bank shares trailing the benchmark.

Down 0.6%, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price is the best performer among the big four banks at time of writing.

Meanwhile, the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) share price is down 1.3%; the National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price is down 1.2%; and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) shares are down 1.1%.

Why are ASX 200 bank shares underperforming?

The big banks can benefit from aspects of rising interest rates. Mainly, they’re able to increase their net interest margins as rates climb from historic lows.

However, rising rates can negatively impact the demand for new mortgage loans. And, crucially, higher rates could see a spike in the number of bad debts held by ASX 200 bank shares.

Today’s underperformance could be tied to the latter issues, as investors mull over the implications of a precautionary letter sent to the banks yesterday by Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) chair Wayne Byres.

What is APRA concerned about?

The financial regulator is concerned that rising interest rates could result in a rise in bad debts.

As the Australian Financial Review noted, APRA’s March quarter data indicated that 23.1% of new mortgages are considered risky, with debt-to-income ratios of at least six times. While that’s down from the 24.3% in the December quarter, it’s well above the 18.9% figures from March 2021.

According to APRA, the ASX 200 bank shares “need to have systems in place to limit growth in higher risk residential mortgage lending, such as loans at high debt-to-income multiples or high loan-to-valuation ratios”.

Byres continued:

In the current environment, with high household indebtedness and rising interest rates, it’s essential for banks to prudently and proactively manage risks in residential mortgage lending.

APRA expects lenders to closely monitor housing lending risks to ensure that aggregate portfolio risks remain within their risk appetite and that standards for new lending remain prudent.

With stricter lending standards, the ASX 200 bank shares’ lucrative home lending businesses could face some additional headwinds.

The post Why are ASX 200 bank shares having another day to forget? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• What’s going on with the CBA share price on Wednesday?
• Here’s the NAB dividend forecast through to 2024
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• ASX 200 bank shares tumble: Citi says time to buy
• The CBA share price is down 5%. Should investors jump on this?

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 recommended Westpac Banking Corporation. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is continuing to sell off over this Wednesday’s trading session. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 has lost another 1.12% so far to around 6,611 points. 

But let’s dive a little deeper into these markets moves and take a look at the ASX 200 shares that are currently topping the share market’s trading volume charts, according to investing.com.

The 3 most traded ASX 200 shares by volume this Wednesday

Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)

Blue-chip Telstra is our first company to take a look at today. So far this Wednesday, a hefty 16.73 million of this ASX 200 telco’s shares have changed owners. There hasn’t been any news or announcements out of Telstra so far. However, the Telstra share price is doing something very interesting.

The telco’s shares are currently bucking the market and are up a healthy 2.4% at $3.84 each. Thus, it is probably this outperformance and healthy rise that is resulting in so many shares flying around the markets today.

South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)

Diversified ASX 200 mining company South32 is next up this Wednesday. So far today, a sizeable 16.9 million South32 shares have been bought and sold on the share market. We haven’t had too much out of this company either, save for a share buyback notice which could be boosting volumes alone.

But South32 has also taken quite a tumble. South32 shares are currently down by 3.01% at $4.35 each. So it’s probably a combination of the buyback and this share price fall that is resulting in the company’s presence on this list today.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

ASX 200 lithium share Pilbara Minerals is our third, final, and most traded ASX 200 share so far today. Over this Wednesday’s trading session, a whopping 20.99 million Pilbara shares have swapped hands as it currently stands.

In this case, it seems another share price fall is responsible here. Pilbara shares have lost a nasty 4.17% of their value so far today at $2.07 a share. This lithium stock is now down almost 20% over the past month alone. No wonder so many shares are bouncing around on the ASX boards.

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

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More reading

• 3 ASX 200 shares stretching higher on Wednesday
• Investing should be boring: fundie
• Will the share market recover in 2022?
• How long do ASX bear markets last on average?
• This fund manager is optimistic on these 2 leading ASX 200 energy shares

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in Telstra Corporation Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Telstra Corporation Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The James Hardie Industries Plc (ASX: JHX) share price is down another 6% on Wednesday, sinking the stock to its lowest mark in 52 weeks.

At the time of writing, the company’s shares are $30.63 apiece, 5.67% lower than yesterday’s close. It takes James Hardie’s losses to almost 45% this year to date.

In the broader market, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has slipped a further 47.5 basis points today, a 0.71% loss.

James Hardie’s share price plunge comes amid reports the company is facing legal proceedings in the Federal Court.

What’s up with the James Hardie share price?

The company has released no market-sensitive news today.

However, The Australian reported James Hardie is facing allegations in the Federal Court after the company was accused of “repeatedly [failing] to investigate unethical or unsafe behaviour”.

A former manager of its Australia Pacific (APAC) division has reportedly started the legal proceedings. It’s reported the case centres around James Hardie’s internal handling of management disputes.

In broader terms, the company’s shares have been trending down since trading resumed in the new year.

Its current price of $30.83 is a long way from its 52-week high of $56 back on 4 January.

It traced lower despite showing some signs of revival, first in February and then again in March. Since then, it’s staggered consistently lower.

In the last 12 months, the James Hardie share price has slipped more than 32% into the red.

The post Why did the James Hardie share price just hit a new 52-week low? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 3 ASX 200 shares defying Friday’s falls to leap higher
• ASX shares paid out a record $98b in dividends in the 12 months to March. Which are the star performers?
• Why is the James Hardie share price surging higher today
• Why Brambles, James Hardie, Seek, and Sezzle shares are sinking
• ASX 200 midday update: Brambles takeover talks end, resources shares charge higher

Motley Fool contributor Zach Bristow has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Right now is a nerve-racking time to be an investor. Whether new to the game or well-versed, many are pondering: will the share market recover in 2022?

If there was such a thing as a haunted share market house, the current situation is possibly as close as it gets to a ride full of all the hair-raising antics sure to leave even the most seasoned participants a little unsettled.

The S&P500 is officially in a bear market and the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) swiftly entered correction territory yesterday.

As a result, anyone that has invested in the broader market since February 2021 is wondering when their brave-faced buying might pay off.

What does history tell us?

Those that have walked around the investing block before will have heard the old Mark Twain saying, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” It embodies the heavily-used disclaimer by financial professionals: past performance is not indicative of future results. However, it can always serve as an informant for the approximate bounds of what we might expect.

The ASX is not yet in a bear market by definition, as depicted below. It would need to fall a further 9.6% to 6,018.7 points before following in the footsteps of the US market. If it were to reach this milestone, historical data from Bloomberg (between 1969 to 2018) suggests the average time to recover is 13 months.

On the other hand, the Australian share market might be able to avoid the grizzly bear market fate thanks to its overweight exposure to miners. ASX-listed giants such as BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO), and Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) have all managed to stay in the positive so far this year.

Although, whether these companies continue to hold up in the face of high inflation and increasing interest rates would be mere speculation.

Will the share market recover this year?

You might be saying, “But Mitchell, the history lesson still doesn’t answer the all-important question.” And you would be completely right. We all want certainty, we all want guarantees, and we all want the share market to transform into a bull again.

But I think legendary investor and Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio put it best, “He who lives by the crystal ball will eat shattered glass.” In other words, trying to predict when the share market will recover might be more harmful than helpful.

Our very own Motley Fool Australia chief investment officer, Scott Phillips is also no proponent of fortune-tellers, stating:

So, the honest answer is no-one knows the future. Some pretend they do. Some of those people probably even manage to fool themselves. But no-one knows for sure. Here’s what I do know: The ASX has never yet failed to regain — then surpass — a previous high. What does that mean? Well, if (and, I think when, but no promises) the ASX gets back to its previous highs, there’s decent upside from here just to get back to that point, then more again if (and again, I think when) it goes higher.

However, Phillips highlighted the potential advantages of sticking with your guns in the meantime, saying:

The problem is that our human nature doesn’t predispose us to be good at waiting — or to be calm while we wait. So, it can be tough. And there’s no getting around that. But historically speaking, it’s been very worthwhile. And my money — literally — is on history repeating itself. When? I don’t know. Nor does anyone else. But I think it’ll happen. And when it does, I expect to be glad I just kept my head down, kept investing, and waited patiently for the market to recover.

So, there may not be a concrete answer as to when the Australian share market will recover. But, if the future holds any resemblance to the past, there’s a good chance the tides will turn eventually. Whether next week, next month, or next year. When those tides turn is the quadrillion dollar question that — if everyone is being honest — nobody truly knows.

The post Will the share market recover in 2022? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• How long do ASX bear markets last on average?
• This fund manager is optimistic on these 2 leading ASX 200 energy shares
• ASX 200 midday update: ResMed’s US$1bn acquisition, tech shares continue to sink
• Why I think these 2 ASX 200 dividend shares offer great buying right now
• Warning: 1970s inflation is returning. Expert reveals what to do

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler 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 is right about where it was this time yesterday.

At the time of writing the world’s top token by market cap is trading for US$21,144 (AU$30,711). That’s down 54% this calendar year and down a painful 68% from the 10 November record high.

But potentially of more concern to crypto investors, the Bitcoin price has now slipped below its realised price.

What is the realised Bitcoin price and why does it matter?

Blockchain data analytics firm Glassnode tracks the average price of all Bitcoin in virtual circulation, an indicator called the realised price.

Currently, the realised Bitcoin price stands at US$23,430, almost 10% above today’s price. And with the majority of holders now underwater, the leading crypto could come under new selling pressure.

According to strategist at Glassnode (courtesy of Bloomberg):

The current bear market is now entering a phase aligned with the deepest and darkest phases of previous bears. The market, on average, is barely above its cost basis, and even long-term holders are now being purged from the holder base.

Brian Nick, chief investment strategist at global investment manager Nuveen, cautioned investors about the big potential moves in the Bitcoin price.

“Bitcoin trades like a penny stock. There’s all kinds of reason to think that once it starts falling quickly, it can continue to fall. If it can move 20% in two days, it can move another 20% the next two days,” he said.

Why are crypto markets under pressure?

It’s not just the Bitcoin price that’s down sharply this year.

The entire crypto-sphere has come under selling pressure.

That’s largely been due to interest rates heading higher across much of the globe for the first time in a decade. With expectations of significantly more rate hikes to come, investors have been lightening their holdings of risk assets, like high growth tech shares and cryptos.

The Bitcoin price and cryptos more broadly have also been impacted by news that crypto lender Celsius Network has halted withdrawals this week. Investors fear that Celsius may not be able to make good on all of its high yielding products.

The post What is the realised Bitcoin price and why does it matter? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 3 reasons Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana just hit their lowest levels this year
• Why is the Bitcoin price crashing 16% today?
• Could cryptos be facing an upcoming wave of institutional selling?
• What crypto winter? It’s always sunny with Solana
• Is Bitcoin still worth buying to diversify your ASX share portfolio?

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 rather dire performance of the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) over this week so far has understandably shocked and dismayed many investors. Over just the past one-and-a-half trading days, the ASX 200 has gone from 6,932 points to the current 6,667 points. That’s a fall of more than 4%. With such steep falls, many investors might assume the ASX is now in a bear market.

But this assumption would be incorrect (at least for now). As we covered yesterday, for bear market conditions to be met, we first need a stock market crash. That entails a fall of 20% or more from a market’s most recent high. The ASX 200 last peaked back in August last year.

That was when the ASX 200 hit 7,632.8 points. Although we have fallen considerably from that lofty high watermark, the ASX’s falls from there are still only sitting at just over 12.6%. So we aren’t quite in bear market territory yet.

But, like many things, a market crash is only obvious in hindsight. So we could well be in the first stages of one (not to sound overly pessimistic). If we do end up seeing the ASX 200 in a bear market, how long would it last?

How long do bear markets last?

Well, there’s no way of predicting this with certainty. However, we can look at how long other ASX 200 bear markets have lasted for some idea of what could be in store.

Of course, the most recent ASX 200 bear market we’ve seen was the COVID crash of 2020. Since this was the first bear market ASX investors had seen for almost a decade, it is the one that many investors now hold as the standard.

But the COVID crash of 2020 was an exceptionally short bear market (although still sharp). It saw the ASX 200 go from the peak of 7,197.1 points that we saw on 20 February 2020, to a low of 4402.5 that was hit on 23 March that year. That was a painful fall of 38.83% over those four weeks or so. But after two months or so, it was all over. The ASX 200 had risen by 20% off of its lows by early June 2020, and the bear had been replaced with a bull.

That doesn’t sound too bad in hindsight – two months to tip everything you own into shares, only to see them explode in value afterwards. But if all market crashes were over in two-and-a-bit months, then we probably wouldn’t be so scared. So let’s go back to the global financial crisis of 2007 and 2008.

Before the GFC hit with all its force, the ASX 200 peaked back in November 2007. But it took until March 2009 for the market to find its bottom. That’s almost 18 months of waiting for the share market to stop falling – nasty stuff. It was only in May 2009 that the bear market was over. But, as they say, waiting is the hardest part.

What is your average bear?

The point is that the past two decades have seen a bear market that has lasted just over two months, and a bear market that lasted almost 18 months.

But what is the length of an average bear market? According to analysis by fund manager Zurich, ASX shares have seen 11 bear markets since 1970. The average duration of these bear markets was 12 months, with an average market loss of 35.8%.

But consider this. The ASX 200 has also seen 11 bull markets over this period. And the average duration of these bull markets was 46 months (not including the most recent, post-COVID crash bull run). The average return for these bull markets was 130.1%.

So we know that the ASX 200 is in bull market territory most of the time. And we can also gather that the losses of the bear markets don’t even come close to cancelling out the gains of the bull markets. Something to keep in mind during these difficult times for ASX 200 shares.

The post How long do ASX bear markets last on average? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• This fund manager is optimistic on these 2 leading ASX 200 energy shares
• ASX 200 midday update: ResMed’s US$1bn acquisition, tech shares continue to sink
• Why I think these 2 ASX 200 dividend shares offer great buying right now
• Warning: 1970s inflation is returning. Expert reveals what to do
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday

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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In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record another decline. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down 0.4% to 6,660.3 points.

Four ASX shares that are not letting that hold them back are listed below. Here’s why they are pushing higher:

Computershare Limited (ASX: CPU)

The Computershare share price is up 3% to $24.27. This appears to have been driven by a broker note out of Ord Minnett. Its analysts have upgraded the administration services company’s shares to an accumulate rating with a $26.00 price target. The broker believes that rising interest rates will be a positive for Computershare.

Lithium Plus Minerals Ltd (ASX: LPM)

The Lithium Plus share price is up 36% to 40 cents. This morning the lithium explorer advised that its mining management plan for the flagship Bynoe Lithium Project has been approved. As a result, the company has appointed Darwin-based drilling contractor, GeoDrilling, to undertake an initial program of approximately 10,000 metres of Reverse Circulation drilling.

Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC)

The Lynas share price is up 4.5% to $8.91. The catalyst for this appears to have been a broker note out of Macquarie. This morning it reiterated its outperform rating and $12.80 price target on this rare earths producer’s shares. This was in response to the company’s update on Tuesday, which revealed that it has been awarded a US$120 million contract by the US government to build a heavy rare earths facility.

ResApp Health Ltd (ASX: RAP)

The ResApp share price is up a further 6% to 17.5 cents. This digital health company’s shares have been racing higher this week after pharmaceutical giant Pfizer improved its takeover offer. Pfizer agreed to increase its offer from 11.5 cents per share in cash to either 14.6 cents or 20.7 cents per share. The ultimate price will depend on the results of a clinical validation study, which investors appear to believe will be successful.

The post Why Computershare, Lithium Plus, Lynas, and ResApp shares are pushing higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Guess which ASX lithium share surged 56% higher today
• ASX 200 midday update: ResMed’s US$1bn acquisition, tech shares continue to sink
• 3 ASX 200 shares that avoided today’s sell-off
• Here’s why the ResApp share price is rocketing 50% today
• Why Australian Clinical Labs, Lake Resources, PolyNovo, and ResApp are rising

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 Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price is in negative territory again today.

At the time of writing, shares in Australia’s largest bank are edging 0.45% lower to $90.79.

While slightly down on Wednesday, it’s worth noting that CBA shares have lost more than 15% since 1 June. This comes off the back of eight consecutive market days in the red.

For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Financials (ASX: XFJ) is also heading south on Wednesday, down 0.21% to 5,728.9 points.

Shares in other major banks, National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ), are shedding 0.86% and 1.11%, respectively.

The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price is also suffering today, down 1.1% during early afternoon trade.

Why are CBA shares faring better than the other banks?

A catalyst for CBA shares performing better than its peers today could be the attractive levels it’s currently trading at.

According to ANZ Share Investing, UBS lifted its price target on CBA shares last week by 5% to $105.00 per share. This represents an upside of 15.6% based on its current share price.

Furthermore, CBA provided an update on its $2 billion buyback program.

The bank bought back 476,595 shares between $88.92 and $91.20 per share on the previous day. This is a considerable difference to when CBA purchased 1,883,068 of its shares the day before at more than $102 per share.

Previously, management noted that the goal of the buyback program is to reduce surplus capital and increase shareholder value. Once completed, the capital management program is expected to reduce the bank’s CET1 ratio to 11.4%.

CBA share price snapshot

Adding to the already tough month it has been, the CBA share price is down 12% over the last 12 months.

When looking at year-to-date, its shares are down 10%.

Based on today’s price, CBA commands a market capitalisation of roughly $155 billion, with 1.7 billion shares on issue.

The post What’s going on with the CBA share price on Wednesday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• ASX 200 bank shares tumble: Citi says time to buy
• The CBA share price is down 5%. Should investors jump on this?
• Waiting to start investing in ASX shares? Today could be a brilliant time to do it
• Here’s the CBA dividend forecast through to 2024
• ASX 200 has its worst week in two years

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 recommended Westpac Banking Corporation. 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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