The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a decent gain. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is up 0.8% to 7,152.8 points.

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

BrainChip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN)

The BrainChip share price is down 5% to 95 cents. This is despite there being no news out of the artificial intelligence technology company. However, with a market capitalisation approaching almost $2 billion and next to no revenue being generated, investors may have concerns over its valuation.

Firefinch Ltd (ASX: FFX)

The Firefinch share price is down 11% to 29 cents. Investors appear to be struggling to value Firefinch without its lithium operations. Those operations are currently being spun off as a separate listing – Leo Lithium. In other news, there was disappointment in West Africa over Mali’s military junta government’s decision to extend the transition back to civilian rule by 24 months. Firefinch’s operations are in Mali.

Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG)

The Magellan share price has continued its slide and is down 4% to $12.62. Investors have been selling this fund manager’s shares this week following another disappointing monthly update which revealed a sizeable decline in funds under management. In addition, the company was dumped from the ASX 100 index.

Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)

The Westpac share price is down 6% to $22.04. Investors have been selling the banks today due to concerns over the Reserve Bank’s aggressive rate hikes. There are fears that this could create challenges for the banking sector. This includes headwinds from more expensive wholesale funding, a weaker housing and mortgage market, and a greater risk of recession.

The post Why BrainChip, Firefinch, Magellan, and Westpac shares are dropping appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are the 3 most traded ASX 200 shares on Wednesday
• Why are ASX 200 bank shares plunging on Wednesday?
• Westpac share price tumbles 5% on Wednesday
• ASX 200 midday update: Boral rockets, big four banks tumble
• Which ASX 200 bank is the first to pass on the full RBA rate hike?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Westpac Banking Corporation. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has 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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Listed equities of ASX banks have taken a hit on Wednesday following the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)’s decision to hike base rates in its policy meeting yesterday.

At its meeting, the RBA moved to increase the cash rate target by 50 basis points to 85 basis points (0.85%), citing inflation as the main undercurrent for its decision.

“Today’s increase in interest rates will assist with the return of inflation to target [2–3%] over time.”

Nonetheless, banks have felt the brunt of the RBA’s move with the S&P/ASX 200 financials index (XFJ) sliding 270 basis points towards 3-month lows today. Meanwhile, the Vaneck Australian Banks ETF (ASX: MVB) has curled down by more than 3% to $29.40.

The downward momentum appears to have spilt over to the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN) share price as well.

What’s all the fuss about?

A spike in commercial interest rates is more often than not a positive for banks net interest margins (NIMs) in the near-term.

However, as Credit Suisse analysts pointed out in their reaction to the RBA, in the long-term, such moves will likely impact asset quality – in particular, house prices.

Input from analysts at various financial services firms note there is set to be an impact to net interest income with every increase in NIM, The Australian reports.

Despite the accretion to NIMs and net income, these are offset by headwinds faced on the funding side as well, meaning the cost of finance, debt and equity will increase for banks’ as well.

Warren Buffett’s mentor, Benjamin Graham, quoted that “in the short run, the market is a voting machine but in the long run it is a weighing machine”.

That means the market will seek to price in any changes to a company’s stock based on its long-term outlook by evaluating the substance of the company.

With the longer-term outlook now shifting for ASX banks, investors appear nervous on where to position in the sector for the impeding rates-rises. Evidently, what matters is the underlying fundamentals of a business.

After a strong run this year to date, the Bendigo Bank share price has danced around the $31 level for a number of weeks before the rug was pulled out from beneath today.

As such, it has now clipped a 4.2% loss for the last 12 months, or a 3% loss this year to date.

The post Bendigo Bank share price slides 7% as ASX banking basket unwinds on Wednesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Can the Bendigo Bank share price surge in 2022 despite its ‘last in town position’?
• What is the current dividend yield on Bendigo Bank shares?
• Why does the Bendigo Bank share price often fare worse than the ASX big four in downturns?

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 positions in and has recommended Bendigo and Adelaide Bank 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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Inflation is soaring in 2022 and the Reserve Bank of Australia lifted interest rates in its biggest hike in 22 years yesterday. That might have left Australians’ pockets feeling lighter, which is generally bad news for S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) consumer shares.

Tighter belts on customers often means less revenue for consumer-focused stocks.

In fact, the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) – while currently up 0.07% – has slipped 1% since the RBA’s 0.5% rate hike was announced yesterday afternoon.

Let’s take a look at 5 ASX 200 consumer shares sliding to 52-week lows on Wednesday.

5 ASX 200 consumer shares tumbling to 12-month lows

Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES)

ASX 200 monolith Wesfarmers is struggling today.

The retail-focused conglomerate behind such brands as Bunnings, Kmart, and Officeworks has seen its stock slump to a new 52-week low of $44.65. That represents a 2% fall on its previous close.

Harvey Norman Holdings Limited (ASX: HVN)

The share price of $5 billion furniture and electrical retailer Harvey Norman also hit a new 52-week low today.

It slumped to $4.18 – 1.8% lower than it was at the end of yesterday’s session.

Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP)

Even pizza juggernaut Domino’s hasn’t managed to escape today unscathed.

 The ASX 200 consumer share fell 2.6% to a new 52-week low of $63.16 on Wednesday.

Eagers Automotive Ltd (ASX: APE)

And today’s suffering wasn’t only contained to ‘traditional’ food and retail stocks. ASX 200 consumer share Eagers Automotive operates car dealerships.

It’s share price hit a new 52-week low of $9.92 on Wednesday, a 2.8% lower than it was at the end of Tuesday’s session.

Breville Group Ltd (ASX: BRG)

Finally, most Australian consumers would have seen Breville products either at home or on shelves.

The company designs and manufactures small electrical appliances – think blenders, juicers, and fans.

Today, the Breville share price hit an intraday low of $18.73, representing a 2.2% fall. It also marked the lowest the stock has been in around two years.

The post Belt tightening? 5 ASX 200 consumer shares slipping to new 52-week lows today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Domino’s share price tipped to rise 40% amid ‘absolutely undiminished’ growth opportunity
• ASX retail shares tumble following RBA rate rise
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Why this top broker is tipping the Wesfarmers share price to rise 24%
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week

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 positions in and has recommended Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd. and Wesfarmers Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Dominos Pizza Enterprises 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.

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) gets the world’s attention when it holds its developers’ conferences, as consumers, suppliers, and tech professionals all look forward to the latest innovations from the iPhone maker. Yet while many pay the closest attention to the latest product releases, the announcement on Monday of its Apple Pay Later service sent shockwaves across the fintech space.

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) specialists like Affirm Holdings (NASDAQ: AFRM) were the most obvious targets of Apple’s move. Indeed, Affirm’s stock fell 5.5% on Monday, with much of the decline coming after the conference announcement. However, Apple Pay Later further cemented a key partnership between the technology pioneer and two leading players in the financial industry, and that could pay big benefits for them for years to come.

Apple goes its own way

Apple announced that its new iOS 16 operating system software includes a new feature within the Apple Wallet. Apple Pay Later will provide the same flexibility that customers have come to expect from BNPL services from competing providers.

In particular, with Apple Pay Later, users in the U.S. will be able to take purchases for which they use the Apple Pay function in Wallet and split them into four equal payments spread out over six weeks. Apple will charge 0% interest and won’t add any fees of its own.

The drop in Affirm’s stock price in response suggests that, at least some investors had hoped that Apple would choose to go the partnership route rather than releasing its own BNPL program. The announcement last summer that Amazon.com had chosen Affirm as its BNPL partner showed just how valuable the e-commerce behemoth believed the rising fintech’s offering was. With Affirm users showing a demographic skew toward younger shoppers, investors hoped that Apple would come to the same conclusion that Amazon did and work with Affirm, rather than against it.

How Mastercard and Goldman Sachs could win from Apple Pay Later

Despite the hopes of Affirm shareholders, Apple Pay Later wasn’t a big surprise. Nearly a year ago, reports surfaced that Apple was working with key partners to develop its own BNPL service. And now that the news is out, it’s another victory for those partners: Mastercard (NYSE: MA) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS).

Mastercard stands to benefit from Apple Pay Later because Apple is using Mastercard’s payment network to handle installment payments under the program. Mastercard has fought hard to distinguish itself from its larger archrival, Visa. Cementing a relationship that started when the iPhone maker chose Mastercard for its Apple Card will further boost the No. 2 payment-network provider’s reputation among consumers.

Meanwhile, although the release didn’t specifically mention Goldman, the Wall Street banking giant is likely to be the lender behind the short-term installment loans within the BNPL program. Goldman is the issuing bank for Apple Card, and its decision to work more closely with Apple came at the same time that it chose to move aggressively into the consumer-banking side of the business with its Marcus online bank.

Will Apple Pay Later be a hit?

Both Goldman and Mastercard are large enough that the Apple Pay Later news didn’t have any discernible impact on their stock prices. To reap the financial rewards of Goldman’s and Mastercard’s expanded partnership with Apple, Apple Pay Later will have to prove it can compete effectively with Affirm and its disruptive BNPL peers.

One key to Apple Pay Later’s success will be in its execution. Looking closely at the release, users will be able to apply for Apple Pay Later when they use Apple Pay to check out, but that’s no guarantee of acceptance. How strict Goldman proves to be with its underwriting could be a major factor in how consumers view Apple Pay Later and how profitable it will be for both the bank and Mastercard, as payment-network provider.

Moreover, Apple Pay Later is relatively inflexible, only offering a single repayment option. Many shoppers like other BNPL providers’ wider array of schedules for making payments, although consumer advocates have criticized the higher costs in fees and interest charges that some of them involve.

Nevertheless, being associated with Apple’s ecosystem could have long-term benefits for Mastercard and Goldman Sachs. The strength of the two financial giants’ underlying businesses makes Apple Pay Later an added bonus opportunity to boost their growth.

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

The post Apple Pay Later just crushed Affirm’s dreams, but it’s a nice win for 2 fintech giants appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Representing 40% of Warren Buffett’s portfolio, here is why Apple is a great stock to own today
• Why did ASX 200 tech shares fall today?
• Is Apple an excellent dividend stock to buy?
• Why Apple escaped Tuesday’s Nasdaq meltdown
• Why Apple stock jumped on Monday

Dan Caplinger has positions in Amazon and Apple. John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Affirm Holdings, Inc., Amazon, Apple, Goldman Sachs, Mastercard, and Visa. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long March 2023 $120 calls on Apple and short March 2023 $130 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon, Apple, and Mastercard. 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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Shares of Mosaic Brands Ltd (ASX: MOZ) have plummeted on Thursday and are now trading at clear 52-week lows.

Sellers were active early in the session, and since the open have dumped the ASX retail share more than 56% lower, extending losses to 67% this year-to-date.

What’s up with the Mosaic Brands share price?

Investors are exiting their Mosaic Brands positions at pace following a market update released by the company today.

In the update, Mosaic detailed that overall trading conditions had fallen lower than expectations, and that FY22 would result in a loss at the bottom line. It cited risks from Omicron as the underlying cause:

The May trading month, which included the key Mother’s Day period, continued to see overall trading
conditions improve gradually, however at a rate that was below expectations, as our core customers
remained highly cautious of the ongoing risks associated with Omicron.

Despite the headwinds, online sales continue to stretch up, while in-store demand has also ticked up as COVID-19 restrictions wind back.

However, the company said it expected “to report a loss for the second half, which will result in a full year loss for FY22”, given continued disruptions to trade during the period.

“This is despite the Group delivering a profit in the first half of FY22, notwithstanding four months of lockdowns.”

In this vein, the company expects to return to profitability in FY23, according to the release, such that management was “entering FY23 in a strong and clean position to maximise the year ahead”.

Further updates are expected in July.

In the last 12 months, the Mosaic Brands share price has sunk more than 68% into the red, and 63% in the past single month of trade alone.

The post Here’s why the Mosaic Brands share price just crashed 56% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Bendigo Bank share price slides 7% as ASX banking basket unwinds on Wednesday
• Belt tightening? 5 ASX 200 consumer shares slipping to new 52-week lows today
• Apple Pay Later just crushed Affirm’s dreams, but it’s a nice win for 2 fintech giants
• How are ASX 200 tech shares performing following the RBA rate hike?
• Here are the 3 most traded ASX 200 shares on Wednesday

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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S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) tech shares tend to be highly sensitive to interest rate levels, performing well in a low rate environment.

That’s because many of the big tech companies carry high price to earnings (P/E) ratios. Meaning they’re priced with growing future earnings in mind. And as the cost of future money goes up, those P/E ratios start to look stretched.

So, with the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) hiking the official cash rate by an unexpectedly sharp 0.5% yesterday, are ASX 200 tech shares selling off?

Not at all.

ASX 200 tech shares charging ahead

Somewhat counterintuitively, ASX 200 tech shares are leading the charge higher today, while the big banks are all deep in the red.

At the time of writing the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) is down 2.6% while the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) – which contains some stocks outside of the top 200 – is up 1.5%.

That compares to a 0.4% intraday gain posted by the ASX 200.

Helping boost the tech index, the Xero Ltd (ASX: XRO) share price is up 2.2% today; shares in WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) are up 2.8%; and the Block Inc (ASX: SQ2) share price is up 3.5%.

Why is the tech sector shrugging off the rate rise?

There’s no single reason why ASX 200 tech shares are outperforming today.

We suspect there are two prime drivers.

First, the Aussie market tends to follow the lead of United States markets. And the tech sector was a strong performer in the US yesterday (overnight Aussie time), with the Nasdaq closing up 0.9%.

Dual-listed Block – which acquired Afterpay in January – closed 1.5% higher on the New York Stock Exchange.

Second, investors may be looking past the immediate impact of a rate rise at the longer-term potential of these leading ASX 200 tech shares, all of which have been beaten down this calendar year.

How beaten down?

Despite today’s lift the WiseTech share price remains down 31.7% in 2022; the Block share price is down 34.0%; and the Xero share price has tumbled 43.9%.

So there could well be some bargain hunting afoot today.

The post How are ASX 200 tech shares performing following the RBA rate hike? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 beaten down ASX tech shares that analysts rate as buys
• Why is Audinate outperforming other ASX tech shares today?
• Why Codan, Incitec Pivot, Xero, and Zip shares are dropping
• Down 13% in a month, fundie says Xero share price is ‘very reasonable’
• Why did ASX 200 tech shares fall today?

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Block, Inc., WiseTech Global, and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Block, Inc., WiseTech Global, and Xero. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is experiencing something of a bounce back so far this Wednesday after the nasty falls we saw on the markets yesterday. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 has bounced by a healthy 0.36% and is now back over 7,100 points.

So let’s dig a little deeper and check out the ASX 200 shares that are currently at the top of the share market’s volume charts, according to investing.com.

The 3 most traded ASX 200 shares by volume this Wednesday

Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)

ASX 200 big four bank Westpac makes a rare appearance on this list today as our first share to check out. So far today, a robust 11.8 million Westpac shares have been bought and sold. There hasn’t been any official news out of Westpac today.

Thus, it’s likely that this elevated trading volume is the result of the nasty 5.8% share price fall that the bank has suffered through today. As we covered earlier, the sector-wide falls we are seeing in the ASX banks today appear to be a consequence of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s big interest rate hike yesterday.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

Pilbara Minerals is next up this Wednesday. So far today, a notable 16.12 million of this ASX 200 lithium producer’s shares have found a new home.

This high volume appears to be another result of a share price fall. Thankfully for Pilbara investors, this time we have a far milder drop of 1.23% for Pilbara, which takes the company to $2.40 a share at present. 

Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN)

Uranium share Paladin Energy is our third, final and most traded ASX 200 share of the day today. This Wednesday has seen a whopping 27.78 million Paladin shares change hands as it currently stands. This is almost certainly a result of the 13% rise Paladin shares have enjoyed over the trading day.

As my Fool colleague Monica covered this afternoon, most ASX uranium shares are on fire today after news that the US government is proposing a $4.3 billion plan for buying enriched uranium from domestic producers, which could include Paladin. 

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

More reading

• Why are ASX 200 energy shares jumping today?
• Why Atlas Arteria, Boral, Fonterra, and Paladin Energy shares are pushing higher
• Why are ASX 200 bank shares plunging on Wednesday?
• Why are ASX uranium shares having such a cracker run on Wednesday?
• Westpac share price tumbles 5% 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 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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ASX 200 energy shares are having a stellar day on the market today.

The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) is currently up 4% to 11,117 points. For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is 0.4% in the green today.

Let’s take a look at what’s impacting ASX 200 energy shares today.

ASX 200 energy shares rise

ASX 200 energy shares ahead today include uranium shares Deep Yellow Limited (ASX: DYL), up 9.72% and Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN), rising 13.12%. Bannerman Energy Ltd (ASX: BMN) shares are jumping 16.67%, while Peninsula Energy Ltd (ASX: PEN) shares are rocketing 20%.

Uranium shares are rising after news emerged the Biden administration in the United States is seeking support from Congress on a $4.3 billion uranium plan. The idea is to buy enriched uranium from US producers to reduce the reliance on Russian imports, Bloomberg reports. The publication noted the US only has one commercial enrichment facility in New Mexico.

ASX listed Peninsula Energy has uranium operations in the United States, while Paladin has a project in nearby Canada.

US uranium producer Energy Fuels Inc (NYSE: UUUU) shares also rocketed nearly 12% on the New York Stock Exchange overnight.

Oil and gas producers are also having a positive day on the ASX today. Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) shares have jumped 3.48%, Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) shares are leaping 5%, while Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) shares are up 1.77%.

Goldman Sachs is forecasting Brent crude oil prices will average $140 per barrel between July and September, CNN Business reported.

Benchmark crude oil leapt 1.3% overnight due to tight supplies, as my Foolish colleague James reported this morning.

Oil prices have since retreated slightly, with Brent crude now up 0.21% to US$120.82 per barrel.

Natural gas prices have also jumped 0.74% to US$9.36 MMBtu (metric million British thermal unit).

Share price snapshot

The ASX 200 energy index share price has jumped 29.9% in the past year, while it has leapt 40.7% in the year to date.

For perspective, the benchmark ASX 200 has shed more than 2% in a year.

The post Why are ASX 200 energy shares jumping today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are the 3 most traded ASX 200 shares on Wednesday
• Why Atlas Arteria, Boral, Fonterra, and Paladin Energy shares are pushing higher
• 3 ASX 200 shares cracking new 52-week highs on Wednesday
• Why are ASX uranium shares having such a cracker run on Wednesday?
• Why is the BHP share price having such a stellar day?

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 a decent gain. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.4% to 7,124.9 points.

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

Atlas Arteria Group (ASX: ALX)

The Atlas Arteria share price share price is up 16% to $8.27. This follows news that IFM Global Infrastructure Fund has acquired a 15% stake in the toll road operator at a significant premium to its last close price. This has sparked hopes that a takeover offer could be launched soon.

Boral Limited (ASX: BLD)

The Boral share price is up 14% to $3.27. Investors have been buying this building products company’s shares after it appointed Vik Bansal as its new CEO. Mr Bansal stepped down from the role of CEO of Cleanaway Waste Management Ltd (ASX: CWY) last year amid a scandal which saw him accused of creating a culture of workplace bullying. This overshadowed an otherwise highly successful six years at Cleanaway.

Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund (ASX: FSF)

The Fonterra share price is up 2% to $2.79. This morning the dairy co-operative announced plans to launch a $50 million on-market share buyback program. Management made the move on the belief that its shares are undervalued at current levels.

Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN)

The Paladin Energy price is up 13% to 80 cents. Investors have been buying uranium shares on Wednesday after the industry was given a boost. This relates to news that the United States is seeking to wean itself off Russian uranium for its nuclear reactors. The Biden Administration has announced a US$4.3 billion plan to help with the transition.

The post Why Atlas Arteria, Boral, Fonterra, and Paladin Energy shares are pushing higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 3 ASX 200 shares cracking new 52-week highs on Wednesday
• Why are ASX uranium shares having such a cracker run on Wednesday?
• ASX 200 midday update: Boral rockets, big four banks tumble
• Why is the Paladin Energy share price jumping 13% today?
• Atlas Arteria share price leaps 16% amid takeover speculation

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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It’s been a fairly pleasant day for ASX so far this Wednesday. At the time of writing, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) has put on a healthy 0.42%. Thus, it’s probably a good day for an ASX initial public offering (IPO). That’s what has just happened with the Southern Palladium Limited (ASX: SPD) share price. 

Southern Palladium is the newest company to join the ASX. Its shares debuted on the ASX boards this morning. So let’s check out how this IPO went.

Southern Palladium, as the name implies, is a hopeful in the palladium space. Palladium is a rare precious metal that is primarily used in vehicle parts such as catalytic converters. According to the company, it is “in the process of acquiring a 70% interest in the Bengwenyama palladium/rhodium dominated PGM project located on the Eastern limb of the Bushveld, South Africa”. 

According to the company’s first ASX notice as a public business, Southern Palladium’s $19 million IPO funding round was “oversubscribed” at a price of 50 cents a share. Its previous financial backers included Australian fund manager Regal, as well as global fund managers Sprott Holdings and Lowell Capital.

Well, it’s been a relatively successful IPO for Southern Palladium. The investors who bought shares last month at 50 cents each would be pleased anyway. Over the company’s first day of trading thus far, Southern Palladium shares have traded between 58.5 cents and 65 cents each. They are currently going for 65 cents at the time of writing, up 30% from the IPO price.

Southern Palladium has said that with the funds raised from its IPO, it “is well capitalised to accelerate exploration at its 70%-owned Bengwenyama project”.

 

The post Southern Palladium share price zooms 30% higher on ASX debut appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why Atlas Arteria, Boral, Fonterra, and Paladin Energy shares are pushing higher
• This ASX tech company just did a deal with Bunnings, and its share price is up 20%
• 1 week in: Here’s how the ASX’s newest ETF is tracking
• Zip share price tumbles 6% as Apple Pay Later threat looms large
• Why is the GrainCorp share price racing higher today?

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

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