The Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) share price is on the move on Thursday morning.

At the time of writing, the lithium developer’s shares are up 6% to a record high of $1.34.

Why is the Core Lithium share price rising today?

The catalyst for the rise in the Core Lithium share price today has been the release of an exploration and drilling update from the Finniss Lithium Project near Darwin in the Northern Territory.

Core Lithium’s exploration team has been busy over the last drilling season, focusing on mineral resource growth and conversion and regional exploration to extend mine life and lay the foundation for production expansion within the broader Finniss Lithium Project over the medium term.

Today’s update provided the market with the results from drill assays received for drilling undertaken at a number of prospects and early-stage regional exploration targets within the southern tenements of the project area.

What did it report?

As you might have guessed from the Core Lithium share price performance today, these drilling results have been very promising.

According to the release, ten reverse circulation drill holes were completed at the Bilatos prospect. “Excitingly”, as management described it, most holes intersected significant lithium grades and consistent thicknesses of pegmatite in the first drilling.

One disappointment, though, was that the company didn’t have any success with its regional exploration. The release advises that 17 holes were drilled but there were no significant lithium intercepts.

Nevertheless, Core Lithium’s Managing Director, Stephen Biggins, remains positive on the future.

He commented: “The latest results confirm our view of the prospects drilled at the Finniss Project, and we look forward to reporting the new results as they come to hand. With the wet season nearly behind us, we are planning an active exploration drilling program at Finniss over the coming months.”

The post Why is the Core Lithium (ASX:CXO) share price up 6% to a record high? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 ASX lithium and green metals shares hitting new 52-week highs today
• Core Lithium (ASX:CXO) shrugs off sector falls to notch up all-time high
• Why Atlas Arteria, Core Lithium, Premier, and Telix shares are dropping
• Core Lithium (ASX:CXO) share price falls on shock CEO exit
• 5 ASX mining shares smashing 52-week highs 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 Bruce Jackson.

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The Tabcorp Holdings Limited (ASX: TAH) share price is on the move on Thursday morning.

At the time of writing, the gambling company’s shares are up almost 3% to $5.36.

Why is the Tabcorp share price rising?

Investors have been bidding the Tabcorp share price higher today after responding positively to the company’s demerger update.

According to the release, the company has registered its demerger booklet relating to its Lottery business with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

This booklet is then expected to be despatched to shareholders next month ahead of a shareholder vote on the demerger in May.

What’s happening?

The demerger, which Tabcorp’s directors are unanimously recommending shareholders vote in favour of, will see the company’s Lottery business spun off and listed separately on the Australian share market.

The Tabcorp board has determined that the demerger is the most certain and timely path, with lower regulatory impediments, to maximise value for shareholders.

The demerger will split the company into two: The Lottery Corporation (TLC) and New Tabcorp. The former will be home to its lottery brands including Keno, Tatts, and the Lott, which generated pro forma revenue of $3.2 billion and EBITDA of $611 million in FY 2021.

Whereas the latter will retain its wagering-focused businesses – Tab, Sky Racing, Max, and PGi. These businesses generated pro forma revenue of $2.5 billion and EBITDA of $464 million in FY 2021.

What about your shareholding?

If the demerger is approved and goes ahead, shareholders will receive one share in the TLC business for every share they own in Tabcorp on the record date of 25 May.

After which, the new shares are expected to begin trading on the ASX boards on a normal settlement basis on 2 June.

The post Tabcorp (ASX:TAH) share price higher following $10b demerger update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 ASX shares to ride out the 2022 volatility: expert

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

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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

A funny thing happened to Block (NYSE: SQ) stock today (well, funny unless you own it — if you own it, it’s just weird). Investment megabank Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of Block (formerly known Square) with a coveted buy rating and a $173 price target implying 22% upside in the stock. 

But instead of going up in response to the upgrade, Block stock went down 3.3% as of 1:50 p.m. ET. 

So what

StreetInsider.com has the details.

“SQ is well positioned to benefit from Cash App’s growing monetization from new product features (e.g., tax preparation, card spending, cash management, stock investing, Bitcoin),” writes Goldman, “while enjoying ongoing user growth from the network effects of P2P payments, as well as Square’s continued share gains” among small and medium businesses.

The analyst is also optimistic about Block’s purchase of Afterpay, predicting that its entry into the buy now, pay later market will “generate synergies and integrate the Square and Cash App ecosystems through the addition of new consumers and merchants, as well as helping to establish commerce & brand discovery features into Cash App.”

Now what

So far, so good — but why does any of the above add up to investors selling Block stock today, instead of buying it?

Honestly, I don’t think they do. Rather, what I suspect we see happening here is investors taking advantage of Goldman Sachs’ positive note to cash in some of their recent profits from Block stock. Just two weeks ago, Block stock was selling for less than $95 a share — but it tipped the scales at nearly $147 last night, a 55% improvement in the space of 16 days.

Recall, too, that with only $166 million in trailing net income, Block stock currently costs nearly 500 times trailing earnings, which is quite a lot to pay even for a company pegged by analysts for tremendous 37% annualized earnings growth over the next five years.

Simply put, Block stock had a great run-up over the past couple of weeks. It was due for a pullback — no matter what Goldman Sachs had to say about it today. 

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

The post Why Block (NYSE:SQ) stock dropped today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• What’s the outlook for the Wesfarmers share price in April?
• 2 ASX dividend shares with attractive yields analysts rate as buys
• 3 ASX growth shares brokers rate as buys for April
• 2 ‘very interesting’ ASX shares to buy now as ASX 200 roars back
• The ASX share that makes money no matter what: fund manager

Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Bitcoin, Block, Inc., and Goldman Sachs. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson. 

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

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The Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) share price has risen in March. But could it keep going up in April 2022?

No one can truly know what a share price is going to do on any day, month or even year.

But analysts regularly like to update their thoughts on a business. Company updates can also change investor opinions.

What could happen next for the Wesfarmers share price?  

One of the latest ratings on Wesfarmers comes from the broker Citi. It is ‘neutral’ on Wesfarmers, with a price target of $50. That implies that the ASX retail share is expected to decline slightly.

The broker had a look at what the impacts of the federal budget might be, with a potential $8 billion increase for Aussie households to spend, which could help Wesfarmers.

One of the most positive brokers on Wesfarmers is Morgans. It rates Wesfarmers as a buy, with a price target of $58.50. That implies a potential rise of more than 10%.

Morgans noted that the FY22 half-year result were not as strong as the broker had been expecting, partly because of COVID-19 effects, which it believes will continue over the six months to 30 June 2022.

Half-year earnings wrap

The company reported that revenue fell 0.1% to $17.76 billion. Net profit after tax (NPAT) fell by 12.7% to $1.2 billion and operating cash flow sank 29.8% to $1.56 billion.

Wesfarmers said the first six months of FY22 were the most disrupted period for its businesses since the onset of COVID-19. There were store closures and trading restrictions. On top of that, operating costs and stock availability were impacted by ongoing supply chain disruptions and elevated team member “absenteeism”.

Cash flow was also impacted by higher inventory, particularly in Kmart as a result of additional purchasing decisions to prioritise availability while COVID-related disruptions persist.

Outlook

When the ASX retail share released its FY22 half-year result, it said that overall economic conditions in Australia were favourable, supported by strong employment and high levels of accumulated household savings. The company continues to actively manage increasing inflationary pressure and will leverage its scale to mitigate the impact of rising costs.

The company said its retail businesses will increase their focus on price leadership and are “well positioned to continue to provide customers with great value on everyday products as rising cost-of-living pressures impact household budgets.”

Retail trading conditions were subdued in January because of growing Omicron COVID-19 case numbers, impacting both customer traffic and labour availability, but trading momentum improved in February.

Wesfarmers continue to incur additional costs and experience stock availability impacts. It’s expecting supply chain disruptions, elevated transport costs and constraints in domestic labour markets to continue in the second half of FY22.

Wesfarmers share price valuation

Citi thinks that the current Wesfarmers share price is valued at 25x FY22’s estimated earnings.

However, Morgans thinks the Wesfarmers share price is valued at 27x FY22’s estimated earnings.

The post What’s the outlook for the Wesfarmers share price in April? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 ASX dividend shares with attractive yields analysts rate as buys
• It’s payday for Wesfarmers shareholders today. Here’s the deal
• ‘Popping the champagne’: ASX retail shares leap following budget consumer handouts
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Could these ASX shares get a boost from tonight’s federal budget?

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 owns and has recommended Wesfarmers Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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If you’re an income investor on the lookout for some new additions, then you may want to check out the two ASX dividend shares listed below.

Here’s why these giants could be in the buy zone:

Charter Hall Social Infrastructure REIT (ASX: CQE)

The first ASX dividend share to look at is the Charter Hall Social Infrastructure REIT.

This real estate investment trust has a focus on social infrastructure properties, such as bus depots, police and justice services facilities, and childcare centres. All of which are in demand with end users and command very long leases, as evidenced in its 100% occupancy rate and weighted average lease expiry of 14.6 years.

The team at Goldman Sachs is positive on the company and currently has a conviction buy rating and $4.20 price target on its shares

As for dividends, Goldman is forecasting dividends per share of 17.2 cents in FY 2022 and 18.3 cents in FY 2023. Based on its current share price of $3.93, this implies yields of 4.4% and 4.65%, respectively.

Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES)

Another ASX dividend share that could be in the buy zone is Wesfarmers. It is one of Australia’s leading conglomerates with a quality portfolio of retail, industrial, and mining businesses.

Morgans is very positive on Wesfarmers. It believes Wesfarmers is well-placed to benefit when trading conditions improve. Overall, it views the company as a core portfolio holding for long-term investors.

As a result, the broker currently has an add rating and $58.50 price target on its shares.

In respect to dividends, Morgans is forecasting fully franked dividends of $1.62 per share in FY 2022 and then $1.81 per share in FY 2023. Based on the current Wesfarmers share price of $51.17 this will mean yields of 3.2% and 3.5%, respectively.

The post 2 ASX dividend shares with attractive yields analysts rate as buys appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• It’s payday for Wesfarmers shareholders today. Here’s the deal
• ‘Popping the champagne’: ASX retail shares leap following budget consumer handouts
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Could these ASX shares get a boost from tonight’s federal budget?
• Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price falls after top broker calls Bunnings owner a sell

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 owns and has recommended Wesfarmers Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Are you interested in adding some ASX growth shares to your portfolio? If you are, you may want to look at the ones listed below.

Here’s what you need to know about these growth shares:

Breville Group Ltd (ASX: BRG)

The first ASX growth share to look at is Breville. It is a leading appliance manufacturer with a growing portfolio of brands which have been resonating well with consumers for many years. Together with its global expansion, this has underpinned consistently solid sales and earnings growth. The good news is that this strong form is expected to continue in the future thanks to favourable industry tailwinds, its continued investment in research and development, and its ongoing global expansion. Macquarie is a very positive on Breville. The broker currently has an outperform rating and $34.80 price target on its shares.

Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP)

Another growth share to look at is this pizza chain operator. It could be a top option due to its strong brand, investment in technology, and bold expansion plans. The latter sees the company aiming to more than double its network by FY 2033. It also has the balance sheet strength to add to its network, extending its market opportunity further. And while a poor performance in Asia has been weighing on its shares this year, Morgans remains positive on the future and sees this as a buying opportunity. The broker has an add rating and $115.00 price target on its shares.

Infomedia Limited (ASX: IFM)

A final growth share to look at is Infomedia. It is software as a service (SaaS) platform provider in parts, service, e-commerce, and data analytics solutions to the global automotive industry. It has been supporting global automotive distribution networks for more than 25 years and continues to expand its reach within the three regions in which it currently operates. Bell Potter is very positive on the company, naming its top pick in the tech sector right now. It currently has a buy rating and $1.85 price target on its shares.

The post 3 ASX growth shares brokers rate as buys for April appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Experts name 3 excellent ASX shares for growth investors to buy
• The next ASX share ready to join the 20-bagger club: expert
• Experts name 2 stunning ASX growth shares to buy now
• Here are 3 ASX growth shares analysts are tipping as buys
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy 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. owns and has recommended Infomedia. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Dominos Pizza Enterprises Limited and Infomedia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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It seems the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has shed its anxieties for now and decided to ascend in style once again.

With just one day remaining in the month, the benchmark has risen an amazing 6.5% in March.

Whether the revival will last is anyone’s guess, but there are some tempting buys out there if you want to hitch a ride on the latest upturn.

Here are a couple of suggestions from Burman Invest chief investment officer Julia Lee:

The software stock in the bargain bin right now

Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) shares have fallen 26% for the year so far, but Lee loves it as a buying opportunity.

“I think Xero under $100… is looking very interesting. I think fair value is more around that $120 mark,” she told Switzer TV Investing.

“Some of its competitors are upping the game overseas… But all together things have been still relatively strong from a growth perspective.”

A 6.6% surge upwards in the last five trading days has sent the Xero price back above that $100 threshold that Lee spoke of. 

But at $108.16 on Wednesday afternoon, there’s still plenty of upside.

The accounting software provider has plenty of fans, with the likes of TMS Capital portfolio manager Ben Clark and Medallion Financial Group private client advisor Stuart Bromley singing its praises.

“Users tend to stick with the product. The business is capital-light and scalable,” Bromley said last week.

“The [share] price discount is attractive.”

This is not an energy stock, but will do well when oil prices surge

Lee nominated Incitec Pivot Ltd (ASX: IPL) as the other attractive stock at the moment.

The business makes chemical products like fertilisers and explosives. For Lee, the prospect of energy prices rising will give Incitec shares a handy catalyst.

“You know I’ve been a fan of fertiliser for a while, and one of the major costs of fertiliser is energy prices,” she said.

“As oil prices rise, you usually see fertiliser prices rising.”

Most other analysts agree with Lee. According to CMC Markets, eight out of 10 fund managers are rating the stock as a “strong buy”.

Incitec Pivot shares are already up 16% for the year so far, which is completely opposite to where the rest of the market has been heading.

Just this month, the share price has gained more than 24%.

The post 2 ‘very interesting’ ASX shares to buy now as ASX 200 roars back appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Hoping to bag the next Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX:VAS) dividend? Read this
• The Xero share price is up 9% in just two days
• These 3 ASX 200 shares are topping the volume charts on Wednesday
• Own AGL shares? Your dividend arrives today

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo owns Xero. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Xero. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Xero. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Ask A Fund Manager

The Motley Fool chats with fund managers so that you can get an insight into how the professionals think. In this edition, Marcus Today portfolio manager Ben O’Leary reveals the lesson he learnt from the pandemic panic.

The ASX share for a comfortable night’s sleep

The Motley Fool: If the market closed tomorrow for four years, which stock would you want to hold?

Ben O’Leary: There’s one that jumps out to us here, and we unanimously love it here, and that is Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG). 

It’s a pretty simple answer — they just have a track record of making money in almost any environment. 

We can’t predict the future, we don’t know what will happen in the next four years. We can take educated guesses, but if you take us back in time to 2018, there’s no way you’d guess that we’d be where we are now after a pandemic and the [US Federal Reserve] rates being where they are and whatnot. 

So rather than trying to guess the future, I’d rather invest in a company that will adapt for you and do the hard work.

MF: It’s a company that is, again, investing in thematics, aren’t they?

BO: Yeah. They really do look at the landscape, and their sole goal is to make money. So if the environment changes and they’re not going to be as successful, then they change their tactic. They don’t just ride out waves, which I think if you’re talking about something that you can have your money in and not be able to get it out for a few years, that’s the kind of team that I’d want paying my money.

Looking back

MF: Is there a move that you regret from the past? For example, a missed opportunity or buying a stock at the wrong timing or price.

BO: I think probably everyone learned a lot throughout the COVID period. Unprecedented was the key word that everyone was talking about. 

The thing that we learned was not trying to catch trends in the short term. The volatility that came through the market was just enormous. And, honestly, it looked like there was a lot of opportunity to get some quick gains on things as they were rotating around. But in the market, things were literally rotating in a matter of days and weeks, rather than months and years, like they normally do. So things like travel and retailers running giant swings on the back of health numbers and then government incentives.

We know now that it’s better to look through that short term and let the peaks and troughs play out, rather than trying to catch them and getting burnt if your timing is slightly off. In the really fast market, you don’t have time to set yourself properly. And then by the time you have set yourself, the tide’s turned and you’ve ended up blowing the top. 

So it was just a really good lesson of just let the short-term stuff fly by, keep that long-term focus. Well, for us, that’s what it is. If you’re a trader, it’s different. But we’ve got a three to five year timeline, so keep that focus, look through the short-term and stick to the investment process. Don’t try and catch the latest trend.

The post The ASX share that makes money no matter what: fund manager appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• How did ASX 200 bank shares perform today?
• Macquarie calls ‘pens down’ on Uniti (ASX:UWL) takeover but more suitors possible
• Here’s how Macquarie (ASX:MQG) is changing its portfolio of ASX shares in response to the Ukraine crisis
• Uniti (ASX:UWL) share price climbs 4% as Morrison ups the ante
• Growth will be back! Expert picks 7 ASX shares to buy now

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo owns Macquarie Group 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 recommended Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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On Wednesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) had another good day and stormed higher. The benchmark index rose 0.7% to 7,514.5 points.

Will the market be able to build on this on Thursday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to rise

The Australian share market looks set to edge higher on Thursday despite a poor night on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 15 points or 0.2% higher this morning. In late trade on Wall Street, the Dow Jones is down 0.5%, the S&P 500 is down 0.9%, and the Nasdaq has tumbled 1.4%.

Ramsay rated as a buy

The Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC) share price could be in the buy zone according to Goldman Sachs. This morning the broker retained its buy rating and $74.00 price target on the private hospital operator’s shares. Goldman said: “With restrictions continuing to ease across all major markets, RHC is seeing a stronger, albeit uneven, volume development through 2H22 to date.”

Oil prices rebound

It could be a good day for energy shares including Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) after oil prices charged higher overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 3.25% to US$107.63 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 2.45% to US$112.92 a barrel. Tight supply and the prospect of new Russian sanctions boosted prices.

Shares going ex-dividend

The shares of auto retailer Eagers Automotive Ltd (ASX: APE) and retail giant Harvey Norman Holdings Limited (ASX: HVN) are going ex-dividend this morning and are likely to trade lower. Eligible shareholders can now look forward to receiving their fully franked dividends of 42.5 cents per share and 20 cents per share, respectively, on 20 April and 2 May.

Gold price rises

It could be a good day for gold miners Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL) after the gold price pushed higher. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is up 1% to US$1,937.4 an ounce. A weaker US dollar gave the precious metal a boost.

The post 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Hoping to bag the next Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX:VAS) dividend? Read this
• These 3 ASX 200 shares are topping the volume charts on Wednesday
• Budget fuel excise cut: Which ASX shares could benefit?
• Why is the Santos share price sliding today?
• Own AGL shares? Your dividend arrives 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. owns and has recommended Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Ramsay Health Care Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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ASX 200 bank shares had a ripping day, all closing in the green a day after the federal budget.

The Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) share price climbed 2.1% today, while National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) hiked 0.84%.

Let’s take a look at what may have impacted ASX banking shares today.

ASX 200 bank shares rise

ASX bank shares all closed higher today. The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price gained 0.91% while Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) finished up 0.66%. Meanwhile, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN) climbed 0.39% and Bank of Queensland Ltd (ASX: BOQ) closed 0.35% higher. The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) share price rise was more modest at 0.04%.

Accordingly, the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) also had a positive day on the ASX today, jumping 0.88%.

The team at Switzer predicted the federal budget would be a positive for banks in a video recorded last night. Commenting on the outlook for banks, Peter Switzer said:

If you’ve got a strong spending consumer, it’s going to be good for our banks as well. So the momentum we’ve seen in the banks in recent times will also be helped by this budget.

However, the federal budget has also sparked fears of inflation due to the high government debt. But, as my Foolish colleague Zach recently reported, the prospect of rising interest rates could be “a huge positive” for the banks.

Certainly, expectations of future high interest rates policies have increased, Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe said recently.

Meantime, financial regulators have warned banks to not let lending standards fall amid predicted interest rate rises.

The Council of Financial Regulators is concerned about high-risk mortgage lending, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

The Council said:

It is important that lending standards are maintained and that borrowers have adequate buffers, especially in an environment in which housing loan interest rates are at historically low levels and are expected to rise over time in line with the economic recovery

ASX 200 bank shares snapshot

NAB shares have surged nearly 25% in the past year while Commonwealth Bank shares have also gained around 25%. ANZ shares have slipped 0.78% in that time while the Macquarie share price has increased nearly 38%. However, Westpac shares have improved only marginally in the past 12 months by 0.62%.

In comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) has pulled ahead almost 14% in the past year. Meantime, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has gained around 12%.

The post How did ASX 200 bank shares perform today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• BOQ share price punches 8% higher in March to sprout into the green
• What’s the outlook for the ANZ share price in April?
• What’s the outlook for the NAB (ASX:NAB) share price in April?
• The CBA dividend is being paid today. Here’s what you need to know
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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