The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) share price had a great run over 2021.

It beat the broader market’s performance by 8.1% last year, driven by a particularly good start.

At the end of 2020, the ANZ share price was trading for $22.70. Come the final session of 2021, it closed at $27.51, leaving it with a 21.1% gain for the 12-month period.

For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gained 13% in the same period.

Let’s take a look at what drove the smallest big bank’s share price last year.

What drove the ANZ share price in 2021?

The ANZ share price gained 24% over the first 3 months of 2021. Although, the market didn’t hear price-sensitive news from ANZ in 2021 until mid-February.

Then, the bank announced it clocked $1.8 billion of unaudited cash earnings for the first quarter of financial year 2021.

As The Motley Fool Australia reported at the time, that was a 54% jump on the average quarterly profit of the second half of financial year 2020.

The ANZ share price surged 2.8% higher the day it announced the news.

Its strong performance continued in May when it announced its results for the 6 months ended 31 March.

The period saw ANZ besting analyst expectations to report a $2.9 billion statutory after-tax profit and $2.9 billion of cash earnings from continuing operations. It also announced a 70 cent, fully franked, interim dividend.

Sadly, the market seemingly expected more, and the bank’s stock tumbled 3.2% lower.

In June, ANZ announced its plan to undergo a $1 billion capital raise through issuing notes.

Finally, the last time the market heard price-sensitive news from the bank was in late October when it released its full-year results.

Once again, it had experienced a major profit surge. It reported a 72% jump in statutory profits, which came in at around $6.16 billion.

Its cash earnings increased by 65% to approximately $6.2 billion, and it announced a final fully franked dividend of 72 cents per share.

The ANZ share price gained 0.7% on the back of its annual results.

There was plenty of interesting non-price sensitive news from the bank in 2021.

It was hit with a $25 million penalty from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in December.

Earlier in November, the watchdog also announced it was taking the bank to court over historical home loan applications.

It was also hit with a class action last month over certain credit card contracts.

Although some brokers are bearish on the company’s performance for 2022, overall 2021 was an exciting year for the ANZ share price.

The post Here’s why the ANZ (ASX:ANZ) share price had such a great run in 2021 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 falls on Friday but records 13% gain in 2021
• Here’s why the ANZ (ASX:ANZ) share price has climbed in December
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: CBA rises, Sandfire’s MATSA update
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy
• Is the ANZ (ASX:ANZ) share price a buy with its 8% dividend yield?

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

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There are a lot of options for investors to choose from on the Australian share market.

To narrow things down, I’ve taken a look at which ASX shares analysts are recommending investors buy right now.

Two that have been given buy ratings are listed below. Here’s what you need to know about them:

Santos Ltd (ASX: STO)

If you’re happy to invest in the resources sector then you might want consider energy producer Santos, which has recently completed its merger with Oil Search.

Morgans is a fan of Santos and sees significant upside for its shares at the current level. The broker has an add rating and $8.65 price target. And while this is notably higher than the latest Santos share price of $6.06, the broker feels it is still conservative.

The broker commented: “We view our target price as conservative, with a case for value upside from de-risking of growth projects and securing of synergies. The merger leaves STO well positioned to control its own future in increasingly difficult ESG-driven debt and equity markets. We maintain our Add rating.”

TechnologyOne Ltd (ASX: TNE)

This enterprise resource planning software provider could be a share to buy in 2022 according to the team at Bell Potter.

The broker likes TechnologyOne due to its belief that it can grow its earnings at a solid rate for many years as it continues to transition to a software-as-a-service business. Bell Potter has a buy rating and $15.00 price target on the company’s shares.

It commented: “The key competitive advantage of the company is it has developed a fully integrated SaaS solution of its software and is now switching customers to this solution. The migration is now >50% complete and Technology One is starting to reap the benefits of greater recurring revenue and a higher margin. This combination will in our view drive double digit earnings growth for years to come and, as the migration of customers approaches 100%, we expect the multiple to re-rate to that of a pure SaaS company.”

The post 2 ASX shares analysts rate as buys in January appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Pilbara Minerals hits record high, energy shares rise
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Could this drive the Santos (ASX:STO) share price in 2022?
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy

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 Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) share price may be edging lower on Tuesday but that hasn’t stopped it from recording a solid gain over the last month.

Since this time in January, the mining giant’s shares are up 6%.

Can the Rio Tinto share price go higher from here?

Opinion is reasonably divided on the Rio Tinto share price and its future direction.

For example, the team at Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) has an outperform rating and $135.00 price target on its shares.

Whereas over at UBS, its analysts are bearish on the mining giant and have a sell rating and lowly $80.00 price target.

Elsewhere, the team at Morgans is sitting on the fence at the moment and has a hold rating and $104.00 price target on Rio Tinto’s shares.

Morgans has concerns around the long-term impact from what it believes to be a critical underspend in the Pilbara.

The broker commented: “RIO remains in the peculiar position for an iron ore miner of being mine constrained (with infrastructure normally the key bottleneck), with RIO now facing an increasingly tight schedule to bring on new replacement mines.”

“The implications being RIO is struggling to maintain Pilbara iron ore volumes (particularly of its premium Pilbara Blend product) while sustaining capex is highly likely to remain at levels well above its peers for the foreseeable future,” it added.

Morgans is now forecasting total iron ore capex of an average of US$2.8 billion per annum through to 2030. This is almost double its estimate of US$1.5 billion previously.

The broker concludes: “The difficult operating conditions at RIO’s flagship Pilbara iron ore business is unfolding just as the big miner launches an aggressive decarbonization strategy (US$7.5bn spend to 2030), which will further dent FCF [free cash flow] generation. With these risks in mind and RIO trading near our revised price target we maintain our Hold recommendation.”

The post Here’s what brokers are saying about the Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) share price appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s why ASX 200 mining shares could be in for a boost in 2022
• How the Macquarie (ASX: MQG) share price went in 2021
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Christmas highs: 3 ASX 200 shares hitting record highs today
• Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) shares are enjoying a Santa rally of their own this month. Here’s why

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 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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Well, it’s the first trading day of 2022, and the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is welcoming the new year in style! At the time of writing, the ASX 200 is up a pleasing 1.72% at 7,572 points.

But let’s dig a little deeper and check out the ASX 200 shares currently topping the share market’s trading volume charts, according to investing.com.

3 most traded ASX 200 shares by volume on Tuesday

Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)

Our first high-volume ASX 200 share today is blue chip Telstra. This telco has seen a hefty 10.84 million of its shares trade on the markets so far this Tuesday. There’s not much in the way of news or announcements out of Telstra today. In saying that though, the Telstra share price is enjoying some healthy gains today.

The telco is currently up a solid 0.24% at $4.19 a share so far after touching a new 52-week high of $4.20 earlier this morning. This new high, together with Telstra’s ongoing share buybacks, are probably behind this elevated volume we see today.

Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN)

A recent addition to the ASX 200 Index, next up we have Paladin Energy. This uranium company has had a sizeable 15.4 million shares trade hands on the ASX boards so far today. This could be the result of the Paladin share price putting on a healthy 7.39% so far today, despite not much in the way of news coming out of the company.

This gain, as well as the high trading volume, could be the result of Paladin announcing that more than 14 million Paladin shares will be released from escrow on 11 January.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

And last, but certainly not least in terms of ASX 200 trading volume, we have lithium producer Pilbara Minerals. Pilbara has had a whopping 29 million of its shares find new homes thus far on Tuesday. Again, there hasn’t been any major developments from the company today.

However, Pilbara shares have enjoyed an exceptional trading session so far. This company is currently up a pleasing 8.13% so far today after touching a new all-time high of $3.50 a share just this morning. We discussed what might be going on with these gains earlier today, but this is almost certainly why we have seen so many Pilbara shares traded so far today.

The post These 3 ASX 200 shares are topping the volume charts this Tuesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s why the CBA share price had such a good run in December
• New year’s resolution: Why are ASX lithium shares having such a stellar day?
• Why Brainchip, Pilbara Minerals, Straker, and Whitehaven Coal shares are pushing higher
• Happy new high! Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) share price up another 7%
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Pilbara Minerals hits record high, energy shares rise

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns 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 owns 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 Bruce Jackson.

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Crypto investors will, broadly, have enjoyed some significant price gains in the year just past.

While those gains certainly didn’t come in a straight line, with plenty of gut churning dips along the way, the top altcoins in 2021 delivered some jaw dropping gains, as we discussed here.

Of course, not every crypto gained last year.

Below, we take a look at the 5 worst performing tokens of the year.

As with our top performers, to eliminate the large potential price moves from tiny altcoins, these 5 come from the list of top 100 tokens by market cap and are sourced from data by CoinMarketCap.

2021’s fourth and fifth worst performing digital tokens

The fifth worst performing crypto in 2021 was Pax Dollar (CRYPTO: USDP).

And, in a sign of just how well cryptocurrencies performed last year, Pax Dollar finished the year down just 0.3% trading at US$1.00. The token had a market valuation of US$946 million as at 31 December, making it the number 89 crypto in virtual circulation.

Pax Dollar is what’s known as a stablecoin. It was founded in September 2018.

So, what does Pax Dollar do?

According to CoinMarketCap, the fiat collateralised stablecoin “offers the advantage of transacting with blockchain assets through minimized price risk”.

Which brings us to our fourth worst performing crypto of 2021, fellow stablecoin Dai (CRYPTO: DAI).

Dai lost 0.4% during the year, also finishing at US$1.00. That left it as the 19th biggest token, with a market cap of US$9.2 billion.

Dai is an Ethereum-based stablecoin that’s soft-pegged to the US dollar.

CoinMarketCap tells us it’s “collateralised by a mix of other cryptocurrencies that are deposited into smart-contract vaults” every time new tokens are issued. Dai’s “issuance and development is managed by the Maker Protocol and the MakerDAO decentralised autonomous organization”.

2021’s second and third worst performing altcoins

The third worst crypto performer of 2021 was Bitcoin SV (CRYPTO: BSV).

Bitcoin SV lost 24.2% during the past year, trading for US$123.73 on 31 December. That gave the token a market cap of US$2.34 billion and placed it as the 58th largest crypto in circulation.

Despite making the worst performers’ list, Bitcoin SV hit all time highs this past year, reaching US$491.64 on 16 April 2021.

The token came out following the hard fork of the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) blockchain in 2018. It’s designed to “offer scalability and stability in line with the original description of Bitcoin as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system, as well as deliver a distributed data network that can support enterprise-level advanced blockchain applications”.

Moving on to the second worst crypto performer, we arrive at Celsius (CRYPTO: CEL).

Celsius finished the year down 29.4% to US$3.86. That saw it drop to the number 94 spot of largest crypto list, with a market cap of US$922 million as at 31 December.

The token was launched in June 2018, providing “rewards for depositing cryptocurrency, along with services such as loans and wallet-style payments”. Investors using the Celsius platform receive interest payments for their crypto holdings.

The worst performing crypto of 2021

Coming in at the bottom of the barrel in 2021 is NEM (CRYPTO: XEM).

NEM finished 2021 down 42.7% at 12.8 US cents. That left it as the number 83 crypto in terms of size, with a market cap of US$1.15 billion as at 31 December.

NEM stands for ‘New Economy Movement’ and it has been in active use since March 2015. According to CoinMarketCap, the crypto is an “ecosystem of platforms that use blockchain and cryptography to provide solutions for businesses and individuals”.

The post These were the 5 worst crypto assets to hold in 2021 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why is the Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price having a lousy start to 2022?
• Woolworths (ASX:WOW) share price shrugs off COVID-induced supply issues
• Here’s why the CBA share price had such a good run in December
• New year’s resolution: Why are ASX lithium shares having such a stellar day?
• Why Elixir Energy, Kogan, St Barbara, and Zip shares are dropping

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 Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price is starting the 2022 year in the red in what has been a mixed day for buy now, pay later (BNPL) shares.

Shares in the company are currently trading at $4.30 apiece, down 0.69% on the previous close. They rose as high as $4.37 in early trade but have also slumped as low as $4.21 during a rollercoaster day. For perspective, the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) is climbing 1.69%

Let’s take a look at what may be impacting Zip today.

What’s going on with Zip?

The Zip share price is falling today but it is not the only such company suffering. Shares in Openpay Group Ltd (ASX: OPY) are also slumping 2.07% today.

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) is slightly in the green, up 0.63% while Humm Group Ltd (ASX: HUM) is up 0.56%. Sezzle Inc‘s (ASX: SZL) stock is also trading 1.99% higher.

The US market told a similar story with a variety of movements among BNPL shares.

The Affirm Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: AFRM) share price fell 5.32% tp $95.21, while Paypal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL) jumped 3.37% to $194.94.

Zip’s start to the year is consistent with its share price movement for the majority of December, despite an early surge in the final month of the year.

The Zip share price raced ahead after the company provided a positive trading update in early December. Zip revealed its monthly transaction volume increased by $906.5 million, up 52% year on year.

In other non-price-sensitive news released by the company, Zip formed an agreement with travel industry technology company Sabre on December 9. The partnership enables Zip to integrate Sabre’s global distribution system so that travel partners can accept Zip payments.

The company also appointed former Deliveroo CEO Levi Aron as the chief growth officer in the United States.

However, as the month progressed, the company’s shares hit new lows. The share price dived on news the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau had ordered Zip and other BNPL shares to provide it with the pros and cons of its offerings.

Zip share price snapshot

The Zip share price has slumped 23% in the past 12 months, falling around 11% in the past month.

In contrast, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has returned more than 13% in the past year.

Zip has a market capitalisation of nearly $2.5 billion based on the current share price.

The post Why is the Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price having a lousy start to 2022? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why Elixir Energy, Kogan, St Barbara, and Zip shares are dropping
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares in December
• These were the 5 top performing ASX BNPL shares of 2021
• Why has the Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price tumbled 15% in December?
• In the ‘dog basket’: 6 ASX shares that could rebound in 2022

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Afterpay Limited and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Afterpay Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Humm Group Limited and PayPal Holdings. 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 Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) share price is edging higher during late afternoon trade. This comes despite the retail conglomerate facing logistical challenges due to the rapid spread of COVID-19.

The news has sent Woolworths shares into positive territory to $38.60, up 1.55%.

COVID-19 creating supply chain dilemmas for Woolworths

Investors appear to be shrugging off the negative news surrounding the supermarket giant, sending Woolworths shares higher today.

A strong rise in COVID-19 cases particularly in the southern states has forced thousands of people to isolate at home. This has led to a severe shortage of workers across many industries such as hospitality, healthcare, and retail.

Notably, Woolworths shelves have been laid bare in popular Sydney stores due to staff obeying stay-at-home orders.

According to insiders, the company is operating on skeleton staff at its distribution centres, resulting in cancelled or delayed deliveries.

While the impact is expected to be temporary, there is no indication of when supply chain operations will return to normal. A spokesperson for Woolworths could not give an indication as to how many workers are currently isolating.

The latest COVID-19 figures have exploded to more than 157,800 active cases in New South Wales and 48,300 cases in Victoria. This is a sharp increase from this time last year when the country had been effectively managing the pandemic.

Adding more pain is reportedly the long wait times to get tested for COVID, with some people waiting up to 5 hours.

Woolworths share price review

It’s been a sound 12 months for Woolworths shares, posting a gain of almost 10% for the period.

The company’s shares proved their resilience against COVID-19, reaching an all-time high of $42.66 in mid-August.

Based on today’s price, Woolworths commands a market capitalisation of roughly $46.82 billion and has approximately 1.21 billion shares outstanding.

The post Woolworths (ASX:WOW) share price shrugs off COVID-induced supply issues appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• December has been pretty dire for the Woolworths (ASX:WOW) share price. Here’s why
• What’s driving the Woolworths (ASX:WOW) share price higher today?
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell
• The stories that rocked the ASX 200 in 2021 revisited
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell next week

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 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 Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price has kicked off 2022 in a positive way so far this Tuesday. At the time of writing, CBA shares are up a pleasing 1.42% at $102.43 each.

This latest surge is redolent of the strong month Commonwealth Bank has just enjoyed. Over December, this ASX banking giant rose from $93.18 a share all the way to the flat $101 it closed at on New Year’s Eve. That’s a very healthy gain of 8.4% for the month, and cemented a robust 23% gain for CBA shares over 2021, not including dividend returns.

So how did CBA, the ASX’s largest bank share, manage such a pleasing December?

Well, it was a month that brought no real major developments from CBA. The bank bumped up its fixed lending rates for housing loans during the month. As we reported at the time, CommBank increased its owner-occupier fixed rate by 0.05% during December to 2.54%.

It beefed up longer-term rates even more, raising its 3-year fixed rate by 0.15% to 3.14%. Its 4-year rate also got a hike, rising by 0.25% to 3.34%.

Now, higher rates obviously mean more cash flow for CBA, but this could be counterbalanced by higher wholesale funding costs across the banking sector. Even so, it seems investors were pleased (or, at the very least, didn’t care).

Brokers try to ruin CBA’s Christmas

CBA also had to weather some negative broker notes over December. As my Fool colleague James reported late last month, brokers at Macquarie slapped an ‘underperform’ rating on CBA shares, with a 12-month share price target of $86. Macquarie sees aggressive competition for the home loan market weighing on CBA’s margins. But Macquarie wasn’t the only broker grinching the CBA’s Christmas celebrations.

We also covered fellow broker Morgans‘ ‘reduce’ rating on Commonwealth Bank. It sees CBA shares falling to $73 over the next year or so, and estimates that the share price premium CBA enjoys against the other ASX banks won’t last.

But investors shrugged off these concerns over December, and shot CBA shares higher. Perhaps this was just a result of overall market sentiment, seeing as the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) basked in a monthly gain of 2.6% over December. Whatever the reason, CBA has certainly delivered some Christmas cheer to its shareholders.

At the current Commonwealth Bank of Australia share price, CBA shares offer a dividend yield of 3.42%.

The post Here’s why the CBA share price had such a good run in December appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Pilbara Minerals hits record high, energy shares rise
• These were the 5 worst performing ASX 200 shares in 2021
• These were the 5 best performing ASX 200 shares in 2021
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares in December

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 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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Shares in ASX lithium players are off to a stellar start to the trading year in 2022. The sector is outpacing the broad indices by a considerable margin today.

For example, units in the ETFs Battery Tech & Lithium ETF (ASX: ACDC) – a proxy for matching returns for battery and lithium players – are trading more than 3% higher on the day at $96.50.

Meanwhile, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up just 1.5% today at 7,561.6 points at the time of writing.

Why are ASX lithium shares so strong today?

Checking ASX trade data shows considerable trade depth in lithium frontrunners such as Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) and Allkem Limited (ASX: AKE), up more than 7% and 6% respectively.

Several other ASX lithium shares such as Liontown Resources Limited (ASX: LTR) and Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) are also posting strong gains during the session, backed by positive sentiment in the wider sector.

While there’s been no price-sensitive information released by any of these kinds of companies today, lithium pricing is the major factor underpinning pricing strengths in the sector.

Demand and supply mechanics for the battery metal ensure lithium prices remain in a cyclical upswing in 2022.

Lithium is still powering up

Lithium went parabolic from January last year and the market has maintained the upward pressure consistently over the last 12 months.

On the demand side, uptake of lithium-style batteries has been sequential alongside the transition into electric mobility.

For instance, global electric vehicle sales jumped 160% during 2021, according to analysis from Trading Economics. Meanwhile, EV deliveries in China are expected to double in 2022 to reach more than 5 million sales.

This cause-effect has sent the price of lithium soaring in the past 12 months, according to analysis from Goldman Sachs, Roskill, International Energy Agency, FactSet, Statista, CRU Group, and Bloomberg Intelligence.

In that time, the price of the battery metal has soared more than 104%. It now trades at 277,500 Chinese Yuan per tonne, yet another record high.

Why does it matter?

What’s relevant for ASX lithium shares today is that prices in the spot and futures markets for lithium took off once again in December, climbing 38%.

Even in the past week prices have spiked another 3.4% at the time of writing. Producers and explorers with direct exposure will see their stock fluctuate alongside volatility in the lithium markets, due to their positioning as price takers on the battery metal.

Companies in adjacent markets with exposure to lithium-ion batteries are benefiting from rising prices in the raw material as well.

Hence, the momentum has spilled over into the new year, which bodes well for ASX lithium shares.

The post New year’s resolution: Why are ASX lithium shares having such a stellar day? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why has the Core Lithium (ASX:CXO) share price leapt 15% since Christmas?
• Why Brainchip, Pilbara Minerals, Straker, and Whitehaven Coal shares are pushing higher
• Happy new high! Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) share price up another 7%
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Pilbara Minerals hits record high, energy shares rise
• These were the 5 best performing ASX 200 shares in 2021

The author has no positions 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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to start the new year with a strong gain. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is up 1.65% to 7,567.7 points.

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

Elixir Energy Ltd (ASX: EXR)

The Elixir Energy share price is down 12% to 18 cents following the completion of its drilling program in Mongolia. Investors may be disappointed with the result of the Bag-1S exploration well. The release reveals that drilling reached a total depth of 779 metres but did not intersect coal.

Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN)

The Kogan share price is down 2.5% to $8.58 despite there being no news out of the ecommerce company. However, Kogan remains one of the most shorted shares on the Australian share market. It appears as though short sellers don’t believe the company will bounce back from its terrible performance in 2021 in a hurry.

St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM)

The St Barbara share price is down 3.5% to $1.41. This follows weakness in the gold price overnight after investors rotated back into equities amid improving risk sentiment. It isn’t just St Barbara’s shares that are falling today. The S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold index is down 0.25% at the time of writing.

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)

The Zip share price is down 2% to $4.24. This is despite there being no news out of the buy now pay later provider. However, it is worth noting that overnight on Wall Street’s Nasdaq index, the Affirm share price tumbled a disappointing 5%. It looks as though investors are continuing to be wary about the buy now pay later sector amid potential regulatory scrutiny in the United States.

The post Why Elixir Energy, Kogan, St Barbara, and Zip shares are dropping appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Pilbara Minerals hits record high, energy shares rise
• 2 ASX shares that could be buys for both growth and dividends
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares in December
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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 Kogan.com ltd and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Kogan.com ltd. 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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