There are a lot of exchange traded funds (ETFs) for investors to choose from on the Australian share market right now.

But one of the very best is arguably the BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF (ASX: ASIA). Below are three reasons to consider buying this popular ETF.

1. Diversification

The BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF provides investors with diversified exposure to a high-growth sector that is under-represented in the Australian share market. Diversification is very important when it comes to investing. For example, if you’re only invested in the local share market and something unexpected happens to the Australian economy, then your portfolio is liable to underperform one which has exposure to economies that continue to boom.

2. Tech exposure

Another reason to consider this ETF is its exposure to the growing Asian tech sector. The fund is invested in a total of 50 “technology tigers” that are leading Asia’s (excluding Japan) technological revolution. BetaShares notes that due to its younger, tech-savvy population, Asia is surpassing the West in respect to technological adoption. As a result, the sector is expected to remain a growth sector for some time to come. This could make the ETF a good buy and hold option.

3. Quality companies

One key final reason to consider the BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF is the quality of the companies that are included in it. Among the fund’s holdings you will find the likes of Alibaba, Baidu, JD.com, Meituan Dianping, Pinduoduo, Samsung, Tencent. Alibaba is regarded as the Amazon of China and reported 757 million annual active customers last year. Whereas Tencent is one of the world’s largest companies and the name behind the hugely popular WeChat app. At the last count, that app had over 1.2 billion active users.

Over the last 12 months the BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF has provided investors with a very impressive 69.6% return.

More reading

• 2 ASX shares that could be fantastic buy and hold options
• 2 ETFs to buy in this tech sell off
• 2 high quality ASX ETFs to buy this month
• 2 tech ETFs for ASX investors to buy after the market selloff

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF. 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 recent slump in the Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price has coincided with a slight pullback in iron ore prices.

Iron ore took a partial retreat this week from 10-year highs of US$175 per tonne to US$168 per tonne. The weakness in iron ore was triggered by new policies in China to curb carbon emissions and consequently, steel production and iron ore demand.

Are Chinese policies dragging the Fortescue share price lower?

China appears to be taking its first steps in its ambitious goal to achieve net-zero emissions by 2060. The city of Tangshan is one of the country’s most polluted cities due to its heavy industrial output.

Early this week, the South China Morning Post reported an emergency municipal meeting occurred on the weekend during which factories were ordered to “limit or halt production on days when a heavy pollution alert was in place to reduce the overall emissions of air pollutants such as sulfuric dioxide or nitrogen oxide by 50 per cent”. 

This announcement could be one of the reasons the Fortescue share price closed 4% lower on Monday.

Broker downgrade 

A note has come out of Morgan Stanley today citing the emission policies in Tangshan could be the beginning of major iron ore market headwinds. 

Morgan Stanley believes that the emission cuts could be a contributing factor that brings the iron ore market from its significant deficit to balance. 

Iron ore markets have been in a significant deficit due to soaring industrial activity from China and supply-side challenges from overseas iron ore producers. But the tides could turn as China’s stimulus eases and global supply returns to normal. 

The broker’s analysts also noted that improving mill profitability could result in greater discounts for low-grade iron ore. Between Fortescue and ASX iron ore majors BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO), Fortescue produces the lowest iron ore grades. Fortescue’s average grades sit at approximately 57% to 58%, while BHP and Rio produce respective grades of 60% and 61%. 

As a result, Morgan Stanley rates the Fortescue share price as underweight with a $17.45 target price. This represents a downside of ~14% to the current share price, excluding dividends. 

More reading

• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today
• 2 strong blue chip ASX shares rated as buys by brokers
• Hydrogen far from ‘fool cells’: EV trends and the major ASX players
• Why the Monadelphous (ASX:MND) share price is in focus
• Why this fund likes these 3 exciting ASX shares

Motley Fool contributor Kerry Sun 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 Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) price is up 5.7% over the past 24 hours. One Bitcoin is currently worth US$58,778 (AU$75,356).

That’s according to Bitcoin price data from CoinDesk, which also tells me Bitcoin is still trading below its all-time highs of US$61,557, which it reached this past Sunday 14 March. Though not by much!

At the current price Bitcoin has a market cap of US$1.1 trillion. That’s enough to buy half the shares of Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL).

Astounding.

What’s holding some investors back from buying Bitcoin?

As “easy” as Bitcoin is to buy and sell, according to its enthusiasts, needing to work through crypto exchanges and using a digital wallet has kept many investors, at an apparently significant cost, from dipping their toes into the crypto market.

Not to mention the legitimate fear of hacking.

These issues have driven a rising investor demand for Bitcoin exchange-traded products (ETPs) and exchange traded funds (ETFs)

Would a US Bitcoin ETF send Bitcoin to new record highs?

As Bloomberg notes, a Bitcoin ETF already exists in Europe on the Stockholm Stock Exchange – the $2.7 billion Bitcoin Tracker EUR. And the Purpose Bitcoin CAD ETF (TSE: BTCC.B) launched last month on the Canadian Stock Exchange.

But the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been reluctant to give the green light to a US-listed Bitcoin ETF. SEC is concerned, among other things, with the extreme price swings and Bitcoin’s alleged use in illegal transactions.

However, the tide may be changing and a US-listed Bitcoin ETF may yet launch in 2021.

According to Bloomberg:

U.S. regulators have repeatedly batted down attempts to introduce them, citing concerns about potential manipulation and thin liquidity. Yet with the world’s largest digital coin rallying to new heights and a change of leadership at the Securities and Exchange Commission, the prospect of a first U.S. Bitcoin ETF appears to be rising.

And there’s certainly no shortage of interest from institutional players to back a Bitcoin ETF, with the VanEck Bitcoin Trust, Valkyrie, NYDIG, and WisdomTree all having applied to the SEC inside the past few months.

It’s hard to say if easier access for global investors through a US ETF would send the Bitcoin price soaring, or perhaps only add to its volatility as investors seek to time the price swings for maximum gains.

But it will certainly be interesting to watch how this plays out.

More reading

• How to invest in the Nasdaq Index on the ASX
• Should ASX investors own Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) as a defensive investment?
• Elon Musk reviews title and decides ‘Technoking of Tesla’ is more fitting
• ASX investors still can’t get enough of GameStop (NYSE:GME) shares
• Could this be the pin to pop the Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) bubble?

Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Apple and Bitcoin and recommends the following options: short March 2023 $130 calls on Apple and long March 2023 $120 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Apple. 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) has given back its gains from this morning and is down 0.60% at the time of writing. Here are the ASX shares that are ignoring the broader market and running much higher. 

4 ASX shares seeing big gains today 

Cyprium Metals Ltd (ASX: CYM) 

Cyprium Metals is a copper and gold explorer with a number of projects in the Murchison region of Western Australia. The company is currently undergoing a scoping study to determine the parameters required to develop a copper project in the region. 

The Cyprium share price opened as high as 30% higher today following the initial results of its reverse circulation drilling program at its Nanadie Well project. Its shares are currently 7.5% higher at the time of writing, on the highest trading volume since inception. 

Executive Director Barry Cahill was pleased with the preliminary investigations. 

We are pleased to announce the first results from the January 2021 Nanadie Well supergene RC drilling campaign. These fantastic results from the first four holes of the programme provide strong support to our understanding and demonstrate the potential of the supergene horizon at Nanadie Well.

We anticipate continued positive news flow over the coming weeks as the results for the remaining 62 holes are received.

SRJ Technologies Group PLC (ASX: SRJ) 

The SRJ share price has been in a constant decline since its IPO on 18 September. Its shares have slumped from 80 cents to 30 cents in just 7 months. 

SRJ provides a niche engineering service with products designed to maintain the integrity of pressure containment systems. The business struggled with widespread delays of repairs and maintenance in 2020 due to COVID.

More recently, on 15 March, the company upgraded its performance outlook in 2021 after experiencing increased levels of oil industry engagement and new market openings. Its share price has bounced 11% higher today, but is still near all-time lows. 

Market Herald Ltd (ASX: TMH)

The Market Herald is a stock market internet discussion forum and news platform. The company reported strong growth figures during February reporting season with a 469% increase in net profit before tax to $8.1 million for the 6 months ending 31 December 2020. It shares are up 9.80% today on no market sensitive news. 

Bellevue Gold Ltd (ASX: BGL)

The Bellevue share price has struggled to make headway due to weak gold prices. Its shares were hovering around 10-month lows, before bouncing 9.15% today. 

Bellevue believes it has one of the highest-grade new gold discoveries globally with a 2.4 million ounce reserve at 10g/tonne resource located in one of the highest-rated mining jurisdictions in the world. The project is currently undergoing a significant drilling program to target further resource conversion and growth across the project.

More reading

• Why the Bellevue (ASX:BGL) share price is charging higher today
• Why the Bellevue Gold (ASX:BGL) share price is on watch
• Why is the Bellevue Gold (ASX:BGL) share price frozen?

Motley Fool contributor Kerry Sun 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 Lark Distilling Co Ltd (ASX: LRK) share price has been on a run today, twice hitting a new 52-week high of $1.98. Despite there being no news from the Tasmanian whisky maker, its share price continues to climb on high volume.

At the time of writing, the company’s shares are up more than 4% trading at $1.96. So, what has Lark been doing to garner such attention? Let’s take a look.

Results showing growth

Lark reported its half-year accounts towards the end of February. Pleasingly for shareholders, these numbers showed continued growth in the distilling business. Revenue from activities grew a significant 91% to $7.29 million for the period. Additionally, the company managed to turn profitable, with $542,436 in profits from the half.

In the same announcement, Lark detailed that it had a total of 817,549 litres of whisky set for maturing over the next six years. The liquidation value of the whisky would be approximately $56.7 million, while the sale value at maturation is expected to be $113.6 million.

Furthermore, Lark reported having $46.8 million in net assets at the end of December. This was strengthened by the distiller’s institutional placement of $8.85 million completed back in September of last year. As a result, Lark now has around $12 million of cash to give it financial flexibility moving forward.

Relaunch, online, limited edition

Three ingredients appear to be secrets to the current Lark share price success. The business relaunched its Forty Spotted Gin brand during the first half. The brand’s new packaging in the form of an unusual upside-down bottle has received positive consumer responses.

Forty Spotted turns #Gin on its head with striking new #packaging https://t.co/HTFXx7vcK6 @boldinc @LarkDistillery #PackagingDesign pic.twitter.com/JlwRvQIwBt

— FAB News (@fabnewslive) December 3, 2020

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Lark has also been using an accelerated social media/influencer campaign to raise brand awareness. E-commerce sales impressively increased by fivefold year over year, driven by its limited release programme.

To ensure that its liquor can be found in stores as well – Lark anticipates key distribution additions of Costco, First Choice, Liquorland, and Dan Murphy’s.

Lark share price recap

Perhaps people were driven to drink during the COVID-19 lockdowns, sending sales soaring. Whatever the catalyst, Lark Distilling has dramatically outperformed the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) as a result.

The Lark share price has returned 160% over the past 12 months, in comparison to 36.3% from the index. In the last 6 months alone, Lark has gained 70%. That’s worth celebrating.

At today’s current share price, the Tassie distiller commands a market capitalisation of $112 million.

More reading

• ASX shares making the biggest moves today
• Australian funeral industry ‘on notice’ as Propel Funeral (ASX:PFP) fined by ACCC
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today
• 2 strong blue chip ASX shares rated as buys by brokers
• Why the Boom (ASX:BOL) share price is surging 6% today

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler 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 Propel Funeral Partners Ltd (ASX: PFP) share price has risen slightly today, despite news that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) fined two of the company’s regional businesses.

WT Howard Funeral Services in Taree and Coventry Funeral Homes in Townsville both continued to advertise themselves as “proudly local and independently owned” after they were bought by Sydney-based Propel in 2015 and 2019, respectively. 

The ACCC fined both businesses $12,600 for making false and misleading representations about their ownership, which led the Commission to warn the funeral sector that it plans to crack down on the industry.

ACCC cracks down on ASX funeral companies

The ACCC publicly hit out at the industry last month in its Compliance and Enforcement Priorities report.

Competition and consumer issues in the funeral services sector have long provoked complaints from the public, governments and generated stories in the media. Not least because many consumers engage with the funeral sector at a time when they are grieving, vulnerable and thereby at a disadvantage.

This is a concentrated sector with some players having significant market power. As some funeral service providers also have a large share of different services across the funeral home, cemetery and crematoria markets, there is an opportunity for these providers to bundle services and block new entrants to the market. There have been reports from people within the sector of anti-competitive conduct such as misuse of market power and exclusive dealing. We strongly encourage whistleblowers to come forward.

Propel share price outperforming Invocare ahead of uncertain future 

The fines come as Propel’s strong performance over recent months has drawn attention from the market. The Propel share price was one of the best performing ASX funeral shares on Monday. It holds about 6.3% of Australia’s funeral market, with a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.12 and a 12-month return of 2.41%.

Australia’s biggest funeral company, InvoCare Ltd (ASX: IVC), which owns brands like White Lady Funerals, is down 17.04% over the past year to $11.38 per share. InvoCare posted a 4.7% decline in revenue in the 12 months to 31 December 2020. 

While these two companies dominate the Australian funeral industry, the future of the sector appears more uncertain, with the ACCC voicing its intention to prevent further monopolisation.

“There are allegations that some funeral operators inflate the price of services, and take advantage of consumers at a vulnerable time,” ACCC Chair, Rod Sims, said at ACCC’s Committee for Economic Development Australia (CEDA) conference in February.

“Complex and opaque pricing, product bundling and other strategies adopted by some funeral operators are also issues we will be examining more closely.”

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell next week
• Propel Funeral (ASX:PFP) share price gains some glow after strong results
• InvoCare (ASX:IVC) share price lower after posting full year loss
• 3 little-known ASX dividend shares offering big income

Motley Fool contributor Lucas Radbourne-Pugh has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended InvoCare Limited and Propel Funeral Partners 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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On Wednesday I looked at three ASX shares that brokers have given buy ratings to this week.

Unfortunately, not all shares are in favour with them right now. Three ASX shares that have just been given sell ratings by brokers are listed below. Here’s why these brokers are bearish on them:

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)

According to a note out of UBS, its analysts have retained their sell rating and lowly $36.00 price target on this payments company’s shares. This follows the announcement of a new buy now pay later offering by Commonwealth Bank Australia (ASX: CBA). It notes that this service will not have additional fees for merchants. The broker believes this highlights the risk Afterpay faces from regulation for its no surcharge rules for merchants. The Afterpay share price is trading at $111.13 today.

Aurizon Holdings Ltd (ASX: AZJ)

Analysts at Goldman Sachs have retained their sell rating and $3.66 price target on this rail freight company’s shares. While the broker acknowledges that Aurizon has defensive earnings and a high dividend yield, it has concerns over the impact to valuations from the deterioration in the long term outlook for global coal demand. The Aurizon share price is fetching $3.87 on Thursday afternoon.

Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG)

A note out of Morgan Stanley reveals that its analysts have retained their underweight rating and $17.45 price target on this iron ore producer’s shares. According to the note, the broker fears that the recent curbing of production in China to combat pollution could bring the iron ore deficit to an end. It also suspects that the discount between low and high grade iron ore could begin to widen in the future, which would be bad news for the company. The Fortescue share price is trading at $20.36 this afternoon.

More reading

• 2 strong blue chip ASX shares rated as buys by brokers
• Hydrogen far from ‘fool cells’: EV trends and the major ASX players
• Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price drops on scathing broker note
• Why the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price is down 7% in 2021
• Why the Monadelphous (ASX:MND) share price is in focus

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Aurizon Holdings 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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Blue chip ASX shares can make good investments and some brokers have been scouring the market for the best ones to own.

The idea is that the broker will try to find the opportunities that might do well over the next 12 months – so then a price target is assigned. The bigger the price target, the stronger the return might be over the next year.

These two blue chip ASX shares are ones that leading brokers like:

CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)

CSL is actually one of the biggest blue chip shares on the ASX. It has a market capitalisation well over $100 billion.

One of the brokers that likes the CSL share price right now is UBS. Whilst the interim report was strong, the broker doesn’t think the following six months will be as good.

A key reason for the weaker expectation is that plasma collections are suffering and may not turn around until near the end of FY21.

One of the things that may help CSL is when COVID-19 vaccines have been deployed. However there is a while to go with this.

The blue chip ASX share is reporting some strength in its Seqirus business which CSL said delivered an exceptionally strong performance in the first six months of the financial year.

CSL did say that its performance is being supported by its diversified and resilient business model.

In the first half of FY21 it made $1.81 billion of net profit after tax (NPAT). Full year profit for FY21 is expected to be between $2.17 billion to $2.265 billion, which would be growth of up to 8% in constant currency terms, despite all of the impacts.

UBS has a price target of $310 for CSL shares, which would be growth of almost 30%.

Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG)

Fortescue is now one of the world’s biggest iron ore miners and it’s still rated as a buy by the brokers at Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG).

The blue chip ASX share is benefiting from the high iron ore prices and this is sending the net profit surging higher.

In the FY21 half-year result, revenue jumped 44% to $9.3 billion, underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 57% to $6.6 billion and net profit after tax grew 66% to $4.08 billion. This funded a 93% increase of the dividend to AU$1.47 per share.

Fortescue has announced it plans to shift its business to greener initiatives sooner than expected with a goal of being carbon neutral by 2030.

Some of the plans include green hydrogen, renewable energy and green ammonia. It’s looking for these types of projects across Australia and the world. Fortescue is looking to reduce its own footprint with getting rid of diesel consumption.

Macquarie doesn’t think that FY22 will be as strong as FY21. So, for FY22, Macquarie is predicting that Fortescue can generate $2.42 of earnings per share (EPS) and that it’s going to pay a dividend of $1.94 per share. That would translate into a forward grossed-up dividend yield of 13.6%. Macquarie has a price target of $25.50 for Macquarie. 

More reading

• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today
• Hydrogen far from ‘fool cells’: EV trends and the major ASX players
• Why the Monadelphous (ASX:MND) share price is in focus
• Bring your portfolio to life with these fantastic ASX healthcare shares
• Goldman rates the BHP (ASX:BHP) share price as the best ASX iron ore producer

Tristan Harrison owns shares of Fortescue Metals Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of CSL Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and 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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The Boom Logistics Limited (ASX: BOL) share price is surging following a new contract win with GE Renewables. At the time of writing, the lifting solutions and crane provider’s shares are up 6.6% to 16 cents.

Let’s take a closer look at what the company announced.

What’s driving the Boom share price higher?

The Boom share price is climbing as investors appear pleased with the latest update.

According to its release, Boom advised that it has secured work on the Bango wind farm in the Southern Tablelands region of New South Wales.

The project will see Boom provide a number of lifting services for the construction of the wind farm. The company will deploy a fleet of 12 cranes, which will include three 750 tonne capacity cranes. In addition, a team of 40 people comprising of specialist technicians and project management will manage the project. It’s expected that once complete, up to 38 wind towers will be installed, generating roughly 240 MW. This is enough energy to power about 100,000 residential houses.

While no financial details were given in the release, Boom stated that the project is due to commence this month.

What did the head of management say?

Boom CEO and managing director Tony Spassopoulos commented:

We have an experienced team mobilising to site, with the priority on safety first, focused on customer service and project delivery.

We continue to expand our wind farm projects business and demonstrate our capability as the leading Australian lifting solutions provider in this market segment.

Addressable market opportunity

The company noted that the energy sector remains an attractive opportunity as Australia transitions over to cleaner energy. More than 1,800 towers are earmarked for installation in the next 3 years, representing a robust market for Boom.

Complementing the potential growth, the company also mentioned that around 3,000 existing wind turbines across Australia require ongoing maintenance activity. Boom has logged increased bookings from its support business, which has further added to its revenue streams.

The Boom share price has jumped 34% in the past 12 months but is down 13% year-to-date.

More reading

• Australian funeral industry ‘on notice’ as Propel Funeral (ASX:PFP) fined by ACCC
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today
• 2 strong blue chip ASX shares rated as buys by brokers
• Hydrogen far from ‘fool cells’: EV trends and the major ASX players
• What ASX 200 investors should know about the US Federal Reserve announcement

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras 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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In an article I penned yesterday I wrote, “The consensus is that no matter what US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell tells the press today (overnight Aussie time), it will impact S&P/ASX 200 Index shares.” (You can find that article here.)

Well yesterday, overnight for you and me, Powell did speak to the press in a virtual conference. And indeed US share markets reacted immediately. Though the impact on the ASX 200 appears muted.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX: .DJI), for example, gained 0.6% in the 30 or so minutes following Powell’s speech. It closed the day up… 0.6%.

The power of the US Fed’s Powell to move share prices

Powell’s words not only have the power to move individual share prices, but to impact share markets the world over.

And, as widely expected, Powell did his best to calm the growing market fears that inflation may be just over the horizon.

As Bloomberg reports, “The Fed expects that a bump in inflation this year will be short-lived. Officials saw their preferred measure of price pressures slowing to 2% next year following a spike to 2.4% in 2021, according to the projections.”

To keep borrowing rates low, Powell indicated that the central bank’s massive quantitative easing (QE) program will remain in place, saying:

The stance of monetary policy we have today we believe is appropriate. We think our asset purchases in their current form – which is to say across the curve, $80 billion in Treasuries, $40 billion in mortgage-backed securities, on net – we think that’s the right place for our asset purchases.

The majority of the Federal Open Market Committee also reiterated their view that interest rates in the world’s largest economy would remain at their current rock bottom level through 2024.

In a sign that there is growing unease about the spectre of inflation, however, that majority has narrowed, with 7 of 18 Fed officials expecting 1 or more interest rate rise in 2023, up from 5 who expressed that view previously.

As Bloomberg noted, Powell was quick to point out this is still a minority view among the committee, saying, “The strong bulk of the committee is not showing a rate increase during this forecast period.”

Bloomberg economists look to agree, writing:

The Federal Reserve continues to hold the course, maintaining the glide path for both rates and asset purchases which it established last year, and does not appear to be close to altering its trajectory anytime soon.

ASX 200 snapshot

If the US Fed keeps its QE program humming along at full speed and maintains its 0.25% official interest rate through 2024, it will make it far easier for the world’s other central banks, including the Reserve Bank of Australia, to do the same.

And with the wall of easy money looking set to continue, that should spell good news for ASX 200 investors.

Though slipping in intraday trade today, down 0.3% at time of writing, the ASX 200 is up 1.5% in 2021 and up 36.9% over the past 12 months.

More reading

• Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price drops on scathing broker note
• Why is the Singular Health (ASX:SHG) share price frozen?
• Why Austal, Boral, Spark NZ, & Splitit are tumbling lower
• Chimeric (ASX:CHM) share price falls despite positive update
• Don’t fall into the ‘rotation trap’

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben 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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