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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

Today has been a broadly positive day for investors, with a number of top cryptocurrencies catching a bid after a tough long weekend. Today, Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) is among the tokens investors are watching most closely, following some bullish comments from Tesla CEO Elon Musk around the dog-inspired meme token. As of 3:30 p.m. ET, Dogecoin has shot 15.3% higher, as Musk reiterated support for Dogecoin and its “hodlers.” 

As far as mega-cap tokens go, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) have posted solid performances today (up 5.6% and 4.4% over the past 24 hours, respectively), buoyed by a marketwide sentiment shift. Certainly, some of this bullish sentiment can be tied to Elon Musk’s comments. However, more broadly, investors in higher-risk parts of the market are seeing fit to hit the bid today. Tech stocks and other “growthier” areas of the market are up dramatically today, alongside the crypto sector. 

So What 

Dogecoin’s fundamental underlying value is very difficult to put a price on. Accordingly, the volatility this token has seen over the past two years has been remarkable. Emboldened by Musk, the self-proclaimed “Dogefather,” investors have piled into this meme token with fervor, taking the token on a wild ride to an all-time high of more than $0.73 a little more than a year ago. Trading at around $0.06 per token after this recent rally, perhaps there’s a speculative argument that can be made with this token.

Investors in Dogecoin tend to read the tea leaves more than investors in other projects do. The speculative nature of this meme token can’t be ignored. Thus, when Musk speaks, investors pay attention.

On the other hand, Bitcoin and Ethereum are often viewed as proxies for investor sentiment across the entire crypto sector. During bull market rallies, these tokens have generally led the way, with investors gauging how the market is doing largely by assessing these two tokens’ performance. Thus, today’s rally in line with the broader crypto market makes sense.

However, a high correlation to riskier equities is also a phenomenon that’s catching the attention of investors. While Bitcoin (and Ethereum to some extent) were previously viewed as stores of value, more investors are now taking the view that these tokens are much more sensitive to macro forces, such as monetary policy, than previously thought.

Now what

Today’s face-ripping rally across the equity and crypto markets is a welcome reprieve for many growth investors. This year has not been kind to the aggressive investor, to say the least. However, there have been a few bear market bounces that have surprised investors thus far. The question is whether this recent bounce can be sustained, or if further downside is on the horizon. 

For today, at least, investors have found some positive momentum to jump on. Given the nature of the crypto market, perhaps this momentum can turn into meaningful near-term rewards for investors. That said, as always, the risk profile with this asset class is higher than others. Accordingly, it’s important for investors to practice prudent risk management with any such positions, especially in this market. 

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

The post These 3 cryptos are feeling the Elon Musk effect today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• What to expect from the Bitcoin price following last week’s thrashing
• Is Solana the next Bitcoin?
• Can Ethereum reach $5,000?
• The key driver behind the recovery in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana today
• Ethereum price collapses 35% in a week. Are crypto sharks to blame?

Chris MacDonald has positions in Ethereum. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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

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S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gold shares have broadly delivered strong returns over the longer term.

Taking a five-year horizon, the ASX 200 has gained 14%.

Here’s how these leading ASX 200 gold shares performed over that same five-year period:

• Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) share price up 73%
• Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) share price up 12%
• Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) share price up 44%
• Perseus Mining Limited (ASX: PRU) share price up 463%
• Silver Lake Resources Limited (ASX: SLR) share price up 203%

You’re unlikely to find long-term investors with a diversified holding of ASX 200 gold shares complaining about those figures.

2022 has been a somewhat different story.

Shorter-term headwinds

Shorter-term, it’s been a more difficult slog, with gold prices soaring to more than US$2,000 per ounce in early March only to retrace to the current US$1,829. That’s right where prices were on 1 January.

Honing in on the 2022 performance, the ASX 200 is down 14%.

Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD), which also contains miners outside of the ASX 200, is down 9% year-to-date. A decent if less than stellar outperformance for the Aussie gold sector.

And of the five big producers named above, all but one is beating the ASX 200 returns.

Yet only one has seen its share price gain in 2022. Can you guess which one?

The only ASX 200 gold share in the green for 2022

If you guessed Perseus Mining, give yourself a gold star.

The Perseus Mining share price has gained 5.3% this calendar year, bucking the wider selling trend among ASX 200 gold shares.

Perseus is currently trading for $1.75 per share. At that price, it pays a trailing dividend yield of 1.3%, unfranked.

The ASX 200 gold share has been successful on and under the ground, reporting record quarterly results in April, including setting new production and operating cash flow records.

On the production end, the company produced an all-time quarterly high of 130,523 ounces of gold.

While the miner did increase its cash expenditures during the quarter, it reported a 3% decrease in its weighted average all-in sustaining costs (AISCs) from the prior quarter, to US$908 per ounce.

That compares to the weighted average sales price it received during the quarter of US$1,701 per ounce.

The post Only 1 ASX 200 gold share has gained in 2022. Can you guess which one? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 3 ASX All Ordinaries shares enjoying a Wednesday windfall
• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today

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

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In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a small decline. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down 0.1% to 6,516.8 points.

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

Blackmores Limited (ASX: BKL)

The Blackmores share price is down over 8% to $65.48. This appears to have been driven by a broker note out of Morgans. This morning the broker retained its hold rating but cut its price target on the health supplements company’s shares by 20% to $70.50. Morgans believes Blackmores has been having a tough time in the second half. It also expects the company to fall well short of its FY 2024 targets.

Lake Resources N.L. (ASX: LKE)

The Lake Resources share price is down a further 12% to 85 cents. As well as being under pressure due to the sudden exit of its CEO, weakness in the lithium industry has been weighing on its shares today. This appears to have been driven by concerns over Germany backtracking on plans to ban petrol and diesel cars by 2035. This was expected to give electric vehicles (and lithium) demand a major boost.

St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM)

The St Barbara share price is down over 16% to 94.5 cents. Investors have been selling this gold miner’s shares after it revealed that it has deferred making a final investment decision on the Simberi sulphide expansion in favour of a strategic review. St Barbara also advised that there is a near-term risk of disruption to its Touquoy Operation.

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP)

The Zip share price is down 7% to 48.5 cents. This buy now pay later provider’s shares have come under heavy selling pressure this week amid speculation it could be about to give up on the UK and US markets. This is due to the large losses the company is making internationally.

The post Why Blackmores, Lake Resources, St Barbara, and Zip shares are dropping appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why is the Blackmores share price sinking 8% to a 52-week low?
• Is this why ASX lithium shares are being crushed today?
• ASX 200 midday update: St Barbara and Zip drop to multi-year lows
• Why is the St Barbara share price crashing 14% to a multi-year low?
• The Zip share price is down 90% in 2022. Why I won’t be buying

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

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The Blackmores Limited (ASX: BKL) share price has taken a tumble on Wednesday.

In afternoon trade, the health supplements company’s shares are down over 8% to a 52-week low of $65.51.

Why is the Blackmores share price tumbling lower today?

The weakness in the Blackmores share price today appears to have been driven by a broker note out of Morgans.

According to the note, the broker has retained its hold rating but cut its price target on the company’s shares by 20% to $70.50.

What did the broker say?

Morgans made the move on the belief that Blackmores’ second half of FY 2022 has been far more challenging than it was expecting. This is due to lockdowns in China and the east coast floods. It explained:

BKL’s 2H22 has been challenging. In China, conditions have continued to worsen with the lockdowns in Shanghai likely impacting BKL’s supply chain and sales. Guidance was for China sales in the 2H to be less than the 1H (benefits from Singles Day), but up on the pcp. We now forecast 2H22 China EBIT to be down 26% vs 2H21.

In ANZ, the QLD/NSW floods forced some pharmacies that sell BKL’s products to close for an extended period. Omicron induced labour shortages impacting supply chains and manufacturing would have also negatively affected operations.

What about the future?

Looking ahead, the broker has warned that competition is heating up in the ANZ market. This follows comments out of rival Swisse, which laid out plans to win a greater market share.

Structural and competitive threats in ANZ will likely worsen in FY23. H&H (owner of Swisse) recently said it aims to increase its market share and reclaim its leadership position in key categories and channels. We think this will mean increased promotional activity and discounting in the grocery channel.

In light of the above, the broker feels that Blackmores won’t be able to achieve its FY 2024 growth targets. It concludes:

Given the world has changed since BKL set its FY24 growth targets almost a year ago, we think they now look too aggressive. Both Morgans (A$99.5m) and Bloomberg consensus (A$108.0m) are well below BKL’s FY24 EBIT target range of A$123.8-131.3m.

All in all, given this softer growth, the broker appears to be waiting for the Blackmores share price to fall a bit further before considering it as a buy.

The post Why is the Blackmores share price sinking 8% to a 52-week low? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• ASX utilities shares electrifying the market as suspension begins to unwind
• How attractive is the Santos dividend right now?
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Why Cardano might be one of the safest cryptos to hold in a bear market
• What’s going on with the Westpac share price this week?

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

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It’s been a rather wild day on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) so far this Wednesday. The ASX 200 spent most of the morning in green territory today. But it has also whipsawed considerably and is now back in red territory. But it’s been a different story for ASX utilities shares.

ASX utilities shares are doing exceptionally well today. Take APA Group (ASX: APA). APA shares are currently up an impressive 3.55% so far at $11.09 each. Or AGL Energy Limited (ASX: AGL). AGL has recorded a less-impressive but still significant 0.61% gain to $8.24 a share.

So why is this sector outperforming the rest of the ASX 200 so convincingly this Wednesday?

Well, it’s not entirely clear. But there has been a meaningful development out today that could be helping these ASX utilities shares do so well.

ASX utilities shares beat the market on Wednesday

According to reporting in the Australian Financial Review (AFR) today, the Australian Energy Market Operator has begun the process of lifting the suspension of the National Electricity Market (NEM). The market operator took control of the NEM last week after the risk of rolling blackouts along the east coast spiked due to pricing caps in the market.

This involves the market operator manually directing power generation and managing supply and demand. It was the first time this has happened in the history of the NEM.

The market operator taking control of the NEM might have been good news for consumers who might have otherwise faced power outages. But it wasn’t so good for energy utilities shares like APA and AGL, who suddenly had to take directives from the market operator.

Thus, the news that the NEM might be back to normal by as early as this Friday is arguably a positive development for these utilities shares. Thus, it could well be this news that is helping the APA and AGL share prices outperform the ASX 200 so convincingly today.

The post ASX utilities shares electrifying the market as suspension begins to unwind appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• ‘Price makers’: 3 ASX 200 shares that can pass on rising costs in an inflationary environment
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• Own AGL shares? Here’s what to know about the company’s latest green hydrogen push  
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today

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

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It’s fair to say that ASX 200 energy shares have been at the centre of ASX attention in 2022. With inflation concerns and rising oil prices, the Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) share price, along with many other ASX energy shares, has exploded. Santos was going for $6.61 a share at the start of the year.

Today, it’s sitting at $7.54, up more than 14% year to date. It was only earlier this month that Santos hit a new 52-week high of $8.86 too.

But, as we know, rising share prices also have the unpleasant side effect of lowering a company’s trailing dividend yield. So after these impressive gains over the year so far, where does the Santos dividend stand today?

Well, Santos’ last dividend payment was the final dividend that investors received back on 24 March. This was a payment of 11.1 cents per share, franked at 70%. Before that, Santos paid out its interim dividend of 7.69 cents per share back in September last year. That dividend was fully franked. These two dividend payments represented significant growth for the company.

How does the Santos dividend stack up?

Before 2022’s final dividend, the company paid out a final dividend for 2021 that came to 6.32 cents per share, fully franked. The company’s previous interim dividend was also much lower than its most recent one. That was the 2.91 cents per share payment from 2020.

But circling back to Santos’ most recent dividend payments, these two dividends give the company a trailing yield of 2.6% on the current share price.

So is this an attractive dividend yield? Well, that’s in the eye of the investor, to a certain extent. But it’s worth noting that Santos’ trailing dividend yield is certainly on the low side when it comes to some other ASX energy shares. Santos’ energy peer Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) currently has a trailing dividend yield of 5.94%. New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC)’s dividend yield is now over 7%.

But Santos is still topping Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and its current yield of 1.22%. So it could be worse.

A caveat to finish on though. Santos’ last dividend was paid out in March, just after global oil prices really started taking off. In the months since, the company has likely been benefitting enormously from the rise in global oil prices we have seen ever since. Thus, it’s very possible that Santos’ next dividends will be significantly higher than the most recent payments it has doled out.

But we shall have to wait and see.

In the meantime, the current Santos share price gives this ASX 200 energy share a market capitalisation of $25.26 billion.

The post How attractive is the Santos dividend right now? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• ‘Price makers’: 3 ASX 200 shares that can pass on rising costs in an inflationary environment
• Has 2022 proven Woolworths is a defensive ASX share?
• ASX 200 midday update: St Barbara and Zip drop to multi-year lows
• 3 reasons why I think the Soul Pattinson share price is an excellent buy right now
• Why is the Fisher & Paykel share price heading south today?

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

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Many of Australia’s top brokers have been busy adjusting their financial models again, leading to the release of a large number of broker notes this week.

Three ASX shares brokers have named as buys this week are listed below. Here’s why they are bullish on them:

Breville Group Ltd (ASX: BRG)

According to a note out of Morgan Stanley, its analysts have retained their overweight rating but cut their price target on this appliance manufacturer’s shares to $25.00. While the broker has reduced its earnings estimates to reflect a challenging macroeconomic environment and potential impacts to demand, it sees enough value in its shares to maintain its positive view on the company. The Breville share price is trading at $17.43 today.

REA Group Limited (ASX: REA)

A note out of Citi reveals that its analysts have retained their buy rating and $153.50 price target on this property listings company’s shares. This follows news that New South Wales is making changes to stamp duty rules. Citi sees the changes as a positive and suspects that other states could follow its lead. The REA share price is fetching $101.01 this afternoon.

Readytech Holdings Ltd (ASX: RDY)

Analysts at Goldman Sachs have reinstated coverage on this enterprise software company’s shares with a buy rating and $4.60 price target. Goldman notes that Readytech has defensive qualities, which could be important if Australia falls into a recession. This is because it serves defensive end markets (e.g. higher education, local government) and has high recurring revenue. In addition, with its shares down materially this year, Goldman sees now as an opportune time to invest. The Readytech share price is trading at $2.79 on Wednesday.

The post Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why Ampol, Downer, Fletcher Building, and REA shares are pushing higher
• Goldman Sachs names 2 mid cap ASX shares to buy
• 2 powerhouse ASX shares going for dirt cheap right now: expert
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week
• Down 20% in a month, is the Breville share price a bargain buy or a falling knife?

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

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

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

Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA) has consistently ranked as one of the Top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, yet it has rarely been sexy or splashy. Some have even called it “really boring.” Even during the peak of the crypto craze, Cardano reached a high of just over $3. Time after time, it seems like Cardano has been late to the party whenever a rival blockchain such as Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) has introduced a new innovation. 

But Cardano could finally be on the cusp of delivering on its early promise and rewarding investors who take a long-term view. The big catalyst could be a tech upgrade (known as Hydra) coming in 3Q 2022 that will make the Cardano blockchain faster, more interoperable and more secure.  This upgrade will also open up more opportunities for developers to build on top of the Cardano blockchain with new decentralized applications known as dApps.

What the new upgrade means for Cardano

Cardano refers to the Hydra update as a “layer 2 scalability solution,” and what that means in layperson’s terms is that Cardano will be able to add more users, more developers and more applications in the future without any loss of speed or performance. As Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson — who also helped co-found Ethereum — has pointed out, the new update is all about scalability and improving performance for the more than 3 million unique wallets holding ADA. If everything goes according to plan, says Hoskinson, Cardano will theoretically be able to process more than 1 million transactions per second.  By way of comparison, the fastest blockchain today – Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) – can handle about 65,000 to 70,000 transactions per second.

This increased capacity could open a world of new possibilities for Cardano. For example, while blockchains such as Ethereum and Solana get all the attention when it comes to non-fungible tokens (NFTs), Cardano now seems to be making a strong play to get in on more of the action. According to Hoskinson, NFTs now account for approximately 40% of all new activity happening on the Cardano blockchain. The latest high-profile launch is a new, much-anticipated NFT collection from comedian and actor Martin Lawrence.

Slow and steady wins the race

To be sure, Cardano has absorbed its share of criticism for a pace of development that has seemed too slow for some in the tech space who prefer to break things first, ask questions later. In part, this is due to the way that Cardano makes updates to its blockchain. At the heart of the Cardano approach is an evidence-based software development process that is similar to an academic, peer-reviewed process. In fact, Cardano prides itself on having the first blockchain protocol based on peer-reviewed research. This approach makes the development process slower, but also ensures that new software upgrades actually work as planned.

In the end, slow and steady might win the race. While Cardano has seemingly lagged behind in some developments, it seems to be building momentum now. For example, Cardano adopted smart contract functionality last September as part of its Alonzo upgrade.

Staying level-headed and grounded at a time when others are not

Cardano’s Charles Hoskinson has seen it all, having been through a handful of bear markets in the crypto space over the past decade. “Bear markets are actually quite comfortable,” he recently said in an interview, because they let you focus on getting the fundamentals right and building for the future.

Those are comforting words to hear in a market downturn. Once its new tech upgrade is complete, Cardano might just end up being one of the safest cryptos to hold in a bear market.      

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

The post Why Cardano might be one of the safest cryptos to hold in a bear market appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• What’s going on with the Westpac share price this week?
• Why is the Novonix share price plunging 6% on Wednesday?
• Down 28% this year, is the Wesfarmers share price at a turning point?
• ‘Price makers’: 3 ASX 200 shares that can pass on rising costs in an inflationary environment

Fool contributor Dominic Basulto holds ETH and ADA. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Ethereum and Solana. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Ethereum and Solana. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips. 

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

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The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price is trailing that of its competitors this week, as ASX bank stocks rebound at more than twice the rate of the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

Since Friday’s closing bell, the Westpac share price is up 2.2%. National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) shares are up 4.5%. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) shares have gained 3.7% and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares are up 2.8%.

This compares to an 0.8% boost for the ASX 200.

What’s the latest news from Westpac?

Westpac hasn’t released any price-sensitive news to the ASX since 26 May when it announced a deal with BT Funds Management Limited.

They plan to merge BT’s personal and corporate superannuation funds with Mercer Super Trust. Westpac also plans to sell its Advance Asset Management business to Mercer Australia.

However, this week Westpac has announced some female-friendly changes to its lending criteria.

In a press release, Westpac says it wants to “help women into home ownership” and make it easier for childcare operators to expand.

Westpac noted these changes were “supporting Government plans to grow the childcare sector”.

During the election campaign, Labor described improving childcare as a “fundamental economic reform”. The government plans to introduce a range of measures that it says will reduce childcare costs for 96% of families.

Labor argues that increasing women’s job participation rate will enable households to increase their incomes while also boosting the economy.

Home loans made easier for women and health workers

Westpac has a lenders’ mortgage insurance (LMI) waiver program that makes it easier for male and female borrowers in the medical profession to get a home loan.

Under the program, Westpac will issue loans at a 90% loan-to-value (LVR) ratio, instead of the usual 80%, without asking the borrower to pay LMI.

Now, the bank is adding eight allied health professions that “have a strong female workforce representation” to the waiver program. The professions are osteopaths, podiatrists, audiologists, occupational therapists, psychologists, speech pathologists, radiographers, and sonographers.

What is LMI?

LMI is a one-off cost paid by borrowers when they have less than a 20% deposit. The insurance protects the bank if the borrower can’t make their repayments.

LMI on a typical family home purchased for $650,000 would cost the borrower about $8,000, according to Westpac.

Applicants still have to meet other criteria, such as minimum income thresholds.

Government and corporate priorities align, says Westpac

Westpac chief executive of consumer and business banking Chris de Bruin said:

… saving the traditional 20 per cent of the value of a property purchase price can take prospective buyers years to achieve. We have recently expanded our LMI Waiver to include additional health professions … where women make-up most of the workforce. This will enable more women to purchase their home sooner with a reduced deposit and without the expense of mortgage insurance.

Westpac is also introducing flexible lending criteria and priority servicing for childcare centre operators. This includes reduced equity requirements and cheaper lending rates and establishment fees.

De Bruin said:

The New South Wales Government recently announced a $5 billion childcare growth plan and other Governments are pursuing similar policy objectives.

When Government policy and corporate sector commitment are aligned, change can be driven quickly. We know that access to finance is a key barrier to expansion, so we’re making it easier for childcare businesses to get the funding they need to grow.

Westpac also says it will introduce a training program to encourage more women into home and business lending roles. Up to 100 new jobs will be made available to internal and external applicants.

Westpac share price snapshot

In 2022 so far, Westpac shares have tumbled by 9.5%. This compares to a fall of 8.2% for NAB, 12.15% for CBA and 21.7% for ANZ.

As my Foolish colleague Sebastian reported yesterday, Westpac offers a dividend yield of approximately 6.2%.

The post What’s going on with the Westpac share price this week? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Worried about a US recession? Here’s what the ASX 200 banks are forecasting
• How does the Macquarie dividend stack up against the ASX big four banks?
• Why GrainCorp, PointsBet, Weebit Nano, and Westpac shares are racing higher
• ASX 200 midday update: BHP and Rio Tinto rebound, Westpac rated as a buy
• Will Westpac shares really pay a 9.6% dividend yield next year?

Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has positions in Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Limited, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and Westpac Banking Corporation. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Westpac Banking Corporation. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Novonix Ltd (ASX: NVX) share price is sliding lower on Wednesday despite no news from the battery technology company.

However, the broader S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) is also suffering, sliding 1.9% so far today.

At the time of writing, the Novonix share price is $2.29, 6.15% lower than its previous close.

Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is recording a 0.35% slump and the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) has slipped 0.36%.

Let’s take a closer look at what might be going on with the ASX 200 battery materials and tech stock today.

Novonix share price plummeting 6%

The Novonix share price is dumping yesterday’s 4% gain, sinking more than 6% lower on Wednesday.

That leaves the stock 8% lower than it was at the end of last week and a whopping 44% lower than it ended May.

Interestingly, there’s been no price-sensitive news out of the ASX 200 share since late last month when it announced a notable change to its board.

Also interesting is the performance of ASX technology stocks today. The ASX 200 tech sector and S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) are both tumbling despite a strong performance from the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite overnight.

The US-based index gained 2.51% in Tuesday’s session overseas and the tech sector generally performs relatively in line with its performance.

The Novonix share price is joined by that of its ASX 200 peer Life360 Inc (ASX: 360). They’re both down around 6% right now.

Meanwhile, shares in TechnologyOne Ltd (ASX: TNE), Computershare Limited (ASX: CPU), and EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML) have each fallen around 4%.

It’s not all doom and gloom, however. ASX 200 tech share Iress Ltd (ASX: IRE) is recording a 3.45% gain today.

Today’s dip is just the latest faced by the Novonix share price this year.

It’s currently down 75% year to date. Though, it has gained 8% since this time last year.

The post Why is the Novonix share price plunging 6% on Wednesday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why is the Novonix share price charging 7% higher today?
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week
• Novonix share price loses 20% in dire week for ASX 200 tech stocks
• The Novonix share price is the worst of the ASX 200 losers today. What’s going on?
• ASX 200 midday update: ResMed’s US$1bn acquisition, tech shares continue to sink

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

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