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The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP) share price has surprisingly avoided the market selloff on Friday.

In afternoon trade, the buy now pay later (BNPL) provider’s shares are up 6% to 53.5 cents.

As a comparison, the ASX 200 index is down 2.2% at the time of writing.

What’s going on with the Zip share price?

Today’s gain by the Zip share price is a bit of a mystery. However, it is worth noting that this outperformance isn’t exclusive to Zip’s shares.

For example, the Openpay Group Ltd (ASX: OPY) share price is up a whopping 20% today and the Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL) share price is up 2%.

This is despite there being no real industry news to speak of, other than Latitude Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: LFS) bailing on its plan to buy the BNPL business of Humm Group Ltd (ASX: HUM).

What could be driving its shares higher?

Investors may believe that BNPL shares have been oversold in recent weeks and have decided that now is the time to pounce.

After all, despite their gains today, year to date, the Zip share price is down 88%, the Openpay share price is down 70%, and the Sezzle share price is down 90%.

Time will tell if they hold onto today’s gains.

The post The Zip share price is actually climbing today. What’s going on? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Is the ‘path to profit impossible’ for Zip shares?
• ASX 200 midday update: Block and Zip crash amid market selloff
• Own Zip shares? CEO warned co-founder 8 months ago, ‘There are some clouds gathering on the horizon’ after Morgan Stanley meeting
• Zip share price crashes 21% to new multi-year low
• Wall Street tumbles into bear market. What does that mean for ASX 200 shares?

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 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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The Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) price is down 7% over the past 24 hours.

The world’s top token by market cap is currently trading for US$20,889 (AU$29,544).

Most all cryptos are deep in the red today.

This follows on from a heavy day of selling in US share markets yesterday (overnight Aussie time), with the tech-heavy Nasdaq closing down 4.1%. Cryptos have been trading in line with risk assets throughout the year, and have come under pressure amid fast rising interest rates.

Bitcoin is now down 56% since 1 January, and down 70% from its 10 November all-time highs.

With the latest selling, the Bitcoin price is coming uncomfortably close to the key level of US$19,500.

Or US$19,511, to be precise.

Why is US$19,511 a line in the sand for the Bitcoin price?

You likely recall that 2017 was a banner year for the Bitcoin price.

The token kicked off that year trading for US$1,020, and by mid-December it reached new records of US$19,511, a gain of more than 1,800%.

Prices retraced from there and it took until December 2020 before Bitcoin surpassed its previous record. And despite some wild volatility, it’s stayed above that price ever since.

Vetle Lunde and Jaran Mellerud at Arcane Research point out that the Bitcoin price has never fallen below any of its prior cycle peaks during its entire 12 years of trading. Which is why they’re keeping a sharp eye on the US$19,511 level.

“A potential visit below this level could lead to a lot of hodlers capitulating and a wind-down of leverage, making this a very important support level to pay attention to onwards,” they said (courtesy of Bloomberg).

That’s no typo, by the way. Hodlers, if you’re unfamiliar, refers to long-term, devoted crypto holders.

They added that most of the open interest in Bitcoin options is based on a $20,000 strike price, “which can contribute to selling pressure in the spot market should the price fall below”.

Where to next for the Bitcoin price?

With the entire crypto market under pressure, we’re hearing more bearish forecasts for the medium-term Bitcoin price.

Bobby Lee, CEO of crypto storage provider Ballet Global Inc said:

I think we will test $20,000 and go to $19,000-$18,000. There are lot of funds, large borrowers of Bitcoin who have liquidation positions in $20,000 range.

Given that there is blood in the water and there are sharks swimming around there is going to be lot of incentive for people to trade it down to pass that point for the long holders who are on leverage to capitulate.

Adrian Przelozny, CEO of crypto exchange Independent Reserve, remains optimistic about the longer-term outlook for the Bitcoin price. But shorter-term, he sees some more pain ahead.

Przelozny said (quoted by Bloomberg), “There’s a lot of Bitcoin pledged as collateral that might have to be sold if its price drops into the $15,000 to $20,000 range. But this is short-term pain. I am still very bullish longer term.”

Silver linings ahead?

Josh Gilbert, Australia market analyst at multi asset trading platform eToro, noted that these kinds of big declines in the Bitcoin price are nothing new, though that won’t make it any easier for investors.

According to Gilbert:

Since Bitcoin’s inception, we have seen well over ten 50% corrections in the last decade. Although this is par for the course when investing in the asset, it does not make it any less painful. For many new investors, this will be the first significant crypto decline they have ever seen.

Looking ahead, Gilbert believes the current sell-off will leave cryptos better off in the long run.

“Despite major drawdowns across the crypto space, it is important to note that the development of crypto, its use cases, and the regulation of the industry is continuing regardless of the sell-off,” he said.

“This essentially helps set the asset class up to be in a much stronger position for when crypto markets rebound.”

The post Why US$19,500 is a line in the sand for the Bitcoin price appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why tech billionaire Bill Gates is ‘not involved’ in crypto or NFTs
• Why Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin dropped and popped in the last 24 hours
• What is the realised Bitcoin price and why does it matter?
• 3 reasons Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana just hit their lowest levels this year
• Why is the Bitcoin price crashing 16% 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 positions in and has recommended Bitcoin. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Bitcoin. 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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Unfortunately, it’s looking like it’s going to be a depressing end to a depressing week for ASX shares so far this Friday. At the time of writing, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has lost another painful 2.18% and is now back below 6,500 points.

With such a move, most ASX 200 shares have been sold off today. But what of the Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) share price?

Coles shares have indeed taken a hit today. But the supermarket share is currently down by 1.13% at $16.610 a share. That’s not a pleasant move by any means. But it is also a marked underperformance of the broader market.

Other ASX 200 blue chip shares like Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) and Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) have fallen far harder today. In BHP’s case, the miner is down by a nasty 3.7% so far today.

So how is the Coles share price getting off so lightly?

Well, it’s not entirely clear. Coles hasn’t released any news or announcements itself today.

But we can speculate.

Why is the Coles share price defying the worst of the ASX 200’s woes today?

So the big falls we have seen over this dreadful trading week have arguably largely stemmed from fears over inflation and interest rates. This week saw the US Federal Reserve hike American interest rates up by an unusually large 75 basis points.

Earlier this week, my Fool colleague Tony covered how experts are describing inflation across the US, United Kingdom and Germany as “the highest rate for 40 years”. Sobering stuff.

So it’s fair to say that investors are worried about high inflation and interest rates right now.

Why is this relevant for Coles shares? Well, Coles is seen by many investors as an inflation-proof investment.

As my Fool colleague Tristan covered last month, Coles is a well-placed business to take advantage of rising prices. That’s because of its nature as a provider of consumer staple goods like food, drinks and household essentials.

No one likes seeing food go up in price. But it’s not like any of us have a choice whether to buy it or not. Thus, if Coles can maintain its profit margins by passing on rising prices to its customers, rising inflation actually has the potential to boost the company’s profits.

What does the expert say?

At least one ASX broker agrees. As we covered just yesterday, ASX broker Citi is currently bullish on Coles shares.

Noting that “there were no observable signs of trading down or lower volumes in response to higher food inflation” in Coles’ recent trading update, Citi put a buy rating on Coles shares. That was complete with a 12-month share price target of $19.30. If that were to come to pass, it would result in an upside of more than 16% on current pricing.

So it could be this reputation as an inflation hedge that could be keeping the Coles share price from the worst of the ASX 200’s falls this Friday.

At the current Coles share price, this ASX 200 share has a market capitalisation of $22.19 billion, with a dividend yield of 3.67%.

The post Why is the Coles share price getting off lightly today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• ASX 200 midday update: GUD crashes, tech shares tumble
• Down 20% today: Why the GUD share price is crashing to a 6-year low
• ‘Stellar performer’: Why this fundie is buying the dip in the NAB share price
• 2 defensive ASX dividend shares with good yields that analysts rate as buys
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday

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 COLESGROUP DEF SET. 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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One of the worst performers on the ASX today is the Dacian Gold Ltd (ASX: DCN) share price.

The gold miner’s shares have lost 40% during midday trade to a new 52-week low of 10.2 cents apiece.

For context, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is down 2.32% to 6,626.5 points following heavy losses on Wall Street overnight.

What’s happened to Dacian shares?

Investors are fleeing the Dacian share price after the company delivered an update regarding its Mt Morgans operations.

In its release, Dacian advised the operating environment has rapidly changed over the last 6 months. This comes after significant inflationary cost pressures have impacted the business leading to an uptick in Dacian’s cost base.

As such, the management has been forced to conduct a review of its operating strategy with the following decisions made:

• Open pit mining operations at Jupiter to be suspended by the end of this month
• Underground operations to continue until the previously developed stopes have been mined in Q1 FY23
• Open pit mining at Hub at Redcliffe to commence later in FY23 following receipt of mining approvals
• Processing of existing stockpiles totalling roughly 5 million tonnes will begin in Q1 FY23
• Drill testing to focus on high-priority exploration targets at Jupiter throughout FY23

Overseeing the change, Dacian general manager for geology and exploration, Dale Richards, has been appointed as CEO.

This follows outgoing managing director, Leigh Junk’s resignation after spending 3 years with the company.

Dacian non-executive chair, Mick Wilkes commented:

In light of the current high inflationary environment, the Board has taken the decision to reset the company strategy by discontinuing the current open pit mining operations at Mt Morgans.

In doing so we are pivoting to exploration and a focus on the significant potential we see beneath and alongside the Jupiter open pits. This along with the strategic value of our processing facilities and infrastructure in the Laverton Leanora gold belt underpins the company.

Dacian is forecasting cash and gold-on-hand of approximately $17 million at 30 June after a $12.75 million bank debt repayment. 

Dacian share price snapshot

It has been a rollercoaster ride for the Dacian share price, with large volatile swings over the past 12 months.

Adding to today’s losses, the company’s shares are down 60% since this time last year. This is a big difference to when its shares touched a 52-week high of 32 cents in mid-April.

On valuation grounds, Dacian presides a market capitalisation of roughly $184.46 million.

The post Why did this ASX gold share just crater 40%? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why brokers think Accent shares are a ‘shoe-in’ for ASX investors
• Why the James Hardie share price has ‘fallen far enough’: fundie
• Dogecoin investor sues Elon Musk for US$258 billion. Here’s why
• ASX 200 midday update: GUD crashes, tech shares tumble
• The Dow got crushed — Here are 4 stocks that survived the bloodbath

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 Scott Phillips.

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The Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1) share price offers a significant investment opportunity, according to some brokers.

Accent is an ASX retail share that sells a wide array of shoes through a range of different brands and stores. The company owns and sells some of the brands and acts as the distributor for others. Well-known brand names it deals with include Glue Store, Nude Lucy, Skechers, Stylerunner, The Athlete’s Foot, Vans and Timberland.

Brokers think the Accent share price could sprint higher

Brokers UBS and Morgan Stanley are both very optimistic about where the company could be headed over the next 12 months.

UBS has a price target on Accent of $2.50. That suggests a possible share price rise of 115% in a year.

The Morgan Stanley price target is $2.70 on the shoe business, implying a potential upside of more than 130%.

Given the Accent share price has fallen around 50% in the year to date, both of these price targets suggest a significant turnaround for the company.

These price ratings came after the latest trading update from the business.

Accent trading update

Accent said that sales performance from late February had improved compared to the 10% decline in like-for-like sales reported in the first eight weeks but remained subdued compared to expectations.

The ASX retail share said at the end of April 2022 that it continued to focus on a full price, full margin sales strategy, which helped grow the gross profit margin in percentage terms ahead of both expectations and last year.

Management noted that the overall inventory levels were in line with the plan, although the company continued to experience some delays and cancellations from third-party brand partners.

Initiatives to grow profit

If the business can grow profitability, then this could help the Accent share price.

It’s doing a number of things. Opening new stores is one of the main parts of the strategy – Accent said it was planning to open 140 stores in FY22 while closing stores where it could not achieve sustainable renewal terms.

Accent advised it was accelerating the growth plan for Glue Store, which continues to perform “strongly”. It also has an “ambitious” growth plan for Stylerunner, with a focus on Stylerunner The Label vertical apparel and store roll-out.

It’s growing the Trybe business and doing more The Athlete’s Store franchise buy-backs.

The ASX retail share is restructuring the Reebok distribution agreement to move to a new Australian distributor while at the same time securing access to a “full range” of Reebok products from that distributor for its multi-brand banners.

Accent share price valuation

Looking at the UBS estimates – the Accent share price is valued at 17x FY22’s estimated earnings and under 8x FY23’s estimated earnings.

The grossed-up dividend yield is projected by UBS to be 8.6% in FY22 and 16% in FY23.

The post Why brokers think Accent shares are a ‘shoe-in’ for ASX investors appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Top ASX dividend shares to buy in June 2022
• Top analyst says Accent share price has almost 70% upside
• Are these 2 beaten-up ASX shares too cheap to ignore in June 2022?
• Top broker tips Accent share price to deliver 65% upside AND juicy dividends
• 2 excellent ASX dividend shares that experts rate as buys

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Accent 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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The James Hardie Industries Plc (ASX: JHX) share price has nearly halved since the start of 2022 and some fundies believe the bottom is nigh.

They’re hopeful for the building materials company’s future, noting it’s a buy in their eyes.

At the time of writing, the James Hardie share price is $28.65, 4.56% lower than its previous close.

For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is currently down 2.08%.

Let’s take a closer look at what’s got experts bullish on the James Hardie share price.

Why experts think the James Hardie share price is a buy

The James Hardie share price has been hammered this year. In fact, it plunged to its lowest point in almost two years – $28.62 – this morning.

But its decline has reportedly presented a strong buying opportunity, according to fundies.

Perpetual’s Anthony Aboud recently told Livewire the company’s stock has tumbled due to pressure from rising mortgage costs in the US and shifts in management.

However, the company’s current price and financial year 2023 guidance has piqued Aboud’s interest and sees him rating the stock a buy.

James Hardie is expecting to report between US$740 million and US$820 million of income next financial year. That would represent an increase of at least 19% on that of financial year 2022 (ended 31 March).

Meanwhile, Clime Investment Management’s Will Riggall told the Australian Financial Review the company has historically performed well in both good and bad times.

Thus, while the US housing market might be hit by rising interest rates in the short term, demand for James Hardie’s products should be supported over the long term.

Riggall also reportedly noted the company’s business is “less cyclical” than it has previous been, mostly due to greater earnings from US housing repairs and remodels.

Finally, a similar sentiment has been expressed by Sage’s Sean Fenton. The portfolio manager told Livewire the James Hardie share price looks like a buy at its current level.

“At the end of the day, it’s a quality business, which is growing its share of the siding market,” Fenton said.

“It’s fallen far enough now that, particularly in that growth part of the market for a business of that quality, it looks good value.”

The post Why the James Hardie share price has ‘fallen far enough’: fundie appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why did the James Hardie share price just hit a new 52-week low?
• 3 ASX 200 shares defying Friday’s falls to leap higher
• ASX shares paid out a record $98b in dividends in the 12 months to March. Which are the star performers?
• Why is the James Hardie share price surging higher today

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 Scott Phillips.

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The Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) price is down 10% since this time yesterday, currently trading for 5.5 US cents.

That puts the Shiba Inu themed crypto, often touted by Elon Musk, down 68% in 2022 and down a painful 93% since its all-time high of 73.8 US cents, reached on 8 May 2021.

At the current price, Dogecoin has a market cap of US$7.3 billion.

With the overnight losses, that’s now down more than US$86 billion from the total market valuation at its peak.

Now disgruntled US crypto investor Keith Johnson, who claims to have lost money investing in the crypto, wants Musk and the companies he founded, Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA) and SpaceX, to stump up for that loss of US$86 billion, plus double that again in punitive damages.

Dogecoin, Musk and a whopping lawsuit

As Reuters reports, the complaint, filed in federal court in Manhattan New York, accuses Musk and the two companies of racketeering for hyping Dogecoin and driving the price higher, then letting it crash.

The complaint states:

Defendants were aware since 2019 that Dogecoin had no value yet promoted Dogecoin to profit from its trading. Musk used his pedestal as World’s Richest man to operate and manipulate the Dogecoin Pyramid Scheme for profit, exposure and amusement.

The US$258 billion in damages Johnson is seeking equate to an estimated three times the meme coin’s losses since May 2021.

Atop the damages, Johnson is seeking to legally prevent Musk from promoting Dogecoin and wants trading in the token declared to be gambling under both Federal and New York state laws.

Has the world’s richest man influenced prices?

Earlier in 2021, Musk tweeted that Tesla would allow customers to pay for merchandise using Dogecoin. The token soared in the hours following that tweet but gave back most of those gains almost as quickly.

Musk has mentioned the token more often in tweets, but it’s his Saturday Night Live appearance later in 2021 that is also named in the complaint. During the show, the billionaire made several jokes about Dogecoin. The price dropped more than 20% after the airing.

According to the lawsuit, the meme token came under pressure after Musk hosted “Saturday Night Live and, played a fictitious financial expert on a Weekend Update segment, called Dogecoin ‘a hustle’.”

Lawyers for Tesla, SpaceX, Musk and Johnson have not yet responded to media requests for comments.

The post Dogecoin investor sues Elon Musk for US$258 billion. Here’s why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• The Dogecoin price just leapt 15%. Here’s why
• Why Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin dropped and popped in the last 24 hours
• ‘Wherever there’s smoke there’s probably crypto,’ warns Dogecoin founder
• What’s the outlook for crypto prices in June? Industry insiders weigh in
• Why did crypto prices get massacred in May?

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 positions in and has recommended 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.

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At lunch on Friday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to end the week with a heavy decline. The benchmark index is currently down 2.1% to 6,451.5 points.

Here’s what is happening on the ASX 200 today:

GUD shares crushed on guidance downgrade

The GUD Holdings Limited (ASX: GUD) share price has been sold off today in response to a guidance update. As you might have guessed from the share price reaction, that update was not a good one. The diversified products company has downgraded its underlying operating earnings guidance to $147 million in FY 2022. This is down from its previous guidance of $155 million to $160 million. In response to the news, Citi downgraded its shares and slashed its price target.

Tech shares tumble

The tech sector has been hit hard today during the market selloff. The likes of Block Inc (ASX: SQ2) and Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) are recording particularly heavy declines following a poor night of trade on the tech-focused Nasdaq index. This has led to the S&P ASX All Technology index dropping a sizeable 2.8% at the time of writing.

Gold miner rise

One side of the market which is performing positively is the gold sector. This has seen the S&P/ASX All Ords Gold index storm 3.3% higher today. The highlight has been the Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) share price with a 5% gain. This has been driven by a rebound in the gold price and a broker upgrade by UBS. The latter saw Evolution upgraded to a buy rating with a $4.05 price target.

Best and worst ASX 200 performers

The best performer on the ASX 200 on Friday has been the Evolution share price with a 5% gain for reasons mentioned above. Going the other way, the worst performer by some distance has been the GUD share price with a 21% decline. This follows its guidance downgrade and bleak outlook commentary.

The post ASX 200 midday update: GUD crashes, tech shares tumble appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Down 20% today: Why the GUD share price is crashing to a 6-year low
• Block share price sinks again and is now down over 50% since its ASX listing
• ‘The bar has been set low’: Why this top broker just upgraded the Evolution Mining share price
• ‘Stellar performer’: Why this fundie is buying the dip in the NAB share price
• Investing in ASX 200 gold shares? Here’s the latest on the gold price forecast

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

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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.

Although the markets looked fine yesterday after the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark lending rate by three-quarters of a percentage point, it didn’t take long for the panic to set back in. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost more than 740 points today as investors digested the Fed’s biggest hike since 1994 and turned their attention to the economic outlook.

The Dow closed the day below 30,000 for the first time in nearly a year and a half. Mortgage rates also soared higher, as investors grew more concerned about a potential recession and the magnitude of that recession.

The big losers on the day were American Express, Nike, and Caterpillar. While the majority of the Dow finished the day down, there were four stocks in the index that managed to survive the blood bath.

The 4 survivors

The big-box retailer Walmart (NYSE: WMT) finished the highest of any Dow stock, gaining just over 1% on the day. Over the last five days, Walmart has also managed to stay in the green despite very difficult trading conditions.

While we’ve heard large retailers talk about the shift away from discretionary goods in recent days, the consumer is still spending heavily on necessities such as groceries, which can greatly benefit Walmart, which now generates about 60% of its revenue from groceries.

Grocery stocks can do well in inflation because the stores can pass the higher costs onto the consumers. Walmart said earlier this year that it continues to take market share in the U.S. grocery category. The company grew grocery sales in the low double-digit percentage range last quarter.

The consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) also managed to scratch out a gain today, with shares up roughly 0.6%. 

With brands such as Pampers, Tide, Bounty, and Gillette, among many other cosmetics and household brands, it made sense that investors shifted over to a stock like Procter & Gamble today. When there are concerns over a recession and rates are on the rise, the market will look less favorably on tech and growth stocks because they are riskier. In addition, higher rates reduce the value of their future cash flows, as well as their earnings power.

But people are still going to need paper towels, diapers, and shaving equipment during a recession, making this stock more recession-proof than others. The other two stocks that eked out a gain today were Merck and Johnson & Johnson.

Should you pile into these names?

I definitely don’t hate the idea of adding some of these more recession-proof names like Walmart or Procter & Gamble to your portfolio because people are always going to need these products, making these companies potentially more durable during the volatility.   

But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t also take this sell-off as an opportunity to go bargain hunting. If a recession occurs, it could end up being a mild one and recessions don’t always last that long either. When looking for discounts, take a long view and focus on the business model as opposed to near-term price action. 

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

The post The Dow got crushed — Here are 4 stocks that survived the bloodbath appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Bram Berkowitz has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. American Express is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Nike. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Johnson & Johnson. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nike. 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 Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) share price is trading 4.6% higher at $8.56 today, despite no news from the gold miner.

That compares very favourably with the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), which is currently down 2.3%.

Meanwhile, gold has lunged back to a key support level and is now trading at US$1,846 per troy ounce, still up 4.73% for the last 12 months.

The ASX 200 share has tracked gold closely over the past five days, as seen below.

What’s up with Northern Star share price?

Investors have pushed the Northern Star share price off a three-month low of $7.98 on 15 June. Today’s gain is a continuation of that short-term trend.

Both the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) and the S&P/ASX 300 Metals & Mining Index (ASX: XMM) have slipped lower today, each almost 3% in the red on last check.

Gold has also spiked from its three-month low, having jumped more than 2% in the last two days.

Despite sliding from highs of US$2,052 per troy ounce on 8 March, it is one of the only asset classes to remain above water in 2022, on a 12-month basis.

It has traded sideways these past two months, and we’ll have to wait and see where it heads next.

Aussie gold shares also got a markup after bullish notes on the sector from analysts at UBS and Macquarie, The Australian reports.

Zooming out, it’s been less impressive for the Northern Star share price, which has cycled downwards by 10% over the past last six months.

Should today’s upward trend continue, it could break out above a key resistance level and signal a reversal of the downtrend. There are many variables currently at play, however, and forecasting share price moves is a fruitless exercise.

In the last 12 months, the Northern Star share price has slipped more than 16% into the red. It is also down 10% this year to date.

The post Here’s why the Northern Star share price is smashing the ASX 200 on Friday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• ‘The bar has been set low’: Why this top broker just upgraded the Evolution Mining share price
• Investing in ASX 200 gold shares? Here’s the latest on the gold price forecast
• What’s with the Northern Star share price on Wednesday?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Why this fund manager sees major upside potential for the Northern Star share price

Motley Fool contributor Zach Bristow has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Macquarie Group 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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