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In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has bounced back from a very bad start and is edging higher. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up slightly to 7,254.8 points.

Four ASX shares that are climbing more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are pushing higher:

Atlas Arteria Group (ASX: ALX)

The Atlas Arteria share price is up over 2% to $6.79. This morning the toll road operator announced its distribution for the first half. According to the release, Atlas Arteria will pay 15.5 Australian cents per stapled security for the six months ended 30 June 2021. This consistent with guidance provided with its half year results announcement.

Baby Bunting Group Ltd (ASX: BBN)

The Baby Bunting share price is up almost 3% to $5.42. This gain appears to have been driven by a broker note out of Citi this morning. According to the note, the broker has upgraded the baby products retailer’s shares to a buy rating with an improved price target of $5.98. It believes recent weakness in its share price has brought it down to an attractive level.

De Grey Mining Limited (ASX: DEG)

The De Grey Mining share price is up 2% to 98.8 cents. This morning the gold explorer announced that good gold recoveries were achieved at the Falcon and Crow deposits. Management notes that the results from Falcon and Crow are consistent with the positive results previously achieved from the Brolga and Aquila zones at Hemi prospect.

New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC)

The New Hope share price is up over 3.5% to $2.13. Investors have been buying the coal miner’s shares after it reported a big improvement in its full year profits. New Hope revealed a net profit after tax (NAPT) of $79 million for FY 2021. This compares to a loss of $157 million in the previous year. The improvement was driven by strong coal prices and improved costs.

The post Why Atlas Arteria, Baby Bunting, De Grey Mining, & New Hope are pushing higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Which ASX 300 shares are the biggest winners and losers on Tuesday?
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: APA makes AusNet bid, New Hope results impress
• 2 strong ASX retail shares that could be buys
• New Hope (ASX:NHC) share price jumps on $337m profit turnaround
• ASX 200 energy shares in firing line of United Nations’ climate action

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 Baby Bunting. 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 300 Index (ASX: XKO) is edging slightly higher in afternoon trade, after spending the morning in the red.

At the time of writing, the ASX 300 is up 0.07% to 7,255 points. The index fell almost 3% over the last 2 trading days. Yesterday, the ASX 300 recorded its steepest one-day drop in the past 6 months.

Let’s take a look at which ASX companies are leading the charge today.

New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC)

The New Hope share price is surging 5.34% to $2.17 in early afternoon trade.

The coal miner delivered its full-year results to the market, highlighting a $337 million profit turnaround. Underpinning the robust performance has come from the strength of coal prices and a supply shortage of fossil fuels.

The board declared a fully franked final dividend of 7 cents per share to be paid to eligible shareholders on 9 November.

Champion Iron Ltd (ASX: CIA)

The Champion Iron share price is rebounding from its 12.33% heavy loss yesterday. At the time of writing, the iron ore miner’s shares are up 4.91% to $4.70.

With no market sensitive news out of the company today, it appears investors are taking advantage of the share price weaknesses.

In the past week, Champion Iron shares have fallen almost 15%, hitting a new year-to-date low of $4.35.

Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC)

Another strong mover for today is the Whitehaven share price, up 3.27% to $2.84.

The Australian-based coal miner’s shares have risen on the back of rising coking coal prices.

On Friday, premium hard coking coal from Queensland sold for US$379 per tonne, a new record price.

Investors are buying up Whitehaven shares as the company will be producing bumper profits for the time being.

And which ASX 300 companies are heading south?

APA Group (ASX: APA)

Sinking today is the APA share price, down 4.05% to $8.52 a pop.

The leading Australian energy infrastructure business entered into a bidding war for AusNet Services Ltd (ASX: AST). Yesterday, Brookfield Asset Management made a non-binding offer to acquire AusNet for $2.50 per share.

However, APA has upped the ante, by making a non-binding indicative proposal for $2.60 per share in cash and scrip.

Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW)

Also being weighed down by investors today is the Temple & Webster share price, down 4.05% to $12.31 cents.

The online furniture and homewares retailer hasn’t released any new news this week. A possible catalyst for its shares falling could be the uncertainty in the sector relating to COVID-19.

The post Which ASX 300 shares are the biggest winners and losers on Tuesday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why Atlas Arteria, Baby Bunting, De Grey Mining, & New Hope are pushing higher
• ASX 200 rebounds into positive territory led by energy and materials shares
• Why the Whitehaven (ASX:WHC) share price is lifting on Tuesday
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: APA makes AusNet bid, New Hope results impress
• New Hope (ASX:NHC) share price jumps on $337m profit turnaround

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. owns shares of and has recommended Temple & Webster Group Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended APA Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Temple & Webster Group 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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The GTI Resources Ltd (ASX: GTR) share price has soared well into the green over the last month of trading. At the time of writing, shares are changing hands at 4.1 cents apiece, a rise of 5.13% on the previous close.

Whereas the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is in the red over the past month, GTI shares have jumped 105%.

Let’s take a look at what’s fuelling this growth.

What’s happening with GTI Resources lately?

The GTI Resources share price has been on the move since the company announced the acquisition of Branka Minerals Pty Ltd last month.

Branka is the “holder of [approximately] 22,000 acres of several groups of strategically located and under-explored mineral lode claims and 2 state leases” in the US that are prospective for “sandstone uranium”, according to GTI.

As a result of the acquisition, GTI will “control the largest non-US, Russian or Canadian owned uranium exploration landholding in the GDB with around 21,000 acres”.

GTI then gave an investor presentation at the beginning of September to highlight the “high potential” projects at its newly acquired site.

In its presentation GTI detailed several investment highlights, ranging from strategy to climate change to the projects themselves.

Investors appear to have adored the company’s prospects. The GTI Resources share price soared 147% to a high of 4.7 cents on 16 September, before retracing back down to today’s level.

One other factor that is heavily weighing in on GTI’s shares is the current price uranium is fetching in the commodity markets.

Uranium’s price chart has shot up since mid-August – in perfect timing with GTI’s announcements – and now trades at US$49.90 per pound.

That’s a 66% gain from the previous low of US$30 per pound on 16 August.

GTI is an ASX resource share that is involved in the production of commodities. As such, its share price can and does fluctuate with volatility in the broader commodity markets.

In light of this relationship, the bombastic price action of uranium, and GTI’s recent acquisition, it starts to make sense why the GTI share price has gained more than 100% in the last month.

GTI Resources share price snapshot

The GTI share price has gained 74% this year to date as a result of this past month’s recent gains.

In the past week alone, it has climbed a further 11% into the green, well ahead of the benchmark indices.

This is also well ahead of the broad ASX 200 index’s gain of around 14% since January 1. As uranium continues to fetch such high prices, GTI appears to be one of the beneficiaries.

The post Why the GTI Resources (ASX:GTR) share price has boomed 100% in a month appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 rebounds into positive territory led by energy and materials shares
• Why the Webjet (ASX:WEB) share price is lifting off this Tuesday
• Why is the Woolworths (ASX:WOW) share price underperforming Coles today?
• Western Areas (ASX:WSA) share price falls as IGO due diligence begins
• Warning to all ETF shareholders doing their tax returns

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

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has recovered from a rocky start this morning, currently flat after falling 0.78% to a 3-month low of 7,191 this morning.

This follows a weak overnight performance from Wall Street, with its major indices the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq sliding 1.78%, 1.70% and 2.19% respectively.

The ASX 200 has managed to claw its way back into positive territory, supported by encouraging bounces from the depressed energy and materials sector.

Resources bump ASX 200 into positive territory

The ASX 200 is holding onto a small gain as the S&P/ASX Energy (INDEXASX: XEJ) and S&P/ASX Materials (INDEXASX: XMJ) bounce a respective 1.60% and 0.93%.

Iron ore bounces after Monday selloff

Today’s resilient performance is headlined by iron ore majors BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX: FMG) and Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO), up between 1.28% and 1.91%.

The bounce-back has defied the overnight performance of iron ore, which plunged to below US$100 a tonne for the first time since July 2020.

Benchmark iron ore prices fell another US$8.98 a tonne or 8.8% to US$92.98 a tonne, according to Fastmarkets.

Smaller iron ore players are also catching bids, with the Mount Gibson Iron Ltd (ASX: MGX) and Champion Iron Ltd (ASX: CIA) share price rallying 7.9% and 4.8% higher respectively.

Gold miners trade higher, but still around March 2020 lows

ASX 200 gold miners have struggled to find upside as spot prices trade at around March 2020 levels.

Despite going nowhere in the past 18 months, gold majors are propping up the ASX 200 materials index on Tuesday, with heavyweights Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM), Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NCM) and Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) up 1.44%, 1.86% and 1.62% respectively.

Oil shares lift ASX 200, eyes on Fed meeting

The energy sector is struggling to push above recent highs, despite OPEC forecasting oil demand will exceed pre-pandemic levels in 2022.

At the time of writing, ASX 200 oil and gas players are edging higher with Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) up 2.04% to $21.00, Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) up 0.65% to $6.16 and Oil Search Ltd (ASX: OSH) adding 0.67% to $3.74.

Oil and gas investors should pay attention to the US Federal Reserve Open Market Committee meeting taking place over 21-22 September.

According to S&P Global, “Fed Chairman Jerome Powell signalled last month that it would be appropriate for the tapering to occur by the end of this year, which would buoy interest rates and strengthen the US dollar, putting downward pressure on energy prices.”

The post ASX 200 rebounds into positive territory led by energy and materials shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: APA makes AusNet bid, New Hope results impress
• New Hope (ASX:NHC) share price jumps on $337m profit turnaround
• Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price bounces higher despite iron ore sliding below US$100 a tonne
• The final BHP (ASX:BHP) dividend will be paid to shareholders today. Here’s what to expect
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday

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

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The Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) share price is flying breezy today despite a so-so market. At the time of writing, shares in the travel agency are trading for $5.90 – up 1.72%. For comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is just 0.21% higher.

While the company hasn’t made any market sensitive announcements in 3 weeks, something is clearly getting investors excited.

Let’s take a closer look.

Webjet is in the skies

While it’s a mixed day across the market, one clear winner is the ASX travel sector. Besides the Webjet share price, Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN), Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT), and Helloworld Travel Ltd (ASX: HLO) shares are all higher too.

One reason for this may be increasing optimism about Australia’s international borders. Under the national roadmap to living with COVID-19, the federal government has promised to reopen Australia’s borders once 80% of the nation is fully vaccinated against the disease.

The NSW government recently began trialling home quarantine for some returning Australians as well. This is in anticipation of later in the year when borders are expected to reopen.

Qantas, for example, is already selling tickets to North America, the UK, and Fiji in anticipation of flights resuming in December. Only yesterday, Qantas announced a date for the resumption of flights between NSW and Victoria.

Another possible reason for rising investor sentiment (and the Webjet share price) may be news coming out of Washington DC.

As Reuters is reporting, the US government will reopen its borders in November to fully vaccinated travellers from 33 countries, including China, India, and the United Kingdom. For investors, this may be further optimism that we are heading towards the beginning of the end of the pandemic.

Webjet share price snapshot

Over the last 12 months, the Webjet share price has increased 54.9%. Year-to-date, Webjet shares are up 16.37%. Since the beginning of 2021, it has overperformed the ASX 200 by about 6 percentage points.

The 52-week high is $6.33 and the 52-week low is $3.44.

Webjet has a market capitalisation of about $2.2 billion.

The post Why the Webjet (ASX:WEB) share price is lifting off this Tuesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• How has the Webjet (ASX:WEB) share price performed since reporting FY21 results?
• How have these 3 ASX 200 travel shares performed since reporting results?
• 2 ASX travel shares to consider buying

Motley Fool contributor Marc Sidarous has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Helloworld Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Helloworld Limited and Webjet Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Flight Centre Travel 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 Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) share price is not having a great day of it so far this Tuesday. Woolworths shares are currently down by 0.1% to $39.18. That’s a little worse than what the broader S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is doing today. It’s currently up by a decent 0.27% to 7,268 points.

But it’s a lot worse than its own arch-rival Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL). Coles shares, in contrast to Woolworths (and the ASX 200), are currently in the green today, up 0.44% to $17.02 a share.

So why are Woolworths shares down today when Coles shares are on the up? We actually saw a similar trend play out yesterday, with Coles shares also rising in the face of a falling Woolworths share price and the ASX 200 in the red.

So what’s going on?

Bricks and plastic weghing on Woolworths share price?

Well, there have been a couple of recent developments that have arguably not done Woolies any favours. Firstly, as my Fool colleague Brooke covered last week, Woolworths’ latest collectables program has run into some problems.

Woolworths Bricks, a collectable set of building blocks that “customers can use to build a miniature version of a sustainable Woolworths supermarket”, are reportedly in short supply. Shortages have resulted in many supermarkets running out of Bricks completely.

Woolworths has stated that “it has plenty of Woolworths Bricks left” and “will continue to restock stores that have run out of the collectables”. However, this may still be a factor in today’s share price performance.

Another issue that might be in play today is news of a capital raising. Not by Woolworths itself, but from one of its subsidiaries. According to a report in the Australia Financial Review (AFR) today, the private company Samsara is “eyeing a capital raising of up to $30 million”.

Samsara is a plastics recycling company that Woolworths owns a 25% stake in through its Woolworths 360 arm. Woolworths 360 was reportedly set up to “help accelerate sustainability practises across the group”.

Samsara also boasts the CSIRO’s venture capital arm Main Sequence as a shareholder, as well as the Australian National University (ANU).

Its technology enables plastics to be broken down and reused almost endlessly. Samsara’s founder and CEO Paul Riley calls it “infinite recycling”.

However, Woolworths 360 told the AFR that “we haven’t made a call on that yet” when asked if Woolworths would be participating in the capital raise. This could also be a factor in today’s Woolworths share price performance.

At the current Woolworth share price of $39.18, the company has a market capitalisation of $49.64 billion, a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 32.1 and a dividend yield of 2.76%.

The post Why is the Woolworths (ASX:WOW) share price underperforming Coles today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why are Coles (ASX:COL) shares defying the ASX 200 selloff today?
• The Endeavour (ASX:EDV) share price is lifting today
• Why this broker sees the Coles (ASX:COL) share price rising 15%
• How has the Woolworths share price performed since reporting results?
• 2 buy-rated ASX dividend shares with attractive yields

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The Western Areas Ltd (ASX: WSA) share price is wobbling today following confirmation the company has entered due diligence with IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO).

IGO is considering taking over the nickel producer. It has supposedly gained access to Western Areas’ books for the due diligence period.

At one stage in morning trade, the Western Areas share price climbed into the green. However, at the time of writing, shares are swapping hands for $2.93 apiece — 0.51% lower than their previous close.

Let’s take a closer look at news and rumours surrounding the potential takeover.

Western Areas’ talks with IGO resume

The Western Areas share price is in the green today after IGO announced it has entered due diligence regarding a “potential change of control transaction” for the company.

IGO noted the discussions are in their infancy and there’s no guarantee they’ll amount to a takeover bid. It’s the second time in as many months the market has heard IGO is interested in taking over Western Areas.

The Western Areas share price soared 12.9% when it confirmed IGO was interested in acquiring it in August.

Last night, the Australian Financial Review (AFR) reported IGO has been given access to Western Areas books.

Previously, the publication reported IGO put a $1 billion scrip-heavy bid to Western Areas. Presumably, the purported bid was denied.

Now, the AFR reports IGO has been given access to Western Areas’ books to allow it to consider producing a bid that’s more likely to be accepted.

However, IGO told investors not to get too excited yet. It said there’s no certainty the discussions will result in a takeover bid.

IGO is said to be particularly interested in Western Areas’ up-and-coming Odysseus Mine.

All eyes will be on IGO and Western Areas over the next month, as the market now reportedly has around 4 weeks to wait before IGO’s due diligence ends.

Western Areas share price snapshot

Western Areas’ stock has been performing well this year.

It has gained 9% since the start of 2021. It is also currently 30% higher than it was this time last year.

The post Western Areas (ASX:WSA) share price falls as IGO due diligence begins appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Western Areas (ASX:WSA) share price falls after last year’s $32 million profit turns to $8 million loss

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

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Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are widely popular these days, with more than 600,000 Australians owning shares in them.

But as the October tax return deadline looms closer, they’re warned not to make any errors or omissions in their submission to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

Following the ATO’s 4 tips to first-time ASX investors earlier this month, H&R Block tax communications director Mark Chapman spoke to The Motley Fool about ETFs specifically.

“Whilst investing in an ETF might look similar to an investment into an individual share, the tax implications are very different,” he said.

“Basically, an ETF takes the form of a trust. The return paid by an ETF takes the form of a distribution from the trust.”

How ETF income reporting is a landmine

As far as investors are concerned, they just receive one income from an ETF — a distribution.

But because ETFs themselves invest in a wide variety of stocks, that distribution could come from many different sources.

Chapman named dividends, franking credits, interest, foreign income and capital gains, as just a few examples.

“Each of those individual elements then needs to be split out by you and entered into the correct boxes on your tax return,” he said.

“The potential for mistakes is considerable!”

Lucky for ASX investors, there’s one document that’ll save you

Fortunately, each year ETF providers will send to all shareholders what’s called a Standard Distribution Statement (SDS).

That document breaks down all the different sources of your ETF income, giving you the exact numbers to fill in for specific boxes in your tax return.

“Make sure you look out for — and keep — your annual tax statement because without it, completing your tax return accurately can be almost impossible,” said Chapman.

The ATO also reminded investors that the statement has another useful purpose.

“When an investor disposes of units, the SDS will show the capital gains or losses made from the sale of the units which also need to be included in tax returns.”

Chapman warned that the tax office now uses data matching to verify numbers, so accuracy is paramount.

“The fact that the ATO now receives pre-fill information about ETFs makes it even more important that the income and gain are disclosed and that the disclosures are correct,” he said. 

“The ATO can now match your tax return with the information received from funds and if there is a difference, you can expect a ‘please explain’ letter from the taxman.”

He added that a professional look over the tax return couldn’t hurt.

“The many different taxable elements of an ETF can be difficult to understand and including the information on your tax return — in the correct boxes — needs an expert eye.”

The post Warning to all ETF shareholders doing their tax returns appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Western Areas (ASX:WSA) share price falls as IGO due diligence begins
• The Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price has fallen in the last week. Here’s why
• CBA (ASX:CBA) share price lower despite latest ‘disruptor’ investment
• 3 experts pick 3 ASX shares to rocket in next 12 months
• Why this broker loves the current Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price

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

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The Westpac Banking Corporation (ASX: WBC) share price has slipped into the red over the last few days and, at the time of writing, is trading at $25.18.

Whereas the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has fallen 2.3% over the last week, Westpac’s shares have dipped 2.7% into the red.

Let’s take a look at what’s causing these selling pressures for the banking giant’s shares.

What’s up with the Westpac share price lately?

The big market mover for the Westpac share price has been the company’s announcement to trim its savings rates by 0.5%.

Specifically, it cut rates on its “life savings” products by 0.5% for account holders aged 18-29 and 0.1% for all other ages. The introductory rate on its “eSavers” account is also 100 basis points lower after the decision.

Westpac has carried the haircut through to each of its subsidiaries, St George, Bank of Melbourne and Bank SA.

The “Big 4” member’s decision marks its third rate cut within the last year, after the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) adjusted the cash rate in November 2020.

Following this decision, the Westpac share price has plummeted from $26 and seems set on a southward course.

Adding more fuel to the fire is a recent note out of leading broker Bell Potter Securities on Westpac’s shares.

In its analysis, the broker reiterated its hold rating and feels Westpac shares are trading on a rich valuation at the moment.

It also was dissatisfied to see the company’s approximate 90% sale of Westpac Bank PNG Limited was blocked by Papua New Guinean authorities.

As such, Bell Potter sees better value elsewhere – although, as The Motley Fool’s James Mickelboro notes, Citi has the opposite view of Bell Potter. It has a buy rating and a $30 price target on the Westpac share price.

The sum of these two events appears to be some of the fuel that is propelling the Westpac share price lower this past week.

Westpac share price snapshot

It’s not all doom and gloom for the banking giant’s share price.

Westpac shares have climbed ahead of the broad indices this year and have posted a return of 29% since January 1.

Over the last 12 months, the Westpac share price has gained a further 52%, well ahead of the broad index’s gain of 25%.

Despite this, Westpac shares are down around 3% over the last month as well.

The post The Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price has fallen in the last week. Here’s why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• How could a stock market correction impact ASX 200 bank shares?
• Climbing mortgage stress: Are the CBA, ANZ, NAB and Westpac share prices in danger?
• 2 buy-rated ASX dividend shares with 4%+ yields
• How has the Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price performed since reporting results?
• Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price slides amid further savings rates cuts

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

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The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price is currently down by close to 1% despite revealing a new investment.

What is CBA’s latest investment?

The major big four bank has made an investment in a fast-growing Australian property management company called “:Different” which has thousands of owners, tenants and properties under management.

CBA is making this strategic move with its venture-scaling entity called x15ventures.

Some of x15ventures’ other investments include Unloan, Payable, Doshii, CreditSavvy and Backr.

CBA will be taking a minority shareholding in :Different.

:Different was co-founded in 2017 by Mina Radhakrishnan and her husband Ruwin Perera. It was explained that they have experience at other tech companies including Google and Uber.

The idea of this business is to digitise many parts of property management to remove and reduce pain points, paperwork, admin and time consuming manual tasks faced by property owners, investors and renters. Some of the things that it does includes streamlining the process to report, quote and manage maintenance requests.

CBA said it planned to make :Different eventually available through the CommBank app to help people through the property buying process. This will work with one of CBA’s other investments, Home-In, which is a digital home loan conveyancing platform. CBA customers will get exclusive discounts and benefits.

Management commentary

CBA Group Executive Retail Banking Services, Angus Sullivan, said:

As the country’s biggest supporter of getting Aussies into homes, we aim to be the most trusted partner at the centre of our customer’s lives and be there for them at moments that matter. Today’s announcement to partner with such a disruptive business further differentiates and expands what we are able to deliver for our investor home loan customers.

Much like our recently announced investments in Amber and Little Birdie, this is an example of us carefully selecting a high-profile, high-growth tech enabled business and exclusively introducing them to CBA customers to offer an enhanced level of service. We see this partnership as an important part of our overall home buying strategy and one that will be core to the way we support our customers to manage their homes and grow their wealth.

So why might the CBA share price be falling?

It may be useful to think about today’s CBA movement in the context of the whole market. There have been concerns about a Chinese property developer called Evergrande, which analysts worry could possibly lead to economic contagion to other areas.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) fell around 1% in early trading, though it is now slightly up on yesterday. Other banks are also down – the National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price is down around 1%, the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) share price is down 0.2% and the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price is down around 0.6%.

However, the iron ore miners have seen a little rebound this morning. At the time of writing, the BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price is up 1.6%, the Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) share price is up 1.7% and the Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price is up 2.4%.

The post CBA (ASX:CBA) share price lower despite latest ‘disruptor’ investment appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 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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