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1) So much for the extreme volatility some market watchers expected following the United States inflation figures, which came in slightly lower than expected.

The S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX) rose a modest 0.73% whilst the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQ: .IXIC) index gained just over 1%. The ASX 200 is making headway in afternoon trade on Wednesday, with Block (ASX: SQ2) shares the biggest gainer, up 8.3%, but still down 41% over the past 12 months. 

The softer-than-expected US inflation print gives the green light to US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell to raise interest rates by 50 basis points overnight Wednesday.

The main game in town now for stock market watchers is predicting the terminal interest rate and when the Fed will start cutting interest rates.

Quoted on Bloomberg, Jason Katz, managing director and private wealth adviser at UBS, expects interest rates will stay higher for longer.

If they cut rates in the latter part of next year, that’s going to be because they broke things along the way and things are ugly. So it’s our view that the terminal rate lands anywhere between 5%-5.25% and remains there for the full calendar year.

Such an outcome would likely continue to put pressure on global stock markets, certainly for the first half of next year. Although the ASX 200 has had a good year, certainly when compared to the double-digit losses widely seen on Wall Street, you’d imagine there would be some comeuppance should US markets continue to fall.

2) Of course, not everyone shares the same views as Jason Katz – the divergence of opinion and thoughts is what makes a market.

“The coming year for investing may turn out to be better than many expect for stocks even though a recession appears likely,” pros at Natixis Investment Management said Wednesday on MarketWatch.

“I’m bullish because everybody is bearish,” said Jack Janasiewicz, portfolio manager and lead portfolio strategist at Natixis Investment Management Solutions. “The downside is already reflected in the market.”

Simple is often best, especially given how hard it is to predict what might happen to the economy, to the consumer, to interest rates, to unemployment, to inflation, and more.

3) Writing in their November monthly update, the Surrey Australian Equities Fund said they “are positive on the outlook for Australian equities over the medium term”.

Our view remains that inflation has been materially impacted by supply chain issues and as these normalise and higher interest rates take effect, inflation could ease and with it the recent sharpness of interest rate increases… Should rates increases start to slow and the US 10-year bond yield settles, we are positive on equity valuations.

The fund also notes, when it comes to small-cap stocks, positive recoveries often follow down years. 

In 2022, huge gains in resources stocks have helped offset massive losses in growth stocks, such that the S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries Index (ASX: XSO) is down “only” 19% so far this year. Adopting the simple technique of being bullish because everyone else is bearish, I’d guess a basket of beaten-down small-cap growth stocks will outperform in 2023.

I own more than my fair share of small-cap “dogs of 2022”, although thankfully I haven’t owned them all year, somewhat limiting my losses. 

Moving into 2023, I’m holding out recovery hopes for these dogs, with their one-year share price performance noted. In alphabetical order…

BlueBet Holdings Ltd (ASX: BBT) – down 73%

Field Solutions Holdings Ltd (ASX: FSG) – down 51%

Marley Spoon (ASX: MMM) – down 81%

Plenti Group Ltd (ASX: PLT) – down 64% 

RPM Automotive Group Ltd (ASX: RPM) – down 44%

Swoop Holdings Ltd (ASX: SWP) – down 77%

Hydration Pharmaceuticals Co Ltd (ASX: HPC) – down 72%

Touch Ventures Ltd (ASX: TVL) – down 64%

It’s a motley group of companies, with little in common, apart from the devastating falls experienced by shareholders over the past 12 months.

That said, apart from Touch Ventures, which is an investment vehicle trading at a significant discount to its net asset value, they are all growing quickly, mostly have cash or little to no debt, and are either profitable or trade around break-even.

Here’s hoping for a happier 2023 and beyond for these dogs, and to the micro-cap (and fun but risky, so please don’t try this at home) portion of my portfolio. I look forward to reporting back on progress come this time next year. 

The post “Bullish because everybody is bearish” – here are 8 dogs of 2022 I’m backing for the win in 2023  appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Bruce Jackson has positions in Block, BlueBet, Field Solutions, Hydration Pharmaceuticals, Marley Spoon Ag, Plenti Group, Rpm Automotive Group, Swoop, and Touch Ventures. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Block and Marley Spoon Ag. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Block. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended BlueBet and Marley Spoon Ag. 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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is backing up the gains that we saw yesterday with another positive day for the share market so far this Wednesday.

At the time of writing, the ASX 200 Index has added another 0.56%, which lifts the index up to just over 7,240 points.

But let’s now delve deeper into these pleasing gains this Wednesday by taking a look at the ASX 200 shares currently at the top of the share market’s trading volume charts, according to investing.com.

The 3 most traded ASX 200 shares by volume this Wednesday

Endeavour Group Ltd (ASX: EDV)

First up today is an ASX 200 share we don’t see too often on this list. Drinks company Endeavour Group has seen a notable 13.66 million of its shares change hands at this point of the session.

Sadly for investors, this seems to be a consequence of the large share price falls this company has endured today. Endeavour shares are presently down by a nasty 4.93% to $6.37 each.

As we covered this morning, this seems to be in response to news that Endeavour’s old owner Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) has offloaded a significant chunk of the shares it had retained.

Woolworths has sold a 5.5% stake in Endeavour for an average price of $6.46 per share. Even though Woollies still retains a 9.1% ownership stake, this has still clearly rattled investors.

Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO)

Next up this Wednesday, we have ASX 200 lithium share Core Lithium. Today’s session has seen a meaty 14.02 million Core shares called in thus far. We haven’t had any news out of Core itself today. But that hasn’t stopped the shares from going on a bit of a run.

The Core Lithium share price has lifted a healthy 1.94% at this point of the day to $1.16 a share. It’s probably this buying pressure that has resulted in so many shares flying around.

St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM)

Our third and final ASX 200 share for this Wednesday’s trading day is the gold miner St Barbara. We’ve had a whopping 39.82 million St Barbara shares bought and sold so far today. And it’s not hard to see why.

St Barbara shares have returned to trading today after going through a trading halt for the last few days. The company has revealed its plans to merge with fellow gold miner Genesis Minerals Ltd (ASX: GMD).

Investors are over the moon at this news, judging by the fact that the St Barbara share price has rocketed a massive 14.84% so far today to 74 cents a share. This is almost certainly why St Barbara is topping today’s most-traded ASX 200 shares.

The post Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Wednesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why are ASX 200 investors so obsessed with Core Lithium shares right now?
• Inflation nation: Why is the ASX 200 marching higher today?
• Why Bendigo Bank, Endeavour, TPG, and Zip shares are dropping today
• Why Arafura, Block, Leo Lithium, and St Barbara shares are storming higher
• Lithium, miners, and tech shares, oh my! Here’s where Aussies put their ASX money in 2022

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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Are S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) investors obsessed with Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) shares? The evidence appears to suggest they are.

Trading of the lithium stock has increased significantly over the last 12 months. In fact, it’s been crowned trading platform Superhero’s most popular ASX share of 2022.

No doubt, the company’s rising popularity has helped send its stock rocketing higher this year.

At one point, the Core Lithium share price was up nearly 200% year to date, reaching an all-time high of $1.875. It has since fallen to trade at $1.157 today – 83% higher than it was at the start of 2022.

For comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) – which Core Lithium was only admitted to in June – has fallen 5% so far this year.

So, why are Aussie investors seemingly obsessed with the ASX 200 lithium share? Let’s take a look.

Why are Core Lithium shares so popular with ASX 200 investors?

An obvious factor likely behind Core Lithium’s recent popularity is its work in the lithium space.

Superhero founder and CEO John Winters told The Motley Fool Australia:

Lithium stocks on Superhero were consistently popular throughout the year. I think it’s a trend we started seeing towards the end of 2021, but it really came into full force this year.

With Australia one of the world’s biggest lithium producers as well as an increased focus on renewable energy and electric vehicles, it’s no surprise that [many of the] most traded Australian companies on Superhero this year mine lithium.

And soaring lithium prices likely didn’t hurt the stock’s popularity.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)’s most recent lithium auction heralded a bid which, on a pro-rata basis for lithia content and including freight costs, equated to around US$8,575 per dry metric tonne.

Finally, with the Australian government tipping lithium prices to continue growing in 2023 – driven by demand for electric vehicles – it’s no surprise many market participants are excited by the company’s future earnings.

On the cusp of production

Speaking of earnings, Core Lithium hasn’t got any. But that hasn’t discouraged investors.

In fact, another factor potentially driving ASX 200 fans to Core Lithium shares may well be the company’s position as a developer on the cusp of production.

It’s one of few companies that found themselves within a hair of their maiden production when the latest lithium boom hit the market.

The company’s Finniss Lithium mine was officially opened in October, with first production expected to be shipped in early 2023.

Thus, market watchers might have seen the potential for major growth in the lithium stock.

And let’s not forget its short-lived non-binding offtake agreement with Tesla.

The New York-listed electric vehicle giant also garnered plenty of attention in 2022, coming in as Superhero’s most traded US stock.

The post Why are ASX 200 investors so obsessed with Core Lithium shares right now? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Inflation nation: Why is the ASX 200 marching higher today?
• Lithium, miners, and tech shares, oh my! Here’s where Aussies put their ASX money in 2022
• Why is the Westpac share price wilting on Wednesday?
• Looking to buy Flight Centre shares? Here’s why this insider tips 2023 to be a big year for business
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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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up 0.4% in afternoon trade, having earlier posted gains of 0.6%.

Technology stocks are faring particularly well, with the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) up 1.2% at this same time.

This follows a similar trend in United States’ markets, with the S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX) gaining 0.7% overnight and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQ: .IXIC) closing up 1%.

Today’s lift in the ASX 200 comes on the back of the latest inflation report out of the United States.

Why is the US inflation reading helping boost the ASX 200 today?

The US is a long way from our shores geographically.

But the influence of the world’s top economy on the performance of ASX 200 shares is significant. And one of the biggest factors investors are watching from the US is the inflation readings.

Lower inflation levels will flag a more dovish policy response from the Federal Reserve, while sticky inflation will likely mean rates will remain higher for longer.

And the CPI figures released by the Labor Delopartment overnight came in a touch lower than consensus expectations.

Economists had predicted headline inflation would increase by 0.3% from October to 7.3%. But the number surprised to the downside, with CPI increasing 0.1% to 7.1% from a year earlier.

“This is not an outlier. In fact, today’s report showed a fairly broad-based slowdown,” Omair Sharif, founder of Inflation Insights, said.

Highlighting why ASX 200 and international stock market investors keep a close eye on US inflation figures, Bloomberg notes that US inflation reports have seen the S&P 500 gain or lose an average of 3% over the past six CPI releases. The average daily move is approximately 1.2%.

What the experts are saying

With the ASX 200 joining in the US market rally, Callie Cox, US investment analyst at eToro, said the CPI numbers were good news, but cautioned investors not to get overexuberant:

What we’re in now is the definition of a soft landing. Slowing price growth could show the Fed that it may be time to take the foot off the brake…

This report could be the good news the market has needed to build a foundation just above the lows. But investors need to be careful. Inflation still isn’t fully handled, and it’s easy for markets to get carried away. We may not see new highs until inflation is fully under control.

Bloomberg economists Anna Wong and Eliza Winger said the CPI data could see a pause in rate hikes early next year.

“The surprisingly soft November CPI print adds to the case that disinflation is building,” they said. “By the late-January FOMC meeting, some Fed officials may conclude there’s enough ‘compelling’ evidence to start talking about pausing rate hikes.”

Commenting before the release of the CPI data, David Bassanese, chief economist at BetaShares said (courtesy of the Australian Financial Review):

We’re going to see a pretty big market reaction regardless of the result because it’s one of those numbers where the market is hugely sensitive. That’s because ultimately, everything boils down to the question of how quickly can inflation in the US fall and does it take a recession to do it?

If inflation in the US continues to ease in 2023 without the Fed ushering in a recession via aggressive tightening, the ASX 200 should receive some further welcome tailwinds.

The post Inflation nation: Why is the ASX 200 marching higher today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Why is the Westpac share price wilting on Wednesday?
• Looking to buy Flight Centre shares? Here’s why this insider tips 2023 to be a big year for business
• Bought $1,000 of Telstra shares 10 years ago? Here’s how much dividend income you’ve received
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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 another gain. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.4% to 7,231.2 points.

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

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN)

The Bendigo and Adelaide Bank share price is down 4.5% to $9.23. This may have been driven by a couple of broker notes that were released this morning. Analysts at both Citi and Macquarie have downgraded this regional bank’s shares to neutral ratings on valuation grounds.

Endeavour Group Ltd (ASX: EDV)

The Endeavour share price is down 5% to $6.36. This follows news that major shareholder Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) has been selling down its stake. Woolworths has agreed to sell 5.5% of the issued capital of Endeavour via a block trade at a price of $6.46 per share. This represents a 3.6% discount to its last close price. The retail giant revealed that it isn’t planning to sell any further shares in the short to medium term.

TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG)

The TPG share price is down 4% to $4.86. Investors have been selling this telco’s shares after it was the latest victim of a cyberattack. TPG revealed that its external cyber security advisers has advised that they found evidence of unauthorised access to a Hosted Exchange service which hosts email accounts for up to 15,000 iiNet and Westnet business customers. The company believes the hackers were looking for customers’ cryptocurrency and financial information.

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP)

The Zip share price is down over 2% to 62.7 cents. This morning, UBS responded to Zip’s trading update and capital raising by retaining its sell rating and lowly 45 cents price target. This price target implies potential downside of almost 30% for investors from current levels.

The post Why Bendigo Bank, Endeavour, TPG, and Zip shares are dropping today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• This ASX 200 company has just become the latest victim of a cyber attack, and its share price is diving
• Why is the Endeavour share price sinking today?
• Woolworths share price higher on Endeavour selldown: What’s going on?
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• 2 ASX 200 dividend heavyweights to buy and hold until you retire

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 Zip Co. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Bendigo And Adelaide Bank. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Tpg Telecom. 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 All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is having a decent day so far this Wednesday. At the time of writing, the All Ords has gained a healthy 0.42%, putting the index up at around 7,420 points. But it’s another story when it comes to the Arafura Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: ARU) share price.

Arafura shares are on fire today. This All Ords rare earths company has rocketed a whopping 13.48% so far this Wednesday, putting the company at 50 cents a share.

So what on earth is causing this company to shoot up so dramatically during this Wednesday’s trading session?

Well, it seems that a new ASX announcement might be responsible.

Last night, after market close, Arafura released a new ASX filing. This was ‘becoming a substantial holder’ declaration, and it related to none other than Gina Rinehart.

Arafura share price soars as Rinehart shows her cards

Rinehart, through her company Hancock Prospecting, already owned a significant chunk of Arafura. But it appears she has gone on another buying spree.

Rinehart, through Hancock Prospecting, forked out $43.37 million on Arafura shares on 12 December, netting the company just over 117.22 million shares.

ASX filings show that Hancock has spent most of 2022 building up a stake in Arafura.

The private company began buying in April, but slowly. Hancock made six purchases over April, netting a million to two new shares with each tranche.

This was continued over early May as well. With yet another purchase in August, this one worth around $9 million, Hancock owned approximately 49 million shares prior to this Monday.

But on Monday, Hancock Prospecting had more than tripled its stake in Arafura with its whopping $43.37 million buy. This latest purchase gives Hancock Prospecting just over 166 million shares in Arafura, with around 8.37% voting power in the company.

This purchase was the likely result of Hancock’s participation in the recently completed share purchase plan that Arufura has run.

As we reported earlier this month, Arafura announced the $121 million capital raise on 5 December. This enabled institutional investors to pick up additional shares at a price of 37 cents each. Hancock Prospecting initially put forward $60 million for this placement, but it seems that only $43.37 million was accepted.

Even so, it appears investors have been buoyed today by news of Rinehart’s investment in Arafura. Gina Rinehart isn’t Australia’s richest person for nothing, so it’s not hard to see why investors might be feeling optimistic over the Arafura share price today.

The post Why is the Arafura Rare Earths share price rocketing 13% today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why Arafura, Block, Leo Lithium, and St Barbara shares are storming higher
• Why Arafura, Megaport, Nitro, and Sayona Mining shares are storming higher today
• It’s not all bad news for the ASX All Ords on Monday. Here are 3 big gainers
• One ASX penny stock I’d buy for 2023 and hold for a decade
• 5 ASX shares involved with rare earths (aside from Lynas)

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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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on form again on Wednesday. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is up 0.4% to 7,234.4 points.

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

Arafura Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: ARU)

The Arafura share price is up a massive 17% to 52 cents. This rare earths rare earths producer’s shares have been on fire since the completion of its recent institutional placement. Arafura raised $121 million from institutional investors (including Gina Rinehart) at 37 cents per new share. These funds will be used to help accelerate the development schedule of the Nolans Project.

Block Inc (ASX: SQ2)

The Block share price is up 8% to $104.39. Investors have been buying this payments company’s shares after a very strong showing from its US listed shares overnight. Block’s NYSE listed shares rose 7.5% on Tuesday night after the tech sector rebounded following a lower than expected US inflation reading. This has sparked hopes that interest rates won’t rise as much as feared.

Leo Lithium Ltd (ASX: LLL)

The Leo Lithium share price is up 8% to 49.7 cents. This morning, this lithium developer released an update on drilling results from the Goulamina Lithium Project in southern Mali. Drilling at the Danaya Domain at Goulamina is now complete and results continue to reveal high-grade, thick intercepts. Management notes that this confirms its expectations of multiple, wide mineralised pegmatite zones.

St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM)

The St Barbara share price is up 16% to 75.5 cents. This gold miner’s shares have taken off today after investors responded positively to its plan to merge with Genesis Minerals Ltd (ASX: GMD). The two gold miners plan to combine their Leonara District operations to form Hoover House. This will result in a mining company with a fully funded “capital-light” base case production target of +300koz per annum.

The post Why Arafura, Block, Leo Lithium, and St Barbara shares are storming higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• ASX 200 gold share St Barbara returns with a bang, up 25%
• Why Bendigo Bank, Block, Megaport, and Starpharma shares are rising today
• 2 ASX 300 gold shares just upgraded by brokers
• Why Arafura, Megaport, Nitro, and Sayona Mining shares are storming higher today
• It’s not all bad news for the ASX All Ords on Monday. Here are 3 big gainers

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. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Block. 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 Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX: FMG) share price is up just 0.1% in afternoon trade, rebounding from earlier intraday losses of 1.2%.

Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) iron ore miner closed yesterday trading for $20.23 and are currently swapping hands for $20.25 apiece.

The Fortescue share price is almost static despite a fractional uptick in iron ore prices overnight, currently trading for US$110 per tonne. That’s up some 34% since 1 November when the industrial metal was trading for US$82 per tonne.

What are ASX 200 investors considering?

The Fortescue share price appears to be floundering today for two reasons.

First, JP Morgan downgraded a range of iron ore miners. Fortescue was among those, with its rating cut to underweight from neutral.

JP Morgan analyst Lyndon Fagan explained (as quoted by The Australian):

China reopening, whilst a clear positive for the space, now looks to be priced into many stocks already. China’s reopening appears to be a reality, but sentiment-wise, it’s also the consensus thinking.

Fatigue on this trade for the miners could start to set in soon, given strong recent performance. Many stocks have overshot on the upside, and the market could pivot back to global recession concerns in early 2023 or begin to worry about an interrupted / less aggressive China reopening.

The Fortescue share price is likely also facing some headwinds because the China reopening isn’t going exactly to plan.

COVID infections are soaring in the Middle Kingdom’s major cities, including Beijing.

With infections surging, officials have delayed this week’s Central Economic Work Conference, which was due to take place in Beijing. No future date for the highly watched conference has yet been released.

This comes as the year just gone looks to have seen China’s economy grow at the slowest pace since the 1970s. According to Bloomberg’s economist survey, the Chinese economy is forecast to grow only 3.2%.

Fortescue share price snapshot

As you can see in the chart below, the Fortescue share price has outperformed over the past 12 months, gaining 8%.

Longer term, Fortescue shares are up 314% in five years.

The post Why is the Fortescue share price having another day to forget? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Lithium, miners, and tech shares, oh my! Here’s where Aussies put their ASX money in 2022
• Why Chalice Mining, Fortescue, Mincor, and Zip shares are dropping today
• Why is the Fortescue share price tanking on Tuesday?
• Could the VAS ETF outperform the BHP share price in 2023?
• Look out below! Broker tips Fortescue share price to fall 32%

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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The South32 Ltd (ASX: S32) share price is rocketing upwards on Wednesday, outperforming the market’s biggest mining stocks.

It’s gains come amid news the company has been excluded from a series of broker downgrades. Even more excitingly, it’s been upgraded.

Right now, the South32 share price is up 3.33%, trading at $4.195.

For comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up 0.31% right now. Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) is up 0.53%.

Let’s take a closer look at what might be driving the ASX 200 miner higher on Wednesday.

What’s going right for South32’s stock today?

The South32 share price is outperforming those of the market’s biggest miners on Wednesday despite the company’s silence.

Indeed, while it’s gaining 3.33%, shares in its one-time parent company BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) is in the red, falling 0.07% to $46.05.

At the same time, the Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) share price is up just 0.2% and Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) stock has slumped 0.25%.

JP Morgan has downgraded several ASX 200 mining stocks, cutting its expectations for the likes of Rio Tinto and Fortescue, The Australian reports. Meanwhile, UBS reportedly downgraded BHP and Rio Tinto shares yesterday.

Dodging the brokers’ wrath, however, was South32. Indeed, JP Morgan was said to have upgraded the stock from neutral to overweight.

And it isn’t the only broker bullish on the stock. Morgans tips South32 shares to lift to $5.40, representing a potential 29% upside on their current level, as my Fool colleague James reports.

South32 share price snapshot

Today’s gain has boosted the South32 share price back into the year-to-date green.

The stock is 3% higher than it was at the start of 2022. It has also gained 10% since this time last year.

For comparison, the ASX 200 has fallen 5% year to date and 2% over the last 12 months.

The post Here’s why the South32 share price is shooting north today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Morgans says these ASX 200 resources shares have almost 30% upside
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Tuesday
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Monday
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Friday

JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. 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 JPMorgan Chase. 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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is no longer a stranger to the perils of a cyberattack. One of the biggest news stories of the year to date has been the massive cyberattack suffered by ASX 200 share Medibank Private Ltd (ASX: MPL) back in October.

As a result of this cyberattack, Medibank shares are halted from trading for a week. When the shares eventually returned to the market, the Medibank share price plunged by 15% and remains well below its pre-attack pricing to this day.

There was also a well-publicised cyberattack suffered by telco Optus, although Optus shares aren’t listed on the ASX.

Well, today it seems this disturbing 2022 trend is continuing. We’ve just got a share market notice out of ASX 200 telco TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG). This has flagged that TPG is the latest company to suffer a cyberattack.

ASX 200 telco TPG announces a major breach

Just before market open this morning, TPG released an announcement that revealed “unauthorised access to a hosted exchange service”.

Here’s some of what the announcement said:

On 13 December 2022, TPG Telecom’s external cyber security advisers, Mandiant, advised that they found evidence of unauthorised access to a Hosted Exchange service which hosts email accounts for up to 15,000 iiNet and Westnet business customers.

Based on the preliminary analysis undertaken to date it appears the primary aim of the threat actor was to search for customers’ cryptocurrency and financial information.

We apologise unreservedly to the affected iiNet and Westnet Hosted Exchange business customers. We continue to investigate the incident and any potential impact on customers and are advising customers to take necessary precautions.

TPG has assured investors that it is taking immediate action:

We have implemented measures to stop the unauthorised access, further security measures have been put in place, and we are in the process of contacting all affected customers on the Hosted Exchange service. We have notified the relevant government authorities.

The matter remains under investigation and we will be communicating with directly affected
customers as more information becomes available.

The TPG share price has reacted accordingly so far this Wednesday. Although the ASX 200 telco has avoided the devastating falls that hit Medibank Private, TPG shares are still down a nasty 4.73% so far this Wednesday to $4.83 a share.

The post This ASX 200 company has just become the latest victim of a cyber attack, and its share price is diving appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 2 ASX 200 dividend heavyweights to buy and hold until you retire
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• Beat the All Ordinaries with this unstoppable ASX dividend share

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Tpg Telecom. 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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