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The Lake Resources N.L. (ASX: LKE) share price is having a top run today.

This ASX lithium share is soaring 5.36% and currently trading at $1.18. For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) is 0.05% in the red at the time of writing.

Let’s take a look at what could be impacting the Lake Resources share price today.

Lithium news

Lake Resources is not the only ASX lithium share to rise today. Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) shares are soaring nearly 11%, while Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE) shares are up 1.48%.

In news last night, Indonesia is reportedly in talks with Australia to partner on lithium and the electric vehicle battery market.

Indonesian chamber of commerce and industry Arsjad Rasjid said business leaders have been discussing investing in Australian lithium resources, The Australian reported. Rasjid said:

If we can work together on this then Indonesia and Australia could be the global supply chain for EV batteries.

Indonesia is very serious about investing in lithium mines.

World leaders including Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden are meeting in Bali for the G20 Leaders’ Summit this week. Rasjid told the publication he plans to speak to the Prime Minister on this potential lithium partnership.

Meanwhile, news of easing COVID-19 restrictions in China could also be giving lithium shares a boost today. China is reducing quarantine times and will stop recording secondary contacts, as my Foolish colleague Brooke highlighted earlier today.

China is a major electric vehicle market. Lithium is used in EV batteries. In October, Tesla exported a record number of EVs to China.

Lake Resources is exploring five lithium projects in the lithium triangle, according to a presentation on Thursday.

Lake Resources share price snapshot

The Lake Resources share price has leapt 17% in the year to date, while it has jumped 20% in a year.

For perspective, the ASX 200 has shed nearly 4% in the past year.

Lake Resources has a market capitalisation of $1.64 billion based on the current share price.

The post Why is the Lake Resources share price leaping 5% today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why is the Core Lithium share price having such a top run on Friday?
• Why Block, Lake Resources, Pendal, and Xero shares are dropping today
• Here are the 3 most traded ASX 200 shares on Tuesday
• Lake Resources share price dips amid latest short-seller attack
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today 

Motley Fool contributor Monica O’Shea 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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With so many shares to choose from on the ASX, it can be hard to decide which ones to buy. The good news is that brokers across the country are doing a lot of the hard work for you.

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

Breville Group Ltd (ASX: BRG)

According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts have retained their buy rating on this appliance manufacturer’s shares with a trimmed price target of $23.40. This follows the release of the company’s trading update at its annual general meeting. While its first half performance has been a touch softer than it was expecting, the broker continues to forecast double digit earnings growth through to FY 2025. The Breville share price is trading at $21.33 today.

Monash IVF Group Ltd (ASX: MVF)

A note out of Morgans reveals that its analysts have retained their add rating and $1.24 price target on this fertility treatment company’s shares. Morgans was pleased with Monash IVF’s first quarter update and notes that management has reaffirmed its guidance for FY 2023. In light of this, its continued market share gains, and attractive valuation, the broker remains positive on the investment opportunity here. The Monash IVF share price is fetching 93.5 cents on Monday.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

Analysts at Macquarie have retained their outperform rating and $7.70 price target on this lithium miner’s shares. Macquarie highlights that Pilbara Minerals has received $250 million of government debt funding for its growth projects. It was pleased with the news and continues to see value in the company’s shares thanks to strong lithium prices. The Pilbara Minerals share price is trading at $5.32 this afternoon.

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

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More reading

• Up 55% in 2022, why the Pilbara Minerals share price ‘still trades at attractive multiples’: fundie
• Are ASX share investors getting their mojo back?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Pilbara Minerals share price lifts on $250 million government loan

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 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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It’s been a rather shaky start to the trading week for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) so far this Monday. After a very strong start this morning, the ASX 200 has petered out as the day has progressed. The ASX 200 is now in the red zone, nursing a loss of 0.06% at around 7,153 points.

But rather than trying to figure all that out, let’s dive deeper into today’s market gyrations by taking stock of the ASX 200 shares presently 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 Monday

Coronado Global Resources Inc (ASX: CRN)

Our first ASX 200 share today is the coal share, Coronado. This Monday has seen a notable 22.72 million Coronado shares change hands as it currently stands. This doesn’t appear to be related to anything out of the company itself today, seeing as there hasn’t been anything.

So we can probably put this elevated trading volume down to the pleasing share price action Coronado has enjoyed today. The company is currently up a decent 3.75% at $1.99 a share after rising as high as $2.03 this morning.

Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS)

Next up is an ASX 200 share that everyone knows in Telstra. This session has had a chunky 25.87 million Telstra shares rung up for a new home thus far. This could be a consequence of the update Telstra gave to investors this morning.

According to the company, Alex Badenoch, group executive for transformation, communications and people, is leaving the company after 12 years. Investors seem to be mourning Badenoch’s loss, with Telstra shares down a meaty 3.4% so far today to $3.86 a share.

Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO)

Finally, this Monday, we have the ASX 200 lithium share Core Lithium. At the time of writing, a hefty 60.37 million Core Lithium shares have moved to a different owner. This is almost certainly the result of the massive share price appreciation Core shares have enjoyed today.

The company is up an impressive 11.3% to $1.86 a share and cracked a new high of $1.88 earlier this session. This seems to be a reaction to news that China might be easing its restrictive COVID policies. No wonder so many shares are flying around.

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

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More reading

• Why Elders, Flight Centre, Perpetual, and Telstra shares are dropping
• The South32 share price has leapt 10% in a month. Is it too late to buy?
• Why Accent, Block, Core Lithium, and Fortescue shares are pushing higher
• Up 55% in 2022, why the Pilbara Minerals share price ‘still trades at attractive multiples’: fundie
• Why did Core Lithium shares just crack a new all-time high?

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in Telstra Corporation Limited. 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 Telstra Corporation Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) is going gangbusters today, up 3.37% at the time of writing. But one ASX lithium share is soaring far higher into the green.

The Tambourah Metals Ltd (ASX: TMB) share price is currently trading 35% higher at 21 cents. However, in earlier trade, the company’s shares soared 74% to an intraday high of 28 cents.

Let’s take a look at why this ASX lithium share is having such a top run today.

Lithium project news

Tambourah advised today it has found multiple pegmatites at the RJ 101 lithium project. This is part of the Russian Jack lithium project, 70km southeast of Nullagine in Western Australia.

Results show high levels of rubidium, tin, cesium, tantalum and niobium, which the company says are “indicators of lithium-caesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatites”.

Tambourah also advised it was completing the purchase of a lithium and gold exploration project at Tambina.

This project has elevated lithium and rubidium, historical sampling at the site shows.

Commenting on today’s news, managing director Paul Araujo said:

At the RJ 101 project, Tambourah has identified pegmatite swarms with some continuing over 500 metres in length and up to 8m high.

We are planning to identify and field test newly recognised pegmatite swarms at several locations within this large project area.

Looking ahead, Tambourah is preparing an exploration strategy to follow up sampling of high lithium targets.

Share price snapshot

The Tambourah Metals share price has fallen 34.3% over the past 12 months and is down 14.5% in the year to date.

However, in the past month, Tambourah Metals shares have soared 50%.

In comparison, the ASX Materials Index has gained nearly 13% in the past year.

The post Guess which ASX lithium share surged 74% today on a new discovery appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are the 3 most traded ASX 200 shares on Monday
• Share market rally: How I’d invest $5,000 right now in ASX shares
• Why is the Liontown share price roaring 7% higher?
• Why Elders, Flight Centre, Perpetual, and Telstra shares are dropping
• Could the flurry of recent takeover bids mean ASX 200 shares are going cheap right now?

Motley Fool contributor Monica O’Shea 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 last couple of days of trading has been very strong when looking at some markets. And in my opinion, I think that there are some ASX shares that are looking like attractive buys.

This year has seen plenty of damage done to valuations because of factors like inflation and higher interest rates.

But, with the recent US inflation figure not being quite as strong as expected, some share prices jumped in response. For example, since 9 November 2022 (over two trading days), the S&P 500 (INDEXSP: .INX) has gone up 6.5%. That’s a huge rise in just a couple of trading sessions.

It’s impossible to say what the share market is going to do next. But, with investors seemingly wanting to push share prices higher, I think it’s worthwhile considering what I’d do with $5,000.

Airtasker Ltd (ASX: ART)

Firstly, I would put $2,000 into Airtasker shares. This business operates a platform that seeks to match up people who need work with individuals or businesses that want to do the work.

After a 60% drop in the Airtasker share price in 2022, I think it looks very attractive.

The business is growing quickly in both the UK and the US, though starting from a small base. The UK and the US are both much larger markets than Australia, so there could be plenty of potential there.

One of the most attractive things to me about the ASX share is that it has a gross profit margin of over 90%. That means most of the new revenue translates into gross profit, which can then be re-invested back into the business to grow the company.

Overall growth is going well. In the first quarter of FY23, revenue (excluding the acquired business Oneflare) increased by 36% to $8 million.

Australian Ethical Investment Ltd (ASX: AEF)

I’d also want to put $1,500 into Australian Ethical shares. This is a fund manager that aims to provide investment products that align with an investor’s ethics.

It offers superannuation and managed funds that avoid investing in things that, for example, “pollute land, air or water” or “extract, create, produce, manufacture, or market materials, products, goods or services which have a harmful effect on humans, non-human animals or the environment.”

Over the longer term, the company’s funds under management (FUM) continue to grow, which can provide a natural boost for revenue and profit. I’m particularly attracted to the fact that it provides superannuation, so it’s benefiting from the regular contributions of superannuation guarantee payments for employees.

In the three months to September 2022, the ASX share saw its total FUM (excluding institutional) rise from $6.02 billion to $6.18 billion, which included $150 million of net inflows for superannuation.

I think that ongoing FUM growth will help the Australian Ethical share price rise over time. It can also benefit from the inclusion of the Christian Super members that are being added into Australian Ethical superannuation options.

Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW)

The final $1,500 that I’d invest is into the shares of this furniture and homeware retailer.

I think the Temple & Webster share price looks much better value after dropping by around 60%.

While the business saw an e-commerce boost during the COVID-19 period, I believe that the amount of online shopping that people do will increase over time.

I like the company’s efforts to diversify and grow its earnings by selling more items, specifically in the home improvement categories of paint, plumbing, flooring and so on.

I’m impressed by the technology that the ASX share is now offering customers. For example, it offers augmented reality so that people can ‘see’ a product in their space. It’s also developing an artificial intelligence based interior design service.

While revenue may be volatile in FY23, I think the long-term future looks promising.

The post Share market rally: How I’d invest $5,000 right now in ASX shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Goldman Sachs says these ASX growth shares are buys
• These 10 predictions could help you profit from the stock market regardless of inflation, interest rates or even another bear market
• Why Baby Bunting, James Hardie, Sims, and Temple & Webster shares are dropping
• How I’d find ASX growth shares to buy today to double my money
• Here are the 10 most shorted ASX shares

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 positions in and has recommended Australian Ethical Investment Ltd. and Temple & Webster Group Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Airtasker Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Australian Ethical Investment Ltd. and Temple & Webster Group Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR) share price has started the week with a roar.

In afternoon trade, the lithium miner’s shares are up 7% to $2.20.

Why is the Liontown share price roaring?

Investors have been bidding the Liontown share price higher today despite there being no news out of the company.

However, it is worth highlighting that a number of lithium shares are performing positively today and are outperforming the ASX 200 index.

Here’s a summary of how some ASX lithium shares are faring:

• The Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) share price has jumped 11% to $1.86
• The Lake Resources N.L. (ASX: LKE) share price is up 5% to $1.18
• The Piedmont Lithium Inc (ASX: PLL) share price has risen 5% to 98.5 cents
• The Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA) share price is up 5% to 25.7 cents

Why are they rising?

Today’s strong gains appear to have been driven by news that China is easing some of its COVID restrictions.

This has sparked hopes that these actions could kickstart the country’s economy, which could ultimately support demand for electric vehicles.

And given that lithium is a key ingredient in the batteries of electric vehicles, this would be great news for Liontown and the shares mentioned above.

Can Liontown keep rising?

The team at Bell Potter still see plenty of upside for investors.

According to a recent note, its analysts have a speculative buy rating and $2.87 price target on its shares.

Based on the current Liontown share price, this implies a potential return of 30% even after today’s strong gain.

The post Why is the Liontown share price roaring 7% higher? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Are ASX 200 lithium shares the new recession-proof investment?
• Could Liontown shares keep surging on a weaker Aussie dollar?
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Here are the 3 most traded ASX 200 shares on Friday
• Why are ASX lithium shares smashing the market today?

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 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) has started the week in a subdued fashion. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is down slightly to 7,154.8 points.

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

Elders Ltd (ASX: ELD)

The Elders share price is down 20% to $10.62. Investors have been hitting the sell button today after the agribusiness company released its full year results. Although Elders delivered strong revenue and earnings growth, this was overshadowed by its uncertain outlook for FY 2023 and news that its CEO will retire next year.

Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT)

The Flight Centre share price is down 3.5% to $16.41. This follows the release of a trading update at Flight Centre’s annual general meeting. Although the travel agent’s transaction value and revenue is tracking largely in line with first half expectations, its earnings underwhelmed. Goldman notes that Flight Centre’s first half EBITDA guidance of $70 million to $90 million is short of its $119 million estimate and the market’s $104 million estimate.

Perpetual Limited (ASX: PPT)

The Perpetual share price is down 5.5% to $32.87. This follows an update on its proposed acquisition of Pendal Group Ltd (ASX: PDL). According to the release, on Wednesday the courts will decide whether the scheme meeting should go ahead. Perpetual appears to be looking for a way out of the deal, whereas Pendal wants the takeover to proceed.

Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS)

The Telstra share price is down 3.5% to $3.86. This morning Telstra announced that its Group Executive, Transformation, Communications and People, Alex Badenoch will be leaving the company. She decided that now was the right time to step down given the T22 strategy and CEO transition were complete. In other news, Telstra Ventures has been caught up in the FTX collapse.

The post Why Elders, Flight Centre, Perpetual, and Telstra shares are dropping appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Could the flurry of recent takeover bids mean ASX 200 shares are going cheap right now?
• Why is this ASX 200 share crashing 17% today?
• Are ASX share investors getting their mojo back?
• Flight Centre share price tumbles on trading update
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday

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 positions in and has recommended Telstra Corporation Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Elders Limited and Flight Centre Travel 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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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) as a whole hasn’t fallen much in 2022. However, there are certain businesses that have dropped significantly. But, could the fact there seem to be a lot of takeover bids right now suggest that investors are missing an opportunity with ASX 200 shares?

At the moment, the ASX 200 is down around 6% for the year. At one point it was down by approximately 15%, though it has recovered from the year low in June 2022.

But within the ASX 200, there has been some serious pain. The Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) share price is down 52%, the Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP) share price has dropped 50% and the Boral Limited (ASX: BLD) share price has declined 53%.

High level of bidding

There have been a number of bids for ASX 200 shares in recent times.

Energy business Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG) has received a takeover bid of $9 per share from Brookfield and its affiliates. This comes after the Brookfield bid for AGL Energy Limited (ASX: AGL).

Perpetual Limited (ASX: PPT), one of the ASX’s largest fund managers, launched a takeover bid for another fund manager called Pendal Group Ltd (ASX: PDL). However, the Perpetual share price drifted lower and Regal Partners Ltd (ASX: RPL) (with a consortium) has launched a bid to try to buy Perpetual. The latest Regal bid was $33 per share.

Don’t forget also that Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) is trying to buy the banking division of Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN).

Are ASX 200 shares opportunities?   

According to reporting by The Australian, the broker UBS has suggested that recent highly-priced takeover bids by private equity suggest that ASX shares “offer value” and that parts of the market are “cheap”.

UBS pointed out that the bid for Origin was a 54.9% premium compared to the closing price on 9 November 2022 of $5.91.

Richard Schellback asked the question “How can one community of investors price the same company so differently to another?”

He answered:

Time horizon and funding may offer some explanation, but it also suggests that segments of the equity market are cheap.

Right now, the S&P/ASX 200 trades at a one-year forward price/earnings (P/E) ratio of 13.6 times, which represents an 8% discount to the 14.7 times it has averaged since 2000.

Stocks from the de-rated funds management and retailing sectors stand out as ‘most attractive’ on this quantitative LBO screen.

It was reported that ASX (200) shares that stand out on the leveraged buyout screen have “strong free cash flow yields and low gearing.”

Foolish takeaway

While investors can’t know what the next takeover offer is going to be, it might be reassuring to see whether a business has fallen too hard, then a buyer could swoop in on the perceived bargain (and boost the share price).

The post Could the flurry of recent takeover bids mean ASX 200 shares are going cheap right now? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• The South32 share price has leapt 10% in a month. Is it too late to buy?
• Up 55% in 2022, why the Pilbara Minerals share price ‘still trades at attractive multiples’: fundie
• Why did Core Lithium shares just crack a new all-time high?
• This ASX 200 share has surged 15% in a month, and a director is still buying up big
• Why this broker sees ‘downside risks’ to the current Woolworths share price

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 positions in and has recommended Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Dominos Pizza Enterprises 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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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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

What a difference a year makes! In 2021, the worst decline investors endured was a menial 5% swoon in the benchmark S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC). This year, the S&P 500 has entrenched itself in a bear market, with a peak-to-trough decline of 28%. What’s more, it produced its worst first-half return since Richard Nixon was president.

Other widely followed indexes have fared poorly, too. The timeless Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) briefly entered a bear market with a peak 22% decline, while the tech-driven Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) has plummeted as much as 38% from one year ago.

The $64,000 question: Where will the stock market bottom out?

Both the uncertainty and velocity of downside moves during bear markets can play on the emotions of investors and coerce rash decision-making. It’s what has new and tenured investors alike wondering when and where the stock market will bottom out.

To be perfectly blunt, if there were a foolproof indicator that accurately forecast when bear markets will occur, how long the drop will last, and where the bottom would be, every investor on the planet would be using it by now. Because catalysts differ for every stock market decline, and investor emotions/reactions are never precisely the same to these declines, there’s simply no concrete way to know in advance when or where the stock market will bottom out.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t indicators that have exceptionally successful track records of guiding the investment community in the right direction.

Over the past couple of months, I’ve looked at a number of metrics that offer a lengthy history of (fairly) accurately predicting when bear markets will occur, how steep the decline will be, or when/where the stock market will bottom out. This includes everything from valuation-based indicators to traditional metrics like outstanding margin debt. I even recently offered a correlation between Federal Reserve monetary policy and stock market bottoms.

But there’s yet another way to forecast stock market bottoms: sentiment-based indicators.

This investor sentiment measure has historically been an excellent buy signal

While there are plenty of metrics and gauges that are designed to measure how greedy or fearful investors feel at any given moment, a technical indicator could prove far more useful at identifying prime buying opportunities. Specifically, I’m talking about the percentage of S&P 500 stocks trading above their respective 200-day moving average.

Moving averages are a technical analysis staple that average the share price of a company over a defined period. The assumption being that moving averages will provide some level of support or resistance, depending on what side of the moving average line a stock finds itself on.

But moving averages by themselves aren’t particularly useful. They tell us nothing about what makes a company tick or what catalysts are in its future. Moving averages can, however, provide an accurate look at investor sentiment.

Throughout history, investors have made it a habit of shooting valuations too far to the upside during bull markets and becoming too pessimistic during bear markets. By examining the percentage of S&P 500 stocks above their 200-day moving average and comparing that figure to historic figures, we can identify moments where investors overshot to the upside or downside.                       

At the moment, 37.6% of the roughly 500 companies that comprise the S&P 500 are trading above their 200-day moving average. That’s not a particularly telling figure one way or the other. However, since the beginning of 2002, there have been a dozen instances where the percentage of S&P 500 stocks above their 200-day moving average fell below 18%. Each of these instances has represented an incredible buying opportunity.

But there is a caveat to this investor sentiment indicator: it’s not for short-term traders. Just because investor sentiment is poor, it doesn’t mean it can’t get worse.

During the depths of the Great Recession in 2009, the percentage of S&P 500 stocks above their 200-day moving average didn’t bottom out till it hit just 1%! In other words, this isn’t an indicator that’ll precisely tell you when a bear market bottom will occur. Rather, it offers a successful history of accurately forecasting the approximate bottom of the most widely followed stock market index by alerting investors to overly negative investor sentiment.

History is on the side of long-term investors

But this isn’t the only metric that can put some pep in investor’s step. Historically speaking, every sizable stock market decline has represented a surefire buying opportunity for long-term investors.

According to sell-side consultancy firm Yardeni Research, the S&P 500 has declined by at least 10% on 39 separate occasions over the past 72 years. In short, stock market corrections, and even bear markets, are probably more common than you realize. Yet in each of these instances (save for the current bear market), a bull market rally eventually recouped all that was lost. Given time, “this too shall pass” will prove right, once more.

To take things a step further, data has shown that the S&P 500 has never let investors down if they’re willing to buy and hold a tracking index for 20 years. Based on data published by market analytics company Crestmont Research, the rolling 20-year total return, including dividends paid, for the S&P 500 since 1900 has never been negative.  In plain English, it means that no matter when you bought an S&P 500 tracking index since the beginning of 1900, you walked away richer as long as you held for 20 years. This means now is as good a time as any for patient investors to put their money to work on Wall Street.  

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

The post This indicator has an incredibly successful track record of forecasting stock market bottoms appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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.

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

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The Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) share price is struggling year to date, but could better days be ahead for this S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO) tech share?

The Appen share price has dropped 75.45% in the year to date and is currently fetching $2.74. In today’s trade, Appen shares are up 4.18%. For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is 0.06% in the red at the time of writing.

Let’s take a look at the outlook for this ASX 300 tech share.

What’s the outlook for the Appen share price?

Appen is a technology company that provides data for machine learning and artificial intelligence applications.

Catapult Wealth portfolio manager Tim Haselum recommends investors “sell” Appen shares. Concerns technology companies are reluctant to spend on data are weighing on his outlook for the Appen share price. Commenting on The Bull, he said:

For many years, APX benefited from big international technology companies increasing data management services used in machine learning and artificial intelligence.

However, consumers are now more reluctant to share data and the big technology companies are cautious about spending.

This may be a headwind for some time, in our view. We have an underweight rating.

However, on the flip side, Evercore ISI senior managing director Julian Emanuel is optimistic about technology shares. As my Foolish colleague Bernd reported, he believes the tech sector could rise again, which could be positive news for tech chares including Appen. Macquarie has also recently raised the price target of Appen to neutral.

Appen recently appointed a new senior vice president and non-executive director. Mini Peiris has joined the Appen team as a non-executive director, while Sean Carithers is the new global senior vice president.

Appen share price snapshot

The Appen share price has fallen 74.72% in the past year, while it has dropped 1.44% in the last month. However, in the past week, Appen shares have surged 10%.

For perspective, the ASX 200 has lost about 4% in the past year.

This ASX 300 tech share has a market capitalisation of about $338.2 million based on the current share price.

The post Down 75% in 2022, is it time for investors to give up the ghost on this ASX 300 tech share? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Monica O’Shea 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 Appen Ltd. 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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