The S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) has gone nuts in recent days. It’s up another 3% right now.
What’s going on with the ASX 200?
This week the ASX 200 is up 8%. Since last Monday it’s up 14.8%. Yet despite those impressive growth numbers, it’s still down 26.9%.
The share market doesn’t normally do this. The ASX hasn’t fallen as hard as it has over a month since 1987.
COVID-19 is obviously why the ASX 200 is down so much. But why does it keep trying to recover?
Not every investor is feeling utterly negative. People are seeing these lower prices as opportunities compared to where they were two months ago. And don’t forget that the RBA cut Australia’s interest rate to just 0.25%. Would you rather keep cash in the bank or invest in shares at much lower prices?
The western world seems to be doing everything it can to keep on top of COVID-19 in terms of the lockdowns, the healthcare and the economic stimulus.
There have been some large shares that have dragged the market lower since February. NAB (ASX: NAB) and ANZ (ASX: ANZ) are down 39% and 37% respectively. Major ASX banks could face painful write-offs if rising unemployment and payment holidays hurt the bank balance sheets.
Some of the major ASX shares have held up much better. The healthcare giant CSL (ASX: CSL) has only seen its share price drop 10%.
It’s been some of the under-pressure shares that are driving the market higher today. The Woodside Petroleum (ASX: WPL) share price is up 7.6%, the Santos (ASX: STO) share price is up 10.2% and the Scentre Group (ASX: SCG) share price is up 11.2%.
But blue chips may not be the best opportunities today. It could be much better to buy these technology companies:
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Disclosure: at the time of publishing, Jaz does not have a financial interest in any of the companies mentioned.
