It was a day of wild mood swings on the ASX today as the bourse dipped into the red and then returned to the green
The S&P/ASX200 is up just 3.00 points today to 7,297.40. Over the last five days, the index has gained 2.07%, but is down 1.98% for the last year to date.
Top-performing stocks in this index were Life360 Inc up 6.63% and EML Payments Ltd up 6.10%.
Tech had a good day up 3% on gains led by Block Inc up 9.4% and Xero 3.1%.
Industrials was the drag, with the sector down 0.9% as Atlas Arteria Group lost 3.7%, Transurban Group (ASX:TCL) TCL fell 2% and Auckland International Airport (ASX:AIA) Limited dropped 1.7%.
Overall, utilities, energy, consumer discretionary, materials and real estate found the green, while financials, staples, communication services and health care sectors hit the red.
Qantas moves into NFTs
The flying kangaroo is offering a suite of digital artwork as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as another avenue to profit making.
One of a kind digital artwork will be offered using blockchain technology. Collectors will be able to buy, own and sell their unique tokens.
As befitting an airline, the tokens come in four classes at different price points: First, Business, Premium Economy and Economy.
The NFTs are expected to be available mid-year and will highlight Qantas Airways (ASX:QAN) Limited’s history via aircraft and iconic liveries.
Frequent flyer points may be earned with each NFT purchase.
“We know how much our customers love having their own unique piece of the national carrier,” chief customer officer Stephanie Tully said.
“A Qantas NFT collection allows us to engage the next generation of aviation and digital art enthusiasts, leveraging blockchain technology to celebrate our heritage and future.”
The move makes Qantas one of the first ASAX companies to join Web3.
Market tracker NonFungible has reported that NFT sales last week totalled 16,000 sold for a total price of $US85 million.
ASIC issues warning to ‘finfluencers’
If you get your trading or financial advice from a social media platform such as Instagram, YouTube or Redditt, you may have to rethink your stategy.
Australia’s financial watchdog is now cracking down on so-called finfluencers and the financial advice they provide.
ASIC claims that one-third of 18-24-year-olds take advice from at least one financial influencer on a social media platform, while 64% have changed behaviours.
“What we’ve found looking at finfluencers is some of them are crossing the line, they need to know that they need to be licensed effectively, and that they understand their obligation to declare conflicts of interest and are complying with their obligations more broadly,” ASIC’s executive director of markets and corporations Greg Yanco said.
“There are consequences of not listening to this, some of the finfluencers are thinking ‘this shouldn’t apply to me’, and we’re saying ’no, you need to engage with this information, and if you don’t we’ll take action’.”
While there is a need to acknowledge the investment landscape has changed, safety should still be paramount and influencers should comply with financial services laws.
ASIC commissioner Cathie Armour said, “If they don’t, they risk substantial penalties and put investors at risk.”
Some finfluencers have welcomed the move.
“Finfluencers provide a net positive, it’s about young people to take action and take their financial lives seriously. But when finfluencers get a specific following, and are earning an income, they need to prove that they’re not being incentivised to push a certain product,” Glen James, who runs ‘My Millennial Money’ podcast said in an interview.
“A lot of time finluencers will post affiliated links, and the question is, are they licensed to give that advice? By definition, social media accounts with a big following do have influence.
TikTok and Instagram influencer Queenie Tan said, “We can now determine more clearly what is likely to be financial product advice and what is unlikely to be financial product advice - so that we can create content which adheres to the new guidelines and is factual, educational and balanced.”
ASIC is following in the footsteps of the ACCC which has already made moves to crackdown on the industry.