Shares in Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) are faltering once again today. At the time of writing, the ANZ share price is racing lower at $24.68.
Today's loss marks another 52-week low for the banking giant after its share price collapsed from a recent high of $28.17 on 22 February.
Since then ANZ shares have raced towards the floor, and a bottom is not yet clearly defined.
Image source: Getty Images
Why are this big bank's shares falling again today?
ASX bank shares have been hit hard since the conflict in Europe escalated in late February and the US Federal Government imposed sanctions on the Russian financial system.
The S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) has collapsed almost 4% in the past month and is down more than 7% for the year – a mile behind the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).
ANZ has faltered more than 12% during that time and is now among the worst performers from the other banking majors in 2022.
Market pundits have become jittery in the global banking sector amid the sanctions that have restricted Russian financial institutions from participating in the global financial system.
The impulse of these sanctions has been felt throughout the global banking sector, with each of the United States, Europe and Asia-Pacific taking a hit in response.
The number of banking stocks trading above their 200-day and 50-day moving averages around the world is creeping down slowly, and the overall sector is proving to be a thorn in the side of investors over the past month of trading.
Whilst global banking indices take a pummelling in 2022, the Bloomberg Commodity Index (BCOM), shown via the red line above, has taken off – a reflection of the supercycle most raw materials find themselves in right now.
Hence with the negative momentum sweeping through the ASX financials sector, it's no wonder we're seeing the ANZ share price suffering today as well.
Not all are so downbeat on ANZ though – analysts at JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs are bullish on the bank. Each broker values ANZ at $30.50 and $31 per share, respectively.
ANZ share price snapshot
During the last 12 months the ANZ share price has collapsed over 14%. It is down another 10% this year to date.
In the past month, shares have collapsed another 9%, meaning ANZ is now among the worst-performing large-cap stocks on the ASX in 2022.
