S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares closed 0.24% higher on Thursday as the market continued its volatile trajectory.
Everyone is waiting for the next lot of big news relating to the controversial US reciprocal tariffs unveiled last month.
US President Donald Trump gave a 90-day reprieve on individual tariffs but pushed ahead with a 10% baseline tariff worldwide.
What that means for investors is 90 days of finger-crossing that nations relevant to your investments can cut a better deal with the US.
Amid all this uncertainty, brokers have called time on a selection of ASX shares.
Here are three that just got downgraded to sell ratings.
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Brokers say sell on 3 ASX shares
Last month, these three ASX shares were downgraded to a consensus sell rating among analysts on CommSec.
There are two types of sell ratings on CommSec.
A strong sell rating implies you should sell right now. A moderate sell rating suggests you should reduce your position.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)
CBA shares closed at $167.25 apiece on Thursday, up 0.39% for the day and up 46.8% over the past year.
The consensus recommendation from the experts is a 'strong sell'. Brokers downgraded the stock on 30 April.
The rating downgrade follows a phenomenal run for Australia's biggest ASX 200 bank share.
As the chart below shows, the run began in November 2023 and took CBA shares to an all-time peak of $168.70 on 23 April.
Macquarie has an underperform rating on CBA shares with a 12-month price target of $105.
That implies an almighty potential downside of 37% for new investors.
In a note, the broker said:
Australian banks (particularly CBA) have been seen by investors as a relative safe haven given limited direct impact from tariffs.
If the market is right, and the RBA cuts faster and further, we see downside to bank margins and earnings, particularly for Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) and CBA.
Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN)
The Evolution share price closed at $7.73 yesterday, down 1.28% for the day and up 97% over the past year.
Experts downgraded the ASX 200 gold share to a consensus moderate sell rating on 30 April.
This came after the Evolution share price rose to a record high of $8.97 on 22 April.
Star Entertainment Group Limited (ASX: SGR)
Star Entertainment shares closed at 10 cents apiece on Thursday, down 4.76% for the day and down 75% over the past 12 months.
CommSec analysts downgraded Star Entertainment shares to a moderate sell rating on 4 April.
Star Entertainment shares were suspended in March and reinstated to trading on 16 April.
The ASX formally suspended Star Entertainment shares after the company failed to file its 1H FY25 report amid serious financial issues.
On 7 April, Star Entertainment announced a takeover deal with US casino giant Bally's Corporation (NYSE: BALY).
Bally's and Star's biggest shareholder, the Mathieson family, have joined forces to invest $300 million into the company.
