At lunch on Wednesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is fighting hard to stay in positive territory. The benchmark index is currently up a fraction to 6,185 points.
Here’s what has been happening on the market today:
Big four banks push higher.
The big four banks are on form on Wednesday and are doing a lot of the heavy lifting on the ASX 200. While all four banks are recording gains, the best performer in the group has been the Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ) share price with a 1.5% gain. Hopes that a U.S. stimulus package will soon be signed appears to be lifting the sector.
Tech shares out of form.
It has been a rare off-day for the technology sector. At lunch, the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) is down a disappointing 1.1%. The likes of Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) are weighing on the index with declines of approximately 2%. After U.S. markets closed, Netflix released a quarterly result which fell well short of analysts’ expectations.
Megaport Q1 update disappoints.
Another tech share which is falling heavily today is Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1). Investors have been selling the elastic interconnection services provider’s share following the release of its first quarter update this morning. Although Megaport delivered further growth in customer and recurring revenues, it was much slower than the market is used to. One positive was a strong rise in port numbers during the quarter. This is a leading indicator for growth, which could mean Megaport bounces back in the second quarter.
Best and worst ASX 200 shares.
The best performer on the ASX 200 on Wednesday has been the Orora Ltd (ASX: ORA) share price with a 6.5% gain. This follows the release of a positive trading update at the packaging company’s annual general meeting. The worst performer on the index has been the Megaport share price with a disappointing 10% decline following its Q1 update.
More reading
- Why Lynas, Orora, Praemium, & Tabcorp shares are racing higher today
- Why CIMIC, Megaport, Mesoblast, & Temple & Webster shares are dropping lower
- Why the Megaport (ASX:MP1) share price is dropping lower today
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James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends MEGAPORT FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO and Appen Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended MEGAPORT FPO. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. 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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