The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) dropped 1% on Friday as ASX 200 investors worry about what China is going to do next with Australia.

ASX investors had to contend with the fact that China wasn’t willing to issue a GDP target this year according to the Australian Financial Review.

Here are some of the ASX 200 highlights from today:

Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) cuts down Target

Retail business Wesfarmers has announced a large restructuring of Target to try to boost overall profitability.

Between 10 to 40 large Targets will be converted to Kmarts, subject to landlord support. “Approximately” 52 Target Country stores will change to small format Kmart stores. Around 10 to 25 large Target stores and the remaining 50 Target Country stores will be closed. The Target store support office will be significantly reduced.

Kmart Group will take a non-cash impairment of between $430 million to $480 million. The industrial and safety division will also take a non-cash impairment of approximately $300 million.

The share price of the ASX 200 business was almost flat, finishing down 0.05%.

ASX 200 miners drop

ASX 200 investors sent the share prices of Australian resource shares on worries that China may hinder their shipments into China because of the Australian push for a coronavirus inquiry.

The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price fell 0.6%.

Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) saw its share price fall 2%.

The Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price declined by just 0.2%.

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) continues its march higher

The share price of the ASX 200 buy now, pay later business saw its share price rose by another 1.2% today after reporting strong growth of its US subsidiary.

The ASX 200 payments business has managed to add over 1 million customers in the US during the coronavirus period.

Afterpay has been one of the strongest performers since the market crash a couple of months ago.

More reading

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• Is Afterpay an ASX blue chip of tomorrow?

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Wesfarmers Limited. 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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