At lunch on Wednesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has given back its morning gains and has dropped lower. The benchmark index is down 0.2% to 5,943.8 points.

Here’s what has been happening on the market today:

Afterpay hits record high on UK update.

The Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price jumped to a record high of $62.33 this morning. This follows the release of an announcement by the payments company after the market close on Tuesday. The announcement revealed that Afterpay’s UK-based Clearpay business now has over 1 million active customers on its platform after a year in the country. Management also notes that consumers are using its platform more frequently than they were in the U.S. at the same stage.

Sonic Healthcare update.

The Sonic Healthcare Limited (ASX: SHL) share price is storming higher on Wednesday after the release of a trading update. That update reveals that after the pandemic hit the healthcare company hard in March and April, its business has bounced back strongly in May and June. As a result of this, the company has reinstated its guidance and advised that it expects its EBITDA to be broadly flat in FY 2020.

TPG Telecom scheme meeting.

The TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPM) share price is pushing higher on Wednesday after shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favour of its merger with Vodafone Australia. According to the AFR, 99.68% of proxies voted in favour of the deal. This means the companies could complete the mega merger on July 13.

Best and worst ASX 200 shares.

The best performer on the ASX 200 on Wednesday has been the Perseus Mining Limited (ASX: PRU) share price with a sizeable 8% gain. This follows a jump in the gold price overnight. The worst performer on the ASX 200 has been the Viva Energy Group Ltd (ASX: VEA) share price with a 4% decline. This is despite there being no news out of the fuel retailer.

More reading

• How to get rich by investing in ASX shares
• Is the Woolworths share price a secret buy?
• Alphabet soup: Is the ASX 200 in for a V-shaped COVID recovery or rolling Ws?
• Where to invest $10,000 in ASX 200 shares for 2030
• Ready to invest $5,000? I’d buy these ASX dividend shares today

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Sonic Healthcare 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.

The post ASX 200 down 0.2%: Afterpay hits record high, TPG Telecom merger vote appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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The Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) share price edged 0.8% lower yesterday, but is the Aussie retailer in the buy zone?

Why the Woolworths share price could be a secret buy

One thing that caught my interest yesterday was a trading update by SCA Property Group (ASX: SCP). 

SCA reported that sales performance for a number of its tenants had been volatile due to the coronavirus pandemic.

However, anchor tenants, such as supermarkets, have seen strong moving annual turnover (MAT) as at 31 May 2020.

In fact, SCA’s supermarket tenants increased year-on-year MAT by 4.4% through to 31 May.

I think this could be a good indicator of Woolworths’ performance so far given its dominance in the supermarket space.

Because the Woolworths share price is up just 0.7% for the year, it may be undervalued right now.

For context, the Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) share price is up 11.5% in 2020 while the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 10.95%.

This means that the Woolworths share price is underperforming its rival but outperforming the ASX 200 benchmark.

However, Woolworths is more of a conglomerate when compared to Coles’ singular supermarket focus.

One particular drag in 2020 has been Woolworths’ pubs business, ALH Group.

Tight restrictions on the hospitality sector have hurt earnings from ALH this year. However, as restrictions ease, the group could prove to become more of an asset to the Woolworths share price.

If supermarket turnover continues to climb, combined with increased pubs revenue, this could spark the Woolies share price to climb in 2020.

Foolish takeaway

The Woolworths share price is roughly unchanged from where it started the year. 

However, the positive update from SCA Property yesterday has got me thinking about whether it’s undervalued.

Given the strong momentum behind ASX shares since the March bear market, I think Woolworths could be heading higher before the end of the year.

More reading

• ASX 200 down 0.2%: Afterpay hits record high, TPG Telecom merger vote
• Alphabet soup: Is the ASX 200 in for a V-shaped COVID recovery or rolling Ws?
• Where to invest $10,000 in ASX 200 shares for 2030
• Ready to invest $5,000? I’d buy these ASX dividend shares today
• Leading broker tips the Coles share price to storm higher from here

Motley Fool contributor Ken Hall has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of COLESGROUP DEF SET, Wesfarmers Limited, and Woolworths 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.

The post Is the Woolworths share price a secret buy? appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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