This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

In a move investors have long anticipated, S&P Global — the body that manages some of the most prominent stock indices in the U.S. — announced on Monday that Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) will be joining the S&P 500 Index before trading commences on Monday, Dec. 21. Tesla stock jumped on the news and is currently up more than 14% in after-hours trading.  

The electric-vehicle maker was widely expected to make the cut in early September during the index’s quarterly rebalancing, but it failed to make the list at that time.

Tesla stock has skyrocketed so far in 2020, gaining 388% as of the market close on Monday, pushing its market cap to nearly $387 billion. Because of the size of the addition, officials have yet to decide whether Tesla will be added all at once on the effective date, or if it will be divided into two separate tranches to be completed by the Dec. 21 deadline. S&P Global has taken the unusual step of eliciting investor feedback before making the decision.

Being included in the index not only confers bragging rights but could also help push shares higher, as mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, and others that track the S&P 500 will be adding the stock to their portfolios. This increase in demand is likely to provide a temporary boost for Tesla shares.

In mid-July, Tesla announced its fourth consecutive quarter of GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) profitability, one of the last remaining hurdles the company needed to clear to be considered for inclusion in the index. However, Tesla was initially passed over, leaving some investors scratching their heads as to why.

Some Wall Street analysts have speculated that the stock’s well-known volatility may have factored into the previous decision to snub Tesla. Others have suggested that the sale of regulatory credits, and the part that played in the company’s profits, may have also weighed on the verdict.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

More reading

• Here’s how ASX investors have reacted to a Biden win
• Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s ‘Teslaquila’ tequila sells out in hours
• Here are the US shares that CommSec customers are buying
• Aussies going crazy for electric car maker, but it’s not Tesla
• Don’t fall in love with a charismatic CEO, says fundie

Danny Vena owns shares of Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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The Auswide Bank Ltd (ASX: ABA) share price moved higher by as much as 1.7% in morning trade today. This move follows a positive presentation released today prior to the company’s AGM, which commenced at 11 am AEST. 

Auswide Bank shares have since settled to their current level of $5.82 per share, up 0.34%.

What does Auswide Bank do?

Auswide Bank was formerly known as Wide Bay Australia. Wide Bay might be a more familiar name for a lot of readers – the company has been in business for more than 50 years. As with any bank, the service range is vast. For Auswide Bank, this includes both personal and business products.

Formed in 1979 as “Wide Bay Capricorn Building Society”, the company has evolved over time and in 1994 listed on the ASX.

Today, Auswide Bank’s assets exceed $3 billion.

What were the highlights of the AGM presentation?

Today’s AGM presentation included a number of positives.

Net profit after tax (NPAT) was up by 7.6% (including the effects of COVID), rising from $17.201 million in FY19 to $18.504 million for FY20.

NPAT excluding the effects of COVID was much higher. Today’s CFO presentation highlighted that if the bank excluded the COVID impact, NPAT was actually up by 16.9%. This means that the FY20 result would be $20.114 million. 

The bank reported its net interest revenue is up 11.6%, which it attributed to strong and profitable loan book growth. This revenue stands at $70.516 million for FY20. Auswide’s loan book growth in relation to this same point is up by 4.3%.

Auswide reported its deposits are up by 10.4%. The physical result of this was $2.62 billion in FY20 compared to $2.373 billion in FY19. This means that deposits now account of 74.5% of funding for Auswide. In comparison, in FY19, deposits made up 71.4% of funding.

One thing that fell away during FY20 was the bank’s dividend. Total dividend per share for FY20 was 27.75 cents per share, down from 34.5 cents per share in FY19.

Strong FY21 results indicated

The company also announced strong financials for the start of FY21. 

Some early data (YTD October 2020 vs YTD October 2019) includes:

• NPAT up by 33.7%, from $5.569 million to $7.444 million
• Loan book up 7.9%, from $3.182 billion to $3.434 billion
• Net interest revenue up 11.7%, from $22.550 million to $25.194 million
• Deposits up 15.2%, from $2.442 billion to $2.815 billion.

Auswide share price summary

The Auswide Bank share price is trading slightly higher on this positive news today, but overall this year Auswide shares are more or less flat. However, the Auswide bank share price has seen a strong recovery since the COVID crash in March, rising from a low of $3.30 to its current price of $5.82, or around 77% in 9 months.

More reading

• Auswide Bank (ASX:ABA) share price surges 6% after strong update

Motley Fool contributor glennleese has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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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In afternoon trade the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has followed the lead of U.S. markets and is pushing higher. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.2% to 6,498.3 points.

Four shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here’s why they are dropping lower:

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)

The Afterpay share price is down 4% to $97.35. Investors have been selling the payments company’s shares despite the release of a positive update at its annual general meeting. That update revealed that October was another record month for underlying sales globally. Furthermore, it advised that month to date the company is tracking ahead of this and new customer growth has been accelerating since the end of Q1 in both the US and UK. An ASIC report into the BNPL industry may be overshadowing this news.

Goodman Group (ASX: GMG)

The Goodman share price is down over 4% to $18.65. This morning analysts at Goldman Sachs reiterated their sell rating and lowly $12.24 price target on the property company’s shares. While Goldman is expecting solid growth in the coming years, it still believes its shares are overvalued.

MedAdvisor Ltd (ASX: MDR)

The MedAdvisor share price has tumbled 8% to 39 cents. Earlier today the medication management platform provider announced the opening of its retail entitlement offer. That offer will see eligible shareholders able to subscribe for 1 new share for every 2.5 shares they own for an issue price of 38 cents per new share. The maximum raised under the offer will be just a touch under $18 million.

PointsBet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH)

The PointsBet share price has fallen 2.5% to $11.23. This is despite the sports betting company providing an update on its US operations. According to the release, the company has now launched in the State of Colorado and taken its first bet. Management is now focusing on its next launch, which is planned for Michigan in the third quarter of FY 2021. Michigan will also see the inaugural launch of PointsBet’s iGaming product.

More reading

• ASX 200 up 0.35%: Moderna vaccine success, Afterpay update, Westpac upgraded
• Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price lower despite leadership and AGM update
• Macquarie (ASX:MQG) picks best ASX stocks to buy for 2021 post-COVID recovery
• PointsBet (ASX:PBH) share price on watch after US update
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday

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 MedAdvisor and Pointsbet Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended MedAdvisor and Pointsbet Holdings Ltd. 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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Yesterday, overnight Aussie time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX: .DJI) closed at a new all-time high of 29,950 points.

That’s within a whisker of the psychologically significant 30,000-point mark. And it’s 61% up from the 23 March lows.

While not setting new records, it’s the same story across the globe with every major share index closing well into the green. At the time of writing in our neck of the woods, my screens are also flashing green across Asia and Australia.

With trading back on after yesterday’s embarrassing shutdown, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up 0.4%. While that’s still 9% below the ASX 200’s all-time high set on 20 February, there are reasons to be optimistic that record could also soon be topped.

Not 1 but 2 vaccines

In the space of a week, our pandemic-battered world received news of not 1, but 2 highly promising coronavirus vaccines almost ready to be rolled out to the masses.

Last Tuesday, we awoke to the announcement from Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) and BioNTech SE (NASDAQ: BNTX) that their vaccine has proven 90% effective at preventing symptomatic coronavirus infections.

This morning, we learned of the even better results reported by Moderna Inc (NASDAQ: MRNA). According to its late-stage trial, Moderna’s vaccine is 94.5% effective at preventing infections.

Of course, that doesn’t mean we’re out of the woods yet.

Infection rates are still sky-high in the United States, Europe and much of the rest of the world. And I might add I’m writing from my home office in South Australia, where new cases have seen our state cut off from most of the rest of the nation.

But with 2 new vaccines casting their light at the end of this viral tunnel, share market investors have good reason to look through the shorter-term pain still ahead to the potentially outsized rewards on offer as Australia and the rest of the world reopen.

According to Seema Shah, chief strategist at Principal Global Investors (as quoted by Bloomberg):

Today’s vaccine news should make investors more tolerant of the surging virus cases, permitting them to look through to the strong dynamics that seem to be taking shape for 2021. Easy monetary policy, fiscal stimulus, recovering economic growth – there are many reasons for investors to be optimistic as we move closer to the end of this awful year.

Among those expressing renewed optimism for 2021 is Federal Reserve vice chair Richard Clarida. Clarida says his forecasts for 2021 had already included his belief in a vaccine, but over the past week he’s “got more conviction” (quoted by Bloomberg):

The news has been very good to have now two successful trials with above 90% efficacy… I’ve got more conviction in my baseline for next year and more conviction that the recovery from the pandemic shock in the U.S. can potentially be much more rapid than it was from the global financial crisis.

As we’ve witnessed in Australia, Clarida notes that government stimulus spending and employment support packages, along with low interest rates and people spending less money during lockdowns and social distancing, have seen US consumer savings rates reach near record levels.

Fiscal policy was so successful that this was the only downturn in my professional career in which disposable income actually went up in a deep recession, and a lot of that has been saved…

We will continue to monitor developments and assess how our ongoing asset purchases can best support achieving our maximum-employment and price-stability objectives.

According to Bloomberg, Morgan Stanley strategists are also bullish on the outlook for shares and credit in 2021, citing an expected V-shaped economic recovery, continuing support from governments, and increased clarity on the vaccine rollout. “This global recovery is sustainable, synchronous and supported by policy, following much of the ‘normal’ post-recession playbook. Keep the faith, trust the recovery.”

Years of progress in a matter of months

While the pandemic has caused economic hardship and the tragic loss of lives, it’s also forced societies to innovate at an accelerated pace.

Here in Australia, that’s seen our adoption of digital technologies go into overdrive.

Speaking at the CEDA annual dinner in Sydney, Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe noted that (from the ABC):

In some areas, progress that otherwise would have taken years has been made in a matter of months. The combination of necessity, new technologies and the easing of regulations has made a real difference.

Digitalisation is not only helping Australians deal with the pandemic, but it will also boost productivity and can help drive future economic growth…

Reflecting this, online retail sales have increased by 80 per cent since the start of the year… This acceleration in the shift to a more digital economy is prompting firms to innovate and to find new ways of doing things.

One company that’s benefited from this rapid shift to a more digital economy is online retailer Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN), which has certainly done its bit to help nudge the ASX 200 back towards new record highs.

Year-to-date Kogan’s share price is up 156%. And since the wider ASX 200 bottomed on 23 March, Kogan’s shares have gained 367%.

More reading

• Why the Openpay (ASX:OPY) share price is up and down today
• ASX 200 up 0.35%: Moderna vaccine success, Afterpay update, Westpac upgraded
• Here’s how the ASX 200 compares to other global indices
• Macquarie (ASX:MQG) picks best ASX stocks to buy for 2021 post-COVID recovery
• ASX 200 on watch after study shows Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine is 94.5% effective

Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Kogan.com ltd. 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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The CannPal Animal Therapeutics Ltd (ASX: CP1) share price is shooting higher today, rising 20% to 15 cents per share. The CannPal share price closed at 12 cents a share last Friday after the company was placed in a trading halt. CannPal opened today at 16 cents per share before edging back slightly to its current price of 15 cents. Incidentally, the trading halt meant CannPal missed the ASX shutdown yesterday.

Today’s rise in the CannPal share price is good news for investors. It means the company’s shares are 25% up for the year so far, up 36% since 9 November, and up 114% since 25 March.

So what is this company and why is the CannPal share price soaring today?

What is this ASX cannabis company?

We can almost ascertain what this company does through its name alone. CannPal Animal Therapeutics describes itself as an “animal health company”. It is developing “innovative and naturally derived plant-based therapeutic products for pets targeting the endocannabinoid system”. The company was founded in Australia in 2016.

CannPal has a “research focus” on cannabinoids, the “active pharmaceutical ingredients” found in the cannabis (marijuana) plant. According to the company, CannPal has “identified a significant opportunity” to benefit from the fast-growing medical cannabis markets for the purposes of animal health.

The company asserts that “innovation in the animal health industry is lacking”. It notes that existing treatments for pet conditions like arthritis and cancer are reportedly replete with side effects like nausea, appetite loss, internal bleeding and depression.

In response to this problem, CannPal is working to “further explore the natural healing abilities of compounds that can target the endocannabinoid system” in order to develop treatments for these issues that are natural and less likely to produce side effects. These treatments work by acting on the endocannabinoid system. The company informs us that this is “a system of receptors and compounds that are involved in almost every disease state, especially inflammation, pain and neurological conditions” in mammals.

CannPal, as of the time of writing, does not have any products currently in the market. However, it is currently “in the process” of testing a lead drug candidate by the name of “CPAT-01D”. This drug is a pain control drug for canines (dogs). It is also testing ‘DermaCann’ – a product for canine skin health.

Why is the CannPal share price shooting higher today then?

We can likely put the dramatic move in this company’s share price today down to an ASX announcement the company released this morning.

In this announcement, CannPal announced that it has “entered into a scheme implementation”. This involves another ASX cannabis company, AusCann Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: AC8). This ‘scheme’, if successful, will result in AusCann acquiring 100% of CannPal shares – in other words, a takeover. AusCann is willing to pay a price of 18.4 cents per share under the arrangement. That likely explains why the CannPan share price surged on trade resumption today. The offer price is more than a 50% premium to CannPal’s closing share price last week.

CannPal tells investors that the deal “gives CannPal access to the resources required to accelerate the Company’s growth objectives”. According to CannPal, “the two companies will form a combined entity with the financial resources and technical expertise to rapidly accelerate the commercialisation of human and animal health products”.

The company goes on to say that “the combined group will also benefit from a strengthened leadership team, shared staff and administration, operational cost savings, intellectual property and procurement synergies”.

Reportedly, CannPal’s largest and founding shareholder, the Merchant Opportunities Fund, has indicated its intention to vote in favour of the scheme. This fund holds approximately 19.88% of the CannPal shares on issue. The CannPal board is unanimously recommending shareholders vote in favour of this scheme as well.

It’s this development which is likely behind the surging CannPal share price today.

More reading

• Look out for the Auscann (ASX:AC8) and Cannpal (ASX:CP1) share prices post trading halt
• Auscann (ASX:AC8) share price climbs higher on sale agreement

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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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The Openpay Group Ltd (ASX: OPY) share price is on the move today after the company released a positive trading update for October and November.

Shares in the buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) company started the day in negative territory before surging up 4% higher to $2.84. That trend has since flattened, with the Openpay share price now trading up 0.73% at $2.75 at the time of writing.

Let’s take a look at the company results.

Trading update

For the period ending October 31, Openpay reported continued strong growth across its leading indicators in Australia.

• Active plans increased to 1,149, representing a 233% uplift of the corresponding period (pcp).

• Active customers totalled 390,000, a 143% jump during the same time last year.

• Active merchants grew to 2,346, up 34% on October FY20.

• Total transaction value (TTV) rose to $25.8 million, reflecting a 101% improvement on the pcp.

The robust results were achieved by customer demand and merchant acquisition in key markets.

During November to date, Openpay reported its strongest TTV on record due to Australian online sales initiatives. The BNPL company expects the upcoming sales season leading into Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas will bode well for the company.

Major partnerships

Openpay also noted that it signed on significant merchants to its platform. These include major online retailer Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) and NASDAQ listed, BigCommerce Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BIGC).

The latter agreement will see Openpay’s BNPL solution integrate into BigCommerce’s eCommerce marketplace in Australia and the United Kingdom. BigCommerce has more than 5,000 existing trading merchants across both countries.

What did the CEO say?

Speaking on the positive results, Openpay CEO Michael Eidel said:

Openpay has continued its robust business performance over the past two months following our record performance in the September quarter. We’re continually delivering on our strategy of building a high-growth merchant portfolio based on strategic partnerships.

Alongside this continued growth in our core key markets of Australia and the UK, we’re also pleased to have been included in the High Growth Export Services program by Federal Government trade and investment agency, Austrade. This initiative will greatly assist with our global vision and our aim of expanding into new markets to complement our current strong growth in our existing markets.

Updated ASIC report on BNPL sector

In November 2018, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) released a report on the BNPL sector. Titled, Report 600: Review of Buy Now Pay Later Arrangements, the report looked into developing a code of practice for BNPL providers.

ASIC will release Report 672, an updated version of the report, in the coming months. The review will seek to develop a set of obligations to accommodate the code member’s different business models.

Openpay addressed ASIC concerns about missed payments fees, saying it was continuing to evolve its product and customer experience. The company noted that customers were able to change repayment dates without incurring fees. Furthermore, there was a cap on late payment fees for those customers who delayed payments.

Mr Eidel commented on the ASIC inquiry, saying:

Openpay is highly sensitive to the need to provide products to consumers in a safe and responsible manner. This is why we make our product information about our fees, and the fact that we never charge interest, as transparent as possible and also why we have a proactive hardship policy if customers are experiencing any particular difficulty with their repayments.

We are grateful for ASIC’s ongoing review of the sector and welcome the implementation of the BNPL Code of Practice, which is expected to come into effect in early 2021.

More reading

• Macquarie (ASX:MQG) picks best ASX stocks to buy for 2021 post-COVID recovery
• These ASX shares have been unstoppable in FY 2021
• Fund managers have been buying Kogan (ASX:KGN) and this ASX share
• This cheap ASX share is supplying US giants: fundie
• Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price underperforming after ASIC finds more BNPL customers falling behind

Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Kogan.com ltd. 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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In a world where share markets increasingly ignore traditional financial metrics to figure out the worth of companies, brand value has never been more important.

But even a quality as ethereal as brand value can be measured.

Each year, United States consultancy, Interbrand, publishes a list of the top 100 brands in the world.

Clare Capital analyst, Robin Basra, said the rankings are calculated as a combination of three attributes – financial forecasts, the role of the brand and the strength of consumer preference for the brand.

And the world has dramatically shifted to technology over the past 10 years.

“A decade ago, Coca-Cola Co (NYSE: KO), IBM (NYSE: IBM), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), Google (Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG)) and General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) represented the most valuable brands in the world,” said Basra.

“In 2020, Google and Microsoft retain their positions, Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) has replaced IBM as the most valuable technology brand, and the others have fallen lower down the order – signalling changing dynamics and consumer preferences.”

Another nod to the way the globe is shifting is that a non-American company, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KRX: 005930), snuck in at fifth place.

Valuable brands outperform rest of share market

This brand value thing matters on the stock market. 

In a year when most publicly listed companies were hammered by COVID-19, the share prices of the five most valuable brands were up 54% on average.

Even when generalised out to the 100 most valuable brands, their collective share price has outperformed the S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX) by more than double.

Top 5 brands	2010 rank	Age (years)	2020 brand value (USD)	Brand value multiple 2010 to 2020	Revenue multiple 2010 to 2020	Share price change in last 12 months
1. Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL)	17	43	$323 billion	6.1x	7.1x	80% up
2. Amazon.com, Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN)	36	26	$201 billion	8x	4.6x	78% up
3. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT)	3	45	$166 billion	9.5x	10.8x	47% up
4. Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOGL)	4	22	$165 billion	6.6x	6.4x	37% up
5. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KRX: 005930)	19	82	$62 billion	4.7x	1.5x	27% up
Source: Clare Capital. Table created by author

Most valuable brands by sector

The brand leaders for each sector have also shown healthy share price growth. 

The exception is Toyota Motor Corp (TYO: 7203), which perhaps isn’t surprising considering the economic downturn.

Sector	Most valuable brand	Age (years)	2020 brand value (USD)	Share price change in last 12 months
Technology	1. Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL)	43	$323 billion	80% up
Beverage	6. Coca-Cola Co (NYSE: KO)	134	$57 billion	2% up
Motoring	7. Toyota Motor Corp (TYO: 7203)	87	$52 billion	4% down
Apparel	15. Nike Inc (NYSE: NKE)	56	$34 billion	41% up
Luxury	17. LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (EPA: MC)	97	$32 billion	26% up
Source: Clare Capital. Table created by author

More reading

• Better buy: Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) or every Dow Jones stock?
• Here are the shares Magellan has been buying recently
• What has Warren Buffett been up to lately?
• Why the Dubber Corp (ASX:DUB) share price is surging today
• Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s ‘Teslaquila’ tequila sells out in hours

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Tony Yoo owns shares of Alphabet (A shares) and Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and Nike and recommends the following options: long January 2021 $85 calls on Microsoft, short January 2021 $115 calls on Microsoft, short January 2022 $1940 calls on Amazon, and long January 2022 $1920 calls on Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, Apple, and Nike. 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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In early afternoon trade the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record another again. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.4% to 6,511.9 points.

Four shares that are climbing more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are charging higher:

Douugh Ltd (ASX: DOU)

The Douugh share price has jumped 5% to 37 cents. This follows the release of an announcement this morning which reveals that the neobank has officially launched its app in the US following a successful 18-month trial. The company’s app uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to tailor individual financial solutions to a user’s personal income and spending data. It aims to help users spend wisely, save more, and accumulate wealth over time.

Mirvac Group (ASX: MGR)

The Mirvac share price is up over 4% to $2.75. Investors have been buying the property company’s shares after it was upgraded by analysts at Macquarie. The broker has upgraded Mirvac to an outperform rating with a $2.91 price target. It made the move on the belief that Mirvac will benefit from a recovery in the residential market.

Oil Search Limited (ASX: OSH)

The Oil Search share price has surged 6% higher to $3.95. The catalyst for this appears to have been another rise in oil prices overnight following Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine update. It isn’t just Oil Search that is charging higher, a number of other energy shares are recording sizeable gains today. So much so, the S&P/ASX 200 Energy index is up almost 3.5% at the time of writing.

Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)

The Westpac share price is up 3% to $19.16. As well as getting a boost from the aforementioned COVID-19 vaccine news, Australia’s oldest bank was given a lift from a positive broker note. According to a note out of Morgan Stanley, its analysts have upgraded Westpac’s shares to an overweight rating with an improved price target of $20.40. It notes that the housing market is improving and is happy with its provisioning.

More reading

• Douugh (ASX:DOU) share price on the move again. Here’s why
• ASX 200 up 0.35%: Moderna vaccine success, Afterpay update, Westpac upgraded
• Macquarie (ASX:MQG) picks best ASX stocks to buy for 2021 post-COVID recovery
• Aussie companies blast ‘knee-jerk’ COVID-19 border closures
• 3 shares that have strongly outperformed their sectors this month

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of Westpac Banking. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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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Stock exchange ASX Ltd (ASX: ASX) has confirmed that Monday’s outage was a system error and “not a cyber event or hacking related”.

The ASX advised the Australian Signals Directorate it did not believe the freeze, which shut down ASX share trading for most of Monday, was the result of a cyber security incident.

Nevertheless, the ASX will be required to report and provide full details of the incident to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).  ASIC has described the trading shutdown as a “significant concern and had a significant impact on market participants and investors”, and says that it will investigate if any breaches were made. 

The ASX share price is slightly down by 1.01% today to $81.58.

What happened on Monday?

The outage started within 24 minutes of Monday’s market opening, when the system was frozen at 10.24am Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST).

The ASX attributed the system freeze to a new trading platform supplied by Nasdaq (NASDAQ: NDAQ). The platform, which has been implemented and tested since January, was “refreshed” on Saturday and scheduled to go live at 2.25am (AEST) that Monday morning.

After investigating, the ASX said the glitch appeared to have been caused by combination orders. It said that the system crashed when market participants submitted combination orders, which are normally used by institutions and professional investors to trade securities in a single order. When these orders were submitted, the software caused inaccurate market data to be recorded on bid and offer prices. The ASX response was to put the market in “enquire status”, which meant all orders were instantly frozen.

ASX chief executive Dominic Stevens apologised for the all-day disruption, saying:

The outage falls short of the high standards we set ourselves and the standards others expect of us. Notwithstanding the extensive testing and rehearsals, and the involvement of our technology provider Nasdaq, ASX accepts responsibility.

ASX disruptions in the past

This is not the first time the ASX has encountered a major disruption of this scale. Only last month, ASX’s new website suffered a glitch at launch, and did not show company announcements.

In a 2016, a hardware failure in the main database used to operate the ASX market triggered a number of events that meant the ASX market did not open at 10am. The market was also closed early that day, and opened as usual the next day.

Two IPOs that were impacted by the glitch

Among those unable to access the ASX’s services on Monday were two companies due to list on the ASX after months of preparation and the successful completion of initial public offerings (IPOs). Native Mineral Resources (ASX: NMR) and Universal Store Holdings (ASX: UNI) said that their debut listings were disrupted, but both remained optimistic that the incident would not hamper the performance of their share prices going forward. 

More reading

• ASIC to investigate if ASX is fit to hold market licence
• ASX trading halt to remain in place for the rest of the day
• Update: Trading on ASX remains in ‘enquire’ state after market data error
• ASX trading has been frozen this morning in IT glitch
• $278m fashion retailer debuts on ASX today

Motley Fool contributor Eddy Sunarto has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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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At lunch on Tuesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is back trading as normal and continuing its ascent. The benchmark index is currently up 0.35% to 6,508.3 points.

Here’s what is happening on the market today:

Moderna COVID-19 vaccine gives ASX 200 a boost.

News that there is another potentially effective COVID-19 vaccine has given the Australian share market a boost on Tuesday. Overnight Moderna reported that its COVID-19 vaccine was 94.5% effective in preventing COVID-19 during its phase three trials. This was even better than Pfizer’s vaccine which was shown to be more than 90% effective against COVID-19. Both vaccines are using mRNA technology. This is a new approach to vaccines that uses genetic material to provoke an immune response.

Afterpay annual general meeting.

The Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price is trading lower on the day of its annual general meeting. At the event, the company confirmed that Nick Molnar would take on the role of co-CEO with Anthony Eisen. Management also provided a brief update on current trading. Mr Eisen commented: “October was another record month for underlying sales globally and we are performing ahead of this in November. The growth of new customers is accelerating since the end of Q1 in both the US and UK as the pipeline of new merchants go live on our platform.”

Bank shares charge higher

The big four banks are all trading notably higher on Tuesday. The best performer in the group has been the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price with a 2.5% gain. As well as getting a boost from the vaccine news, Australia’s oldest bank was the subject of a positive broker note today. Analysts at Morgan Stanley have upgraded the bank’s shares to an overweight rating with a $20.40 price target.

Best and worst ASX 200 performers.

The best performer on the ASX 200 for a second day in a row is the Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield CDI (ASX: URW) share price with a 15% gain. This means the global shopping centre operator’s shares are now up 26% since the start of the week. The worst performer has been the Netwealth Group Ltd (ASX: NWL) share price with a 6% decline. This is despite there being no news out of the investment platform provider.

More reading

• Here’s how the ASX 200 compares to other global indices
• Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price lower despite leadership and AGM update
• Macquarie (ASX:MQG) picks best ASX stocks to buy for 2021 post-COVID recovery
• Aussie companies blast ‘knee-jerk’ COVID-19 border closures
• ASX 200 on watch after study shows Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine is 94.5% effective

James Mickleboro owns shares of Westpac Banking. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Netwealth. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T 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.

The post ASX 200 up 0.35%: Moderna vaccine success, Afterpay update, Westpac upgraded appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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