At lunch on Wednesday the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has fought back from a heavy decline in morning trade and is up 0.3% to 5,894.8 points.
The energy and financial sectors have been driving the market higher today, offsetting weakness in the consumer staples and utilities sectors.
Here are a few highlights on the ASX 200 so far on Wednesday:
Commonwealth Bank of Australia update.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price has pushed higher today after the bank provided an update on its first quarter performance. During the first quarter of FY 2019 Commonwealth Bank delivered a 1% increase in operating income compared to the quarterly average of the last two quarters. Cash net profit after tax rose 11% on a reported basis and 3% excluding one-off items.
Kogan.com announces Kogan Super.
Superannuation providers will soon have a new competitor in the shape of Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN). This morning the ecommerce company announced that it will be working with Mercer to launch a 'no frills, ultra-low fee' super product. Kogan wants the super fund to be one of the cheapest superannuation options on the market. The market hasn't responded positively to the news, though. The Kogan.com share price is down over 3% at the time of writing.
Suncorp provides banking update.
The Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN) share price has edged lower after it released its first quarter banking update. According to the release, total lending grew 0.5% over the quarter, with its home lending portfolio remaining comfortably within macroprudential limit settings. Suncorp Banking and Wealth CEO David Carter believes the result reflects the company's ongoing commitment to responsible and sustainable lending practices in a competitive market.
Best and worst performers.
The best performer on the ASX 200 so far today has been the Syrah Resources Ltd (ASX: SYR) share price. It is up 11.5% after the graphite miner announced a binding sales agreement with Qingdao Taida-Huarun New Energy Technology Co. Syrah will supply the company with 20kt of natural graphite by August 2019. Going the other way today is the Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) share price which is down 8.5%. The online travel agent's shares have returned from a trading halt after launching a capital raising to fund the US$173 million acquisition of Destinations of the World.
