The S&P/ASX 200 index has pushed higher on Thursday despite declines on Wall Street overnight. At lunch the benchmark index is up slightly to 6,547 points.
Here's what has been happening:
Afterpay audit ordered by AUSTRAC
The Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX: APT) share price is down 9% at lunch after the payments company provided an update in relation to AUSTRAC and its Anti-Money Laundering/Counter Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) program. According to the release, Afterpay has received a notice from AUSTRAC requiring it to appoint an AUSTRAC-authorised external auditor to carry out an audit in respect of its AML/CTF compliance.
CBA offloads Count Financial business.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price is higher at lunch after announcing that it has entered into an agreement to sell its Count Financial business to Countplus Ltd (ASX: CUP) for $2.5 million. The financial advice business is expected to post a $13 million loss in FY 2019. CBA also advised that it intends to sell its shareholding in CountPlus in an orderly manner over time.
Wesfarmers trading update.
The Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) share price has dropped almost 4% lower following the release of an update on the performance of its Kmart Group division this morning. Due to market conditions remaining very competitive with increased price investment and higher levels of promotional activity, Kmart Group's sales growth has been impacted. As a result, EBIT from continuing operations for Kmart Group is expected to be between $515 million and $565 million in FY 2019. This will be a year on year decline of 10.5% to 18.4%.
Carsales to divest Stratton Finance.
The Carsales.com Ltd (ASX: CAR) share price has pushed higher today after announcing plans to sell its 50.1% stake in its underperforming Stratton car finance business. The company also revealed that its core auto listings website has "proven resilient in the current economic environment".
Challenger guidance disappoints.
The Challenger Ltd (ASX: CGF) share price is down 7.5% at lunch after providing an update on its guidance for both FY 2019 and FY 2020. This year the annuities company expects to hit the low end of its normalised net profit before tax guidance of $545 million to $565 million. In FY 2020 it expects normalised net profit before tax to be in the range of $500 million to $550 million due to lower equities growth, lower interest rates on shareholder capital, and the impact of its distribution, product, and marketing initiatives.
Best and worst performers.
The best performer on the benchmark index on Thursday is the Bingo Industries Ltd (ASX: BIN) share price which has risen over 5% despite there being no news out of it. Going the other way is of course the Afterpay share price with its 9% decline, closely followed by the underperforming Challenger share price.
