At lunch on Friday the S&P/ASX 200 index is on course to end the week on a positive note. At the time of writing the benchmark index is up 0.8% to 6,601 points.
Here's what has been happening on the market today:
Miners pushing higher.
Doing a lot of the heavy lifting on Friday has been the resources sector. The likes of BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO), and South32 Ltd (ASX: S32) are all pushing higher today. South32 has been the strongest in the group with a gain of almost 3%. Trade talk optimism appears to be helping the miners.
Bank shares higher.
Also supporting the market today have been the big four banks. All four banks are trading higher at lunch, with the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) share price the best performer in the group. Its shares are up over 1.1% at lunch. This appears to have been driven by strong housing data released by the ABS yesterday.
Energy shares rise.
Santos Ltd (ASX: STO), Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL), and the rest of Australia's leading energy producers are on course to end the week on a high. They are on the rise today after oil prices surged higher overnight. The catalyst for this was news that OPEC has pledged to balance oil markets next year.
HUB24 update.
The HUB24 Ltd (ASX: HUB) share price has stormed higher today after the investment platform provider released its first quarter update. HUB24 achieved net inflows of $1,238 million, which was a 94% increase on the prior corresponding period. This increased its FUM to $14.4 billion.
Best and worst performers.
The best performer on the ASX 200 today has been the Silver Lake Resources Limited (ASX: SLR) share price. It is up 10% at lunch following the release of its quarterly update. Going the other way is the Netwealth Group Ltd (ASX: NWL) share price with a 5.5% decline. This morning Credit Suisse downgraded its shares to an underperform rating due to concerns over its margins.
