At lunch on Thursday the S&P/ASX 200 index is pushing higher again. At the time of writing the benchmark index is up 0.6% to 7,017.7 points.
Here's what has been happening on the market today:
Bank shares higher.
The big four banks are all pushing higher on Thursday and are doing a lot of the heavy lifting on the S&P/ASX 200. The best performer in the group has been the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price with a 1.9% gain. The National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price is the next best performing big four bank with a gain of 1.3%.
Coles update.
The Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) share price has edged lower this morning following the release of an update on its first half performance. The supermarket giant revealed that a strong Christmas period led to its Supermarkets business delivering comparable sales growth of 3.6% in the second quarter and 2% for the first half.
Mirvac result.
The Mirvac Group (ASX: MGR) share price has dropped lower despite the release of a solid half year result this morning. For the six months ended December 31, Mirvac reported an operating profit after tax of $352 million. This was a 21% increase on the prior corresponding period. Looking ahead, Mirvac reaffirmed its operating earnings per share guidance for FY 2020 of between 17.6 cents and 17.8 cents per stapled security. This represents growth of between 3% and 4% on FY 2019's result.
Best and worst performers.
The best performer on the S&P/ASX 200 index on Thursday has been the Pinnacle Investment Management Group Ltd (ASX: PNI) share price with a 7% gain. This morning Pinnacle released its first half results and revealed a 36.6% increase in half year profit to $13.8 million. Going the other way is the Service Stream Limited (ASX: SSM) share price with an 11% decline. This follows the release of the essential services company's half year update after the market close on Wednesday.
