At lunch on Wednesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to start the new month in style. The benchmark index is up a sizeable 3.4% to 5,247.6 points at the time of writing.
Here's what has been happening on the market today:
Transurban withdraws its distribution guidance.
The Transurban Group (ASX: TCL) share price is trading lower on Wednesday after the toll road operator released a market update. That update revealed that it experienced a sharp decline in traffic volume during the latter part of March because of the coronavirus outbreak. In light of this, the company has withdrawn its distribution guidance.
Big four banks push higher.
The big four banks have bounced back from early declines and are all trading higher at lunch. The best performer in the group is the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price with a gain of 2.5%. Investors may believe the worst is over for the banks after the government's latest stimulus package.
Scentre surges higher.
The Scentre Group (ASX: SCG) share price is surging almost 13% higher on Wednesday after providing a liquidity update. According to the release, the shopping centre operator has obtained additional unsecured bank facilities. This increases its available liquidity position to $3.1 billion. This appears to have eased concerns over its liquidity during the coronavirus crisis.
Best and worst ASX 200 performers.
The Oil Search Limited (ASX: OSH) share price is the best performer on the ASX 200 on Wednesday with a massive 18% gain. This appears to have been driven by a broker note out of Macquarie this morning. It has placed an outperform rating and $4.00 price target on the energy company's shares. The worst performer on the ASX 200 is the Jumbo Interactive Ltd (ASX: JIN) share price with a decline of almost 4%. This follows the release of a trading update this morning which included guidance for FY 2020.
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James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Jumbo Interactive Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Jumbo Interactive Limited and Transurban Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Scentre Group. 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.
