It was an eventful week last week, even though trading was reduced by a day due to Easter. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) went up by almost 2% with investors seeing light at the end of the tunnel of the coronavirus.
Here are some of the highlights in the ASX 200 from the week:
Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) business update
The Afterpay share price rose by almost 32% after the buy now, pay later business gave a business update to the market during the week. It was a strong performer in the ASX 200.
Afterpay said that in the year to March 2020 it saw $7.3 billion of underlying sales, which was 105% higher than the prior corresponding period. ANZ online sales were up 8% in the second half of March compared to the first half. Online sales in March represented 88% of total global underlying sales.
But, the second half of March 2020 experienced a 4% decline of global underlying sales compared to the first half of the month.
Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) provision pain
It was a painful week for one of Australia's biggest banks. We haven't even heard what the coronavirus impacts will be, yet Westpac has already unveiled a number of provisions and write-downs which totalled $1.43 billion.
A chunk of the pain was a provision for the AUSTRAC proceedings as well as the response plan, amounting to $1.03 billion. But there was also a $260 million after tax provision for customer refunds, repayments and litigation.
Westpac is due to report fairly soon and will reveal provisions for the coronavirus when it has something to announce.
Tumbling Transurban Group (ASX: TCL) traffic
Restrictions and social distancing have meant that traffic on Transurban's roads have completely dropped off.
The toll road business announced its March quarter traffic data for Australia and North America. Whilst the traffic numbers in March 2020 weren't bad overall, the last week of March and first week of April saw Transurban traffic fall by 48% and 47% respectively. That's painful for one of the ASX 200's biggest infrastructure shares.
NEW! 5 Cheap Stocks With Massive Upside Potential
Our experts at The Motley Fool have just released a FREE report detailing 5 shares you can buy now to take advantage of the much cheaper share prices on offer.
One is a diversified conglomerate trading 40% off it's all time high, all while offering a fully franked dividend yield of over 3%…
Another is a former stock market darling that is one of Australia's most popular and iconic businesses. Trading at a significant discount to its 52-week high, not only does this stock offer massive upside potential, but it also trades on an attractive fully franked dividend yield of almost 4%.
Plus, this free report highlights 3 more cheap bets that could position you to profit in 2020 and beyond.
Simply click here to scoop up your FREE copy and discover the names of all 5 cheap shares.
But you will have to hurry because the cheap share prices on offer today might not last for long.
Returns as of 7/4/2020
Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Transurban Group. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. 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.
