The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) climbed another 1.8% today to 5,942 points as investors learned what the GDP figures were in the quarter to 31 March 2020. The ABS said Australia's economy contracted 0.3% last quarter.
Indeed, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has said that Australia is already in a recession. Though that can't be officially confirmed until the end of June 2020.
Here are some of the highlights from the ASX 200 today (and other smaller shares):
Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) soars again
Zip zoomed higher yesterday and it climbed by a further 21.7% today. Investors seem really excited by the prospect of the buy now, pay later business expanding in the US by fully acquiring QuadPay. America is a huge market if you can deliver an exciting product for consumers. The company seems on course to enter the ASX 200.
QuadPay has a high transaction margin and a solid number of customers and merchants.
Big takeover deal for Infigen Energy Ltd (ASX: IFN)
The wind farm business, which was previously in the ASX 200, saw its share price climb 36.4% today as it announced that it has received a takeover offer of $0.80 per share from UAC Energy. UAC Energy is ultimately owned by a Philippine listed business which has large renewable energy projects across Asia.
There is speculation that there could be a bidding war for Infigen, which is why the share price is currently at the takeover price.
Diverging share price movements
At the large end of the ASX 200 the major banks all saw large share price gains. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price went up 3.25%, the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price climbed 4.4%, the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) share price went up 5% and the National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price grew 4.6%.
However, at the red end of the ASX it seems investors decided gold miners were too expensive considering the rising share market and the growing Australian dollar.
The Silver Lake Resources Limited. (ASX: SLR) share price fell 8.4%, the Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL) share price fell 6.6%, the Gold Road Resources Ltd (ASX: GOR) share price fell 6.3%, the Saracen Mineral Holdings Limited (ASX: SAR) share price dropped 6.2% and the Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) share price declined 5.8%.
