At lunch on Thursday the S&P/ASX 200 index is on course to finish the day higher. At the time of writing the benchmark index is up 0.4% to 6,293 points.
Here's what has been happening on the market today:
TPG Telecom climbs higher.
The TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPM) share price has bounced back slightly from its 13.5% decline on Wednesday and is up 1.5% at lunch. The telco company's shares were sold off after the ACCC announced that it would block its merger with Vodafone Australia. Both parties intend to appeal the decision in the Federal Court.
Telstra shares push higher.
Also pushing higher in the telco sector today is the Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price with a gain of 3%. This morning Goldman Sachs increased its price target on the telco giant's shares to $3.90 on the belief that the ACCC's decision was a big positive for the company. It has Telstra on its conviction buy list.
Qantas shares soar.
The Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) share price has taken off and is up 3.5% at lunch following the release of the airline's third quarter update. Despite Easter shifting into the fourth quarter of FY 2019, Qantas still delivered solid growth in the third quarter and is on track to fully offset the impact of significantly higher fuel costs compared with last year.
Bank shares rise.
It has been a positive day of trade in the financial sector with all of the big four banks pushing higher on Thursday. The best performer in the group is the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price which is up 0.65% at lunch.
Best and worst performers.
The best performer on the ASX 200 at lunch is the Orica Ltd (ASX: ORI) share price with a gain of 5.5%. Its shares have stormed higher after the release of a better than expected half year result. Going the other way is the Adelaide Brighton Ltd (ASX: ABC) share price which has fallen 7% after releasing a market update which revealed that profits are expected to be down 10% to 15% in FY 2019.
