At lunch on Monday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to start the week on a positive note. The benchmark index is currently up 0.8% to 5,967.8 points.
Here's what has been happening on the market today:
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Bank shares storm higher.
The big four banks have started the week with a bang. All four banks are on the rise on Monday and helping to drive the ASX 200 higher. The best performer in the group is the Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ) share price with a 2% gain. Bargain hunters appear to be swooping in after bank shares dropped lower last week following a rise in coronavirus cases.
Oil Search impairment.
The Oil Search Limited (ASX: OSH) share price is tumbling lower on Monday after announcing a sizeable impairment. The energy producer expects to recognise a non-cash, pre-tax impairment charge of US$360 million to US400 million in its first half results. This reflects a reduction in the carrying value of its assets "after taking into account the potential longer-term impact of prevailing economic conditions, the outlook for oil and gas prices and the current status of other factors that could impact on value realisation."
TechnologyOne responds to short attack.
TechnologyOne Ltd (ASX: TNE) has hit back at Hong Kong-based GMT Research for claiming that the enterprise software company is using accounting tricks to pull forward revenue and profits. The research firm alleges that it is doing this to hide a slowdown in its growth. TechnologyOne has responded by advising that the claims are false and misleading. It intends to refer the matter to ASIC. That hasn't stopped the TechnologyOne share price from taking a tumble today.
Best and worst ASX 200 shares.
The IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO) share price has been the best performer on the ASX 200 index on Monday with a 4.5% gain. This follows a decent rise in the nickel price on Friday night. The worst performer has been the TechnologyOne share price with a decline of 6%. This follows the aforementioned attack by GMT Research.
