At lunch on Thursday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has followed the lead of U.S. markets and pushed higher. At the time of writing the benchmark index is up 0.6% to 6,038.9 points.
Here's what is happening on the market today:
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ResMed lower following results release.
The ResMed Inc. (ASX: RMD) share price has dropped lower today despite delivering a stronger than expected sales result during the fourth quarter. The medical device company posted a 10% increase in revenue to US$770.3 million thanks to strong ventilator demand. This compares to the consensus estimate of US$752 million. Investors may be concerned by weaker than expected mask sales.
Scentre half year update.
The Scentre Group (ASX: SCG) share price is in the red today after it provided the market with its expectations for the first half. The shopping centre operator revealed that it expects to report a 10% decline in the carrying value of its property portfolio. This is due to the estimated impact of the pandemic. In addition to this, Scentre advised that it expects to report net operating cashflow in excess of $250 million for the half. This compares to net cash flows from operating activities of $619 million a year earlier.
Big four banks rise.
It has been a volatile week for the big four banks, but on Thursday they are heading in the right direction again. All four banks are pushing higher at lunch and are helping underpin the ASX 200's gains. The best performer in the group has been the Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ) share price with a gain of 1%.
Best and worst performers.
The best performer on the ASX 200 on Thursday has been the Harvey Norman Holdings Limited (ASX: HVN) share price with a 6.5% gain. This may be in response to a very positive update from furniture retailer Nick Scali Limited (ASX: NCK) this morning. The worst performer has been the ResMed share price with a decline of 5%. This follows the release of its aforementioned full year results.
