At lunch on Monday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has recovered from its lows but is still trading slightly in the red. The benchmark index is currently down 0.2% to 6,593.7 points.
Here's what is happening on the market today:
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Zip Chair steps down
The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price is pushing higher today despite announcing that its Chair, Philip Crutchfield, is stepping down from the role after more than five years with the company. Mr Crutchfield is exiting the role with immediate effect and will be replaced by Ms Diane Smith-Gander AO. Ms Smith-Gander is a seasoned professional non-executive director with chair experience. The company believes she is ideally placed to lead Zip as it forges ahead as with its global expansion.
Worley update disappoints
The Worley Ltd (ASX: WOR) share price is crashing lower today following the release of a trading update. That update revealed that the engineering company's performance has been impacted negatively by COVID-19. Combined with foreign exchange headwinds, Worley expects to report half year aggregated revenue of $4.4 billion to $4.5 billion and underlying EBITA of $200 million to $210 million. This compares to $5,998 million and $366 million, respectively, from the prior corresponding period.
Shorted shares rise
A number of ASX 200 shares that have been targeted by short sellers are on the rise today. This includes Blackmores Limited (ASX: BKL), InvoCare Limited (ASX: IVC), and Mesoblast limited (ASX: MSB). They are all outperforming the market average by some distance at lunch. At the last count, these companies had 4%, 7.9%, and 10.3% of their shares in the hands of short sellers, respectively. These short sellers appear to be closing positions in a hurry following the GameStop short squeeze.
Best and worst ASX 200 performers
The best performer on the ASX 200 on Monday has been the Blackmores share price with a 4.5% gain. Short sellers appear to be buying shares to close positions. The worst performer by some distance has been the Worley share price with a 14.5% decline following its disappointing update.
