The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has returned from the Christmas break and pushed notably higher. At lunch the index is up 1% to 5,550.3 points.
Here's what has been happening on the ASX 200 on Thursday:
Dow Jones records biggest single-day point gain ever.
The key catalyst for today's gains has been a positive night of trade on Wall Street. Investors have been buying shares after the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted its biggest single-day point gain ever. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the day 1,086.25 points or 5% higher thanks largely to strong gains by retail, bank, and energy shares.
Bank shares on the rise.
Strong gains by U.S. banks overnight have helped lift Australia's big four banks higher on Thursday. Although they have given back the majority of their morning gains, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB), and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) shares are all in positive territory at lunch.
Afterpay Touch share price storms higher.
The Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX: APT) share price is up 5% at lunch following the release of positive U.S. retail sales data by Mastercard SpendingPulse. The payments company's data reveals that "holiday sales increased 5.1 percent to more than $850 billion this year – the strongest growth in the last six years. Online shopping also saw large gains of 19.1 percent compared to 2017." Investors may believe the Afterpay platform is benefiting from the strong consumer spending.
Best and worst performers.
The best performer on the ASX 200 at lunch is the Bellamy's Australia Ltd (ASX: BAL) share price with a 6% gain. Investors appear to believe that the infant formula company's shares have been oversold and are in the bargain bin now. Going the other way is the Speedcast International Ltd (ASX: SDA) share price with a decline of 4.5%. On Christmas Eve it advised that it expects underlying EBITDA of US$130 million to US$135 million in FY 2018, down from previous guidance of US$135 million to US$145 million and ~US$155 million before that.
