At lunch on Friday the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has continued its positive run and is up a solid 0.5% to 5,881.3 points.
Here's what has been happening on the benchmark index today:
CBA higher despite $169 million profit hit.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price has pushed 0.7% higher at lunch despite the banking giant disclosing a non-cash profit hit of $169 million to its statutory result in the first-half. This was caused by losses on the disposal of businesses and hedging and IFRS volatility.
Afterpay shares rocket higher.
The Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX: APT) share price is up over 11% to $15.86 at lunch following the release of a global business update this morning. Thanks partly to a record month in December, underlying sales in the first half were up 140% on the prior corresponding period to $2.2 billion.
Rio Tinto production update.
Investors have responded positively to the fourth quarter and full year production update from Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) this morning. The mining giant's shares are up almost 1% at lunch after reporting strong iron ore and copper production during FY 2018.
Sydney Airport shares lower on update.
The Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD) share price is down 2% at lunch after releasing its December traffic update. In December the airport operator experienced a 2.6% decline in domestic passenger numbers. International passenger numbers continued their growth, rising 3.7% during the month.
Best and worst performers.
The best performer on the ASX 200 on Friday has unsurprisingly been the Afterpay share price with its 11% gain. Some way behind as the next best performer is the Sims Metal Management Ltd (ASX: SGM) share price which is up 4.5% despite there being no news out of the scrap metal company. Going the other way is the Steadfast Group Ltd (ASX: SDF) share price which is down over 3%. The insurance broker's shares have come under pressure today after Credit Suisse downgraded them from an outperform rating to neutral. The broker also cut the price target on its shares down to $3.00.
