The S&P/ASX 200 index is on course to record a solid gain on Thursday. In afternoon trade the benchmark index is up 0.65% to 6,703.3 points.
Four shares that are climbing more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are zooming higher:
The James Hardie Industries plc (ASX: JHX) share price has charged 6% higher to $26.23. Investors have been buying the building products company's shares following the release of a solid half year result. During the six months, James Hardie posted adjusted net operating profit of US$188.8 million. This was a 17% increase on the same period last year.
The National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price is up 2% to $28.34 following the release of its full year results. In FY 2019 NAB posted a 10.6% decline in cash earnings to $5.1 billion. This led to the bank cutting its final dividend down by 16% to 83 cents a share. The good news, though, was that the bank didn't announce a capital raising and its final dividend will be fully franked.
The Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) share price is racing higher and is up over 6.5% to $71.99. The catalyst for this was the cloud-based business and accounting software provider's half year result. For the six months ended September 30, Xero reported an impressive 32% increase in operating revenue to NZ$338.7 million. It also announced that it has now surpassed 2 million subscribers globally. This helped drive its total subscriber lifetime value 37% higher to NZ$5.4 billion.
The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price has rocketed 17% higher to $4.02 after announcing a strategic agreement with Amazon Commercial Services. The agreement will see Zip offered as a payment option for customers using Amazon.com.au. This makes it Amazon's first Australian instalment payment option. However, it does come at a slight cost. Zip will issue an affiliate of Amazon warrants to acquire up to 14,615,000 ordinary shares.
