At lunch on Friday the S&P/ASX 200 index is on course to finish the week with another gain. At the time of writing the benchmark index is up 0.3% to 6,882.7 points.
Here's what has been happening on the market today:
Virgin Money rockets.
Investors have been scrambling to buy Virgin Money UK PLC (ASX: VUK) shares following the release of its full year results. Although Virgin Money reported a 7% decline in underlying profit to £539 million, investors appear to have been expecting worse from the UK-based bank. Virgin Money was previously known as CYBG PLC.
Tech shares rise.
The Australian tech sector is performing well on Friday. The likes of Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) and WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) are all pushing higher despite a flat night of trade on the technology-focused Nasdaq index. At lunch the S&P/ASX 200 Info Tech index is 0.7% higher.
CSL price target lifted.
The CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) share price is climbing higher again on Friday after being the subject of another positive broker note. According to a note out of Credit Suisse, its analysts have retained their outperform rating and lifted the price target on the biotherapeutics company's shares to $305. The broker believes that a tight plasma market in Europe could lead to price increases and boost its bottom line.
Best and worst performers.
The best performer on the ASX 200 index on Friday has been the Virgin Money UK share price by some distance. Its shares are up a staggering 23% at lunch. This led to them hitting a 52-week high of $3.32 earlier today. The worst performer on the benchmark index at lunch is the HUB24 Ltd (ASX: HUB) share price with a decline of 2.5%. Its shares are sinking lower despite there being no news out of the investment platform provider today.
