At lunch on Friday the S&P/ASX 200 index is on course to finish the week on a high. The benchmark index is up 0.5% to 6,740.5 points.
Here's what has been happening on the market today:
Bank shares higher.
Australia's big four banks are all on course to end the week on a high. The big four are all notably higher at lunch, but the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) share price is leading the way. Its shares are up 2.2% at the time of writing. This may have been driven by events in the United Kingdom today.
UK election.
Current prime minister, Boris Johnson, looks set to win the UK election by a significant margin today. This means that the UK is likely to leave the EU at the end of January. This news has gone down well with shares exposed to the UK market. The likes of Bravura Solutions Ltd (ASX: BVS), Pendal Group Ltd (ASX: PDL), and Virgin Money UK (ASX: VUK) are all surging higher.
Sydney Airport dividend.
The Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD) share price is down 3.5% today after declaring its next dividend. The airport operator will be paying investors 19.5 cents per share in February. To qualify for this dividend, investors need to be on the share registry before December 30.
Best and worst performers.
The best performer on the ASX 200 index on Friday has been the Polynovo Ltd (ASX: PNV) share price with a massive 24% gain. The medical device company's shares have rocketed higher after its NovoSorb BTM product was granted a certificate of conformance (CE Mark) approval for sale throughout the UK/Ireland and the European Union. The worst performer on the index is the Silver Lake Resources Limited (ASX: SLR) share price with a decline of almost 6% on no news.
