The S&P/ASX 200 index has started the year on a mildly positive note. At lunch the benchmark index is trading 0.1% higher at 6,692.5 points.
Here's what has been happening on the market today:
Afterpay pushes higher.
The Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price is pushing higher on Thursday after providing a regulatory update on its US operations. This follows reports that one of its rivals has been denied a license application by the California Department of Business Oversight (DBO). According to the release, an Afterpay subsidiary applied for a California finance lender's license through the DBO in 2019 and it was issued in November and remains valid today.
Tech shares rise.
A number of leading tech shares are on the rise on Thursday. Afterpay and WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) shares are amongst the strongest performers. Investors may be buying tech shares after a sharp pullback on Tuesday.
Gold miners drop lower.
Australian gold miners such as Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG) and St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) are tumbling lower on Thursday. This may be down to profit taking after some stellar gains earlier this week. At the time of writing the S&P/ASX All Ords Gold index is down by a sizeable 1%.
REA Group climbs.
The REA Group Limited (ASX: REA) share price is climbing higher on Thursday following the release of the latest CoreLogic house price data. According to the release, house prices finished the year strongly. The Corelogic National Index rose 4% over the December quarter. A key highlight was Sydney house prices which jumped 6.2% in the final quarter.
Best and worst performers.
The best performer on the ASX 200 on Thursday has been the Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price with a 7% gain on no news. Going the other way, profit taking appears to be weighing on the Polynovo Ltd (ASX: PNV) share price. It is down over 3% at lunch despite there being no news out of it. However, it was one of the best performers on the index in 2019 with a gain of over 200%.
