At lunch on Friday the S&P/ASX 200 index is on track to end the week on a very disappointing note. The benchmark index is down 3.15% to 6,448 points at the time of writing.
Here's what is happening on the market today:
ASX 200 tumbles on coronavirus concerns.
The S&P/ASX 200 index is a sea of red at lunch after coronavirus concerns escalated following its spread across Europe and the United States. Overnight in Europe Germany's DAX fell 3.2% and London's FTSE dropped 3.5%. Things were even worse on Wall Street with the Dow Jones tumbling 4.4% or 1,190 points, the S&P 500 falling 4.4%, and the Nasdaq dropping 4.6%. The latter has put a lot of pressure on tech shares such as Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) today.
NEXTDC half year results.
On any other day the NEXTDC Ltd (ASX: NXT) share price would most likely be storming higher. But at lunch the data centre operator's shares are trading flat following the release of its half year results. For the six months ended December 31, NEXTDC reported revenue of $97.7 million and underlying EBITDA of $50.9 million. This represents an 8% and 21% increase, respectively, over the prior corresponding period.
Harvey Norman result.
The Harvey Norman Holdings Limited (ASX: HVN) share price has been sold off today after failing to match the high expectations set by rival JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH) earlier this month. During the first half of FY 2020, the retailer delivered a reported net profit after tax of $213.59 million, down 4.1% over the prior corresponding period. It also warned that the second half had started poorly, with aggregated franchisee sales for the period from January 1 to February 27 down by 3.2%.
Best and worst performers.
The best performer on the benchmark index today is the AP Eagers Ltd (ASX: APE) share price with a gain of just 0.5%. Investors have been buying its shares over the last couple of days following the announcement of a major asset divestment. The worst performer on the ASX 200 at lunch is the Silver Lake Resources Limited (ASX: SLR) share price with a 12% decline. This appears to be down to profit taking in the gold miner sector after a very strong gain in 2020.
