At lunch on Thursday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) looks set to end its positive run. The benchmark index is currently down a disappointing 1.3% to 5,914.6 points.
Here's what happening on the market today:
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227,700 jobs lost in May.
The ASX 200 has come under pressure after the Australian Bureau of Statistics released its unemployment data. According to the release, Australia lost a further 227,700 jobs in May, bringing the total number of unemployed people to 927,000. This has lifted the unemployment rate to 7.1%, compared to 6.4% in April and 5.2% in March.
Bank shares tumble.
A combination of this news and U.S. futures dropping notably lower appears to be weighing heavily on the banks today. All the big four banks are deep in the red at lunch and acting as a drag on the ASX 200. The worst performer in the group is the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price with a 2.3% decline.
Ord Minnett increases Afterpay price target.
The Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price could still go higher from here according to one leading broker. A note out of Ord Minnett this morning reveals that its analysts have retained their buy rating and almost doubled their price target to $64.70. It believes Afterpay could have almost 10 million active customers on its platform by the end of the financial year. The Afterpay share price is up 1% to $58.34 at the time of writing.
Best and worst ASX shares.
The best performer on the ASX 200 on Thursday has been the A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) share price with a 3.5% gain. Earlier this week analysts at UBS suggested the infant formula company might outperform its guidance in FY 2020. Going the other way, the worst performer is the AP Eagers Ltd (ASX: APE) share price with a 5.5% decline on the back of no news.
