At lunch on Wednesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has given back its morning gains and has dropped lower. The benchmark index is down 0.2% to 5,943.8 points.
Here's what has been happening on the market today:
Afterpay hits record high on UK update.
The Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price jumped to a record high of $62.33 this morning. This follows the release of an announcement by the payments company after the market close on Tuesday. The announcement revealed that Afterpay's UK-based Clearpay business now has over 1 million active customers on its platform after a year in the country. Management also notes that consumers are using its platform more frequently than they were in the U.S. at the same stage.
Sonic Healthcare update.
The Sonic Healthcare Limited (ASX: SHL) share price is storming higher on Wednesday after the release of a trading update. That update reveals that after the pandemic hit the healthcare company hard in March and April, its business has bounced back strongly in May and June. As a result of this, the company has reinstated its guidance and advised that it expects its EBITDA to be broadly flat in FY 2020.
TPG Telecom scheme meeting.
The TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPM) share price is pushing higher on Wednesday after shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favour of its merger with Vodafone Australia. According to the AFR, 99.68% of proxies voted in favour of the deal. This means the companies could complete the mega merger on July 13.
Best and worst ASX 200 shares.
The best performer on the ASX 200 on Wednesday has been the Perseus Mining Limited (ASX: PRU) share price with a sizeable 8% gain. This follows a jump in the gold price overnight. The worst performer on the ASX 200 has been the Viva Energy Group Ltd (ASX: VEA) share price with a 4% decline. This is despite there being no news out of the fuel retailer.
