At lunch on Tuesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has followed the lead of U.S. markets and is surging higher. The benchmark index is currently up 2% to 6,044.7 points.
Here's what is happening on the market today:
Big four banks bounce back.
The big four banks were out of form and weighed heavily on the market on Monday. Today is a very different story and the banks are helping propel the ASX 200 higher. All four banks are trading notably higher at lunch, with the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price the best performer with a gain of 3%.
Wesfarmers update.
The Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) share price is pushing higher today after an update on its Victorian operations. The conglomerate advised that the company's key Bunnings stores in the region will remain open for trade customers. And while Bunnings will be closed for in-store retail customers, click and collect options will be available. The same applies to its Officeworks stores. However, its Kmart and Target stores in the region will be unable to service customers in-store.
BWP delivers.
The BWP Trust (ASX: BWP) share price is on the rise on Tuesday after delivering a solid full year result. Despite the pandemic, the Bunnings landlord delivered a 1% increase in profit before gains on investment properties to $117.1 million. Including property gains, BWP's profit was up 24.4% to $210.6 million. Positively, BWP was able to collect rent largely as normal during the year. Only $435,886 of rent abatements were granted during the period. This allowed it to increase its distribution by 1% in FY 2020 to 18.29 cents per unit.
Tech shares storm higher.
The tech sector has been a great place to be today. A number of popular tech shares are storming notably higher such as Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA). As a result, at lunch the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology index is up a sizeable 4%. This follows a very positive night of trade on the technology-focused Nasdaq index.
Best and worst ASX 200 performers.
The best performer on the ASX 200 on Tuesday has been the Afterpay share price with a gain of over 6.5%. This is despite the payments company falling short of its share purchase plan target this morning. The worst performer has been the Perseus Mining Limited (ASX: PRU) share price with a decline of 2.5%. Demand for risk off assets like gold miners has softened today after investor sentiment improved.
