In late morning trade the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has given back its early gains and is dropping lower. At the time of writing the benchmark index is down 0.25% to 6,116.4 points.
Four shares that are not letting that hold them back are listed below. Here's why they are storming higher:
The AMP Limited (ASX: AMP) share price has jumped 11% to $1.53. This morning the financial services company released its half year results and revealed an underlying profit of $149 million. It also revealed plans to return $544 million to shareholders. This comprises $344 million via a fully franked special dividend of 10 cents per share and up to $200 million via an on-market share buy-back.
The Premier Investments Limited (ASX: PMV) share price is up almost 9% to $18.39. This follows the release of a second half trading update by the retail conglomerate. Although the company's retail business will report a decline in overall sales, the business still expects to deliver profit growth in FY 2020. This is due to a big jump in higher margin online sales during the financial year.
The QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE) share price has stormed 5.5% higher to $10.61. This morning the insurance giant released its half year results and revealed a statutory net loss after tax of $712 million. This was actually better than its guidance for a loss of $750 million for the half. This reflects the impact of COVID-19, catastrophe experience and a pre-tax investment loss of $90 million. Despite this loss, QBE declared a 4 cents per share interim dividend.
The Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE) share price has jumped 12% to $12.60 following the release of its FY 2020 results. For the 12 months, the wine company reported a 6% decline in net sales revenue to $2,649.5 million and a 22% decline in EBITS to $533.5 million. Treasury Wine Estates' performance was impacted by challenging conditions in the US wine market and the COVID-19 pandemic. The latter impacted the sales of high margin luxury products.
