At lunch on Thursday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is back on form and storming higher. The benchmark index is currently up 0.7% to 6,159.7 points.
Here's what has been happening on Thursday:
Afterpay delivers more strong growth.
The Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price is trading flat at lunch following the release of its full year results. The buy now pay later provider was on form again in FY 2020 and delivered a 112% increase in underlying sales to $11.1 billion. This strong result was driven by increased repeat usage and a 116% lift in active customers to 9.9 million. In addition to this, the company spoke about its expansion plans. As well as launching in Canada and Europe, management revealed that it is looking into expanding into select Asian markets in FY 2021.
Woolworths pushes higher on FY 2020 result.
The Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) share price is pushing higher on Thursday following the release of its FY 2020 results. Woolworths reported an 8.1% increase in sales to $63,675 million for the 12 months. This was driven by strong sales growth across all businesses but its Hotels business. Online sales were particularly strong, growing 41.8% across its brands to $3,523 million. Pleasingly, Woolworths has reported strong sales growth for the first 8 weeks of FY 2021.
Appen share price sinks on half year update.
The Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) share price is sinking lower today after the release of its half year results. Although the artificial intelligence company delivered strong sales and statutory earnings growth, it only reaffirmed its guidance for the full year. I suspect a recent surge in the Appen share price is an indication that many investors were expecting an upgrade.
Best and worst ASX 200 performers.
The best performer on the ASX 200 on Thursday has been the Steadfast Group Ltd (ASX: SDF) share price with an 8% gain. This may be down to a broker note out of Credit Suisse. This morning it retained its outperform rating and lifted its price target to $3.80. The worst performer is the Appen share price with a 12% decline following its aforementioned half year update.
