At lunch on Wednesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is back on form and is charging higher. The benchmark index is currently up 1.6% to 6,050.2 points.
Here's what is happening on the market today:
Buy now pay later shares sink.
Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and its buy now pay later rivals have continued to sink lower on Wednesday. Investors have been selling their shares following an announcement by PayPal yesterday. That announcement revealed that the payments giant will be launching Pay in 4 in the United States in the final quarter of the year. Pay in 4 is a buy now pay later offering which allows consumers to pay for items in four interest-free instalments.
IOOF share price crashes lower.
The IOOF Holdings Limited (ASX: IFL) share price has crashed materially lower on Wednesday after returning from a trading halt. Investors have been selling the financial services company's shares following the completion of the institutional component of its $1,040 million capital raising. IOOF raised a total of $734 million from institutional investors at a significant 24.4% discount of $3.50. This capital raising was undertaken to partly fund the acquisition of the National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) wealth business, MLC Wealth for $1,440 million.
Bank shares mixed.
The big four banks are having a mixed day on Wednesday and are acting as a bit of a drag on proceedings. The best performer in the group has been the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price with a gain of 1.2%.
The best and worst ASX 200 performers.
The best performer on the ASX 200 on Wednesday has been the Western Areas Ltd (ASX: WSA) share price with a 6% gain. This morning the nickel producer provided a positive update on its Odysseus mine. The worst performer on the index by some distance has been the IOOF share price with a massive 21% decline. This follows the aforementioned capital raising.
