At lunch on Wednesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has continued its incredible run and is pushing notably higher again. The benchmark index is currently up 0.8% to 6,695.9 points.
Here's what is happening on the market today:
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Fisher & Paykel Healthcare delivers record half year results.
The Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp Ltd (ASX: FPH) share price is pushing higher today after reporting a record half year result. For the six months ended 30 September, the medical device company reported an 86% jump in net profit after tax to NZ$225.5 million. This was driven largely by a surge in demand for the company's ventilator products because of the pandemic. Looking ahead, management expects net profit after tax to be in the range of NZ$400 million to NZ$415 million. This is up from its previous guidance range of NZ$365 million to NZ$385 million.
Harvey Norman's strong trading update.
The Harvey Norman Holdings Limited (ASX: HVN) share price is edging lower today despite revealing strong sales and profit growth so far in FY 2021. The retail giant reported a 28.2% increase in aggregated sales revenue for the period 1 July to 21 November. On the bottom line, Harvey Norman delivered a whopping 160.1% increase in unaudited profit before tax to $341.11 million for the four months from 1 July to 31 October. Management has not provided any guidance and warned "the COVID-19 pandemic has caused, and continues to cause, great uncertainty about the future economy."
Xero notes offering.
The Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) share price is tumbling lower today after the cloud-based business and accounting software platform provider announced the pricing of a US$700 million convertible notes offering. Management advised that the proceeds will be used to repurchase existing notes and for potential acquisitions and strategic investments. Xero upsized its offering by US$100 million due to significant demand from across its global investor base.
Best and worst ASX 200 performers.
The best performer on the ASX 200 on Wednesday has been the Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) share price with a 10% gain. This could be down to reports that China is paying over the odds to secure coal from outside Australia. The worst performer has been the Mesoblast Limited (ASX: MSB) share price with a 5.5% decline. This appears to be down to profit taking after a 37% gain over the last three trading days.
