At lunch on Wednesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has given back its early gains and is dropping lower. The benchmark index is currently down 0.2% to 6,576.6 points.
Here's what has been happening on the market today:
Zip delivers record November.
The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price is trading lower despite revealing a record performance during November. The buy now pay later provider delivered record transaction value of $577.1 million for the month. This is up 44% on October and more than 100% year on year. Based on this, Zip's transaction value is now annualising at almost $7 billion. Management advised that this was driven by a 157% increase in monthly transaction numbers and a 104% year on year increase in customer numbers to 5.3 million.
Mesoblast rockets.
The Mesoblast limited (ASX: MSB) share price jumped as much as 19% higher this morning after the release of an announcement relating to its remestemcel-L product. That announcement revealed that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation for remestemcel-L in the treatment of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) due to COVID-19 infection.
Westpac general insurance sale.
The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price is edging lower today despite announcing the sale of its Westpac General Insurance and Westpac General Insurance Services businesses to Allianz for $725 million. The two parties have also entered into an exclusive 20-year agreement for the distribution of general insurance products to Westpac's customers. Management notes that the sale will add around 12 bps to Westpac's common equity Tier 1 capital ratio.
Best and worst ASX 200 performers.
The best performer on the ASX 200 at lunch is the Sandfire Resources Ltd (ASX: SFR) share price with an 8.5% gain. This morning Morgan Stanley retained its overweight rating and $6.60 price target on its shares. It was pleased with its T3 progress. The worst performer has been the Worley Ltd (ASX: WOR) share price with a 3% decline on no news.
