At lunch on Wednesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a decline. The benchmark index is currently down 0.5% to 6,646.5 points.
Here's what has been happening on the market today:
Energy shares storm higher.
One area of the market performing very strongly on Wednesday is the energy sector. The likes of Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) are recording strong gains after oil prices jumped higher overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price rose 5.1% to US$50.06 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price stormed 5.1% higher to US$53.70 a barrel. This was driven by news that Saudi Arabia will cut production by 1 million barrels a day.
Bank shares lower.
The big four banks are all trading lower on Wednesday and are acting as a drag on the ASX 200's performance. Once again, the worst performer in the group has been the National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price. Its shares are down 0.6% at the time of writing. However, despite this decline, NAB's shares are still up 24% over the last three months.
Zip's AsiaPay partnership.
The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price is pushing higher on Wednesday after signing a partnership with AsiaPay. It is the leading digital payment service and technology player in Asia. According to the release, the deal will see AsiaPay offer merchants the ability to accept digital mobile wallet payment via Zip.
Best and worst performers.
The best performer on the ASX 200 on Wednesday has been the Oil Search Ltd (ASX: OSH) share price. Its shares are up 5% at lunch after oil prices jumped. The worst performer has been the Nanosonics Ltd (ASX: NAN) share price with a 6% decline. This is despite there being no news out of the infection prevention company.
