At lunch on Friday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to end the week on a positive note. The benchmark index is currently up 0.4% to 6,741 points.
Here's what is happening on the market today:
Afterpay hits record high.
The Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price is surging higher for a second day in a row and reached a record high this morning. Bullish sentiment in the buy now pay later sector following Affirm's very successful IPO and a broker note out of Morgan Stanley appear to be the key drivers of this gain. In respect to the latter, the broker has retained its overweight rating and lifted its price target on the Afterpay's shares to $136.00. Its analysts are expecting Afterpay to report active customers of approximately 13.6 million for the first half of FY 2021. This will be a 37.4% increase from 9.9 million active customers at the end of FY 2020.
Bank shares push higher again.
It has been another positive day of trade for most of the big four banks on Friday. At lunch, three of the big four banks are outperforming the index with solid gains. This appears to have been driven by positive commentary this week by the likes of Morgan Stanley. The broker believes bank shares will go higher in 2021 as earnings and dividends start to recover. The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price is the best performer in the group with a 2% gain. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price is the laggard in the group and down 0.3% at lunch.
Resolute disappoints.
The Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG) share price is sinking lower today after the release of a disappointing update. According to the release, Resolute recorded gold production of 89,888 ounces during the three months ended 31 December. This led to its calendar year production coming in at 395,136 ounces, which falls short of its downgraded guidance of 400,000 ounces. In 2021, it expects production to fall to between 350,000 to 375,000 ounces.
Best and worst ASX 200 performers.
The best performer on the ASX 200 on Friday has been the Afterpay share price with a gain of just over 6%. This follows the release of a bullish broker note this week. The worst performer has been the Polynovo Ltd (ASX: PNV) share price with a 5.5% decline. Its shares have fallen heavily this week after its half year update underwhelmed.
