At lunch on Friday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to end a positive week in a subdued fashion. The benchmark index is currently down 0.2% to 6,811.6 points.
Here's what has been happening on the ASX 200 today:
Wild day for the Zip share price
It has been a wild day for the Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price on Friday. After storming as much as 15% higher in early trade, the buy now pay later provider's shares were down 4% in late morning trade. At the time of writing, the Zip share price is down 2%. On Thursday the company released its second quarter update and revealed stellar customer and transaction growth. This was particularly the case in the US market.
Lynas US update
The Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC) share price is rocketing higher today after signing a deal with the U.S. Department of Defense. According to the release, the rare earths producer has entered into an agreement with the United States Government to build a commercial Light Rare Earths separation plant in Texas. This is separate to its phase one work on a U.S. based Heavy Rare Earth separation facility. If that contract moves to phase two, it will be constructed on the same site.
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare impresses
The Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp Ltd (ASX: FPH) share price is storming higher today following the release of a trading update. That update reveals that demand for the medical device company's shares has remained strong. This led to the company's operating revenue increasing 73% over the prior corresponding period for the nine months ended 31 December 2020. In addition to this, management advised that it now expects to outperform its prior full year guidance.
Best and worst ASX 200 performers
The best performer on the ASX 200 on Friday has been the Lynas share price with a 12% gain following its US update. The worst performer has been the Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (ASX: URW) share price with a 7% decline. This morning the company announced the disposal of the SHiFT office building in Paris for 620 million euros.
