At lunch on Thursday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is out of form again and dropping notably lower. The benchmark index is currently down 0.9% to 6,652 points.
Here's what is happening on the market today:
Travel shares jump
News that the Federal Government has announced a major stimulus package to support the domestic tourism sector has given travel shares a boost today. The likes of Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT), Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN), and Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) are also pushing higher. They are expected to benefit from the government's plan to introduce a $1.2 billion package that will see certain regional domestic airline tickets cut by 50%.
Tech shares tumble
The Australian tech sector is acting as a drag on the ASX 200 on Thursday. At the time of writing, the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) is down a disappointing 2.8%. Among the worst performers in the sector are Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P). Investors appear concerned by the prospect of rising bond yields.
SEEK names its new CFO
The SEEK Limited (ASX: SEK) share price is edging lower today despite naming its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO). According to the release, Kate Koch will replace the outgoing Geoff Roberts when he retires at the end of June. Koch is currently the Chief Financial Officer of RMIT University, having held that role since 2017. Before that, she was Group Head of Finance & Performance at UK supermarket giant Tesco and the CFO of the Financial Times Group.
Best and worst ASX 200 performers
The best performer on the ASX 200 on Thursday has been the Flight Centre share price with a 9% gain. This follows the aforementioned announcement of government stimulus. The worst performer has been the Afterpay share price with an 8% decline. Investors continue to sell tech shares amid concerns over rising bond yields.
