At lunch on Thursday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on form and charging notably higher again. The benchmark index is currently up 1% to 6,999.3 points.
Here's what is happening on the market today:
ASX 200 surpasses 7,000 points
The ASX 200 broke through the 7,000 points mark and hit a new post-COVID high on Thursday morning. While all sectors are pushing higher today, the banks and miners have been doing a lot of the heavy lifting. All the big four banks are outperforming the market today as investor sentiment continues to improve thanks to a positive global economic outlook.
Tech shares push higher
The Australian tech sector is rising today despite the Nasdaq index's underwhelming session last night. The likes of Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) are pushing higher and helping to drive the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) 1% higher.
ASIC goes after Westpac
The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price is storming higher today despite being hit with civil proceedings by ASIC this morning. According to the release, the proceedings relate to the sale of consumer credit insurance products to approximately 384 of the bank's customers. The corporate watchdog alleges that Westpac supplied these products to certain customers who had not requested or agreed to acquire them.
Best and worst ASX 200 performers
The best performer on the ASX 200 on Thursday has been the Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield CDI (ASX: URW) share price with a 4.5% gain on no news. The worst performer has been the Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG) share price with a decline of almost 3%. The embattled gold miner's shares are out of favour with investors for both company-specific issues and reducing demand for safe haven assets.
