At lunch on Wednesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is pushing higher again. The benchmark index is currently up 0.2% to 7,130.7 points.
Here's what is happening on the market today:
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CBA share price cracks $100
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price broke through the $100 mark for the first time and hit a record high of $100.30 this morning. When Australia's largest bank hit that level, it meant its shares were up an impressive 20% since the start of the year. This has been driven by improving investor sentiment in the banking sector following recent result releases.
ALS result impresses
The ALS Ltd (ASX: ALQ) share price is storming higher today after its full year result impressed investors. The global testing, inspection, and certification company reported a 5% decline in revenue to $1,761.4 million and a 1.5% reduction in underlying net profit after tax to $185.9 million. The latter does not include government subsidies. This was a huge improvement on its first half performance.
Tech shares rise
The tech sector is playing a key role in driving the ASX 200 higher on Wednesday. The likes of Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) are recording solid gains. As a result, at the time of writing, the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) is up a solid 2%. This appears to have been driven by easing bond yields and Nasdaq futures pointing higher on Wall Street.
Best and worst ASX 200 performers
The best performer on the ASX 200 on Wednesday is the Chalice Mining Ltd (ASX: CHN) share price with a 10% gain. This is despite there being no news out of the gold explorer. The worst performer has been the Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp Ltd (ASX: FPH) share price with a 3.5% decline. Investors appear nervous ahead of the medical device company's results release tomorrow.
