ASX 200 up 0.3%: CSL downgraded, Zip drops, Charter Hall impresses

The ASX 200 is on course to end the week on a positive note…

James Mickleboro

Author Bio James Mickleboro is an investment writer and analyst who has worked with The Motley Fool Australia for 10 years, covering ASX shares, market news, broker research, dividends, growth stocks, and long-term investing ideas. Over that time, James has written extensively about Australian equities and developed a particular focus on helping everyday investors understand the stories behind share price moves, company announcements, broker views, and broader market trends. His best investment recommendation was identifying Afterpay while it was still a small-cap growth share, before its rise into one of Australia’s biggest technology success stories. His worst investment lesson came from CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL), where he was burnt by believing management could turn the business around sooner than the market ultimately allowed. Areas of Expertise ASX shares Growth and dividend investing Broker research Interpreting company announcements Market news Portfolio strategy Long-term wealth creation Education Bachelor of Politics, Philosophy and Economics. CFA Institute Social Media LinkedIn James is the founder of Evermore Asset Management, which focuses on undercovered global stocks. Favourite Investment Quote "It’s far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price." — Warren Buffett

Published June 25, 2021 12:05 pm AEST

At lunch on Friday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on track to end the week on a positive note. The benchmark index is currently up 0.3% to 7,294.8 points.

Here's what has been happening on the market today:

woman talking on the phone and giving financial advice whilst analysing the stock market on the computer with a pen — Image source: Getty Images

CSL shares downgraded

The CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) share price is trading lower today. This appears to have been driven by a broker note out of Credit Suisse this morning. According to the note, the broker has downgraded CSL's shares to a neutral rating and trimmed the price target on them to $310.00. The broker is expecting CSL's gross margins to come under pressure due to higher plasma donation costs in the United States.

Zip to be hit by new Afterpay product?

The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price is trading lower today after analysts at Citi suggested that the new pay anywhere offering from Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) could be a threat to its US business. This new service will allow US consumers to generate a single-use card to enter at checkout for some of the largest retailers in the lucrative market such as Amazon. Citi notes that there is a high customer overlap between Afterpay and Zip's QuadPay business in the US.

Charter Hall update impresses

The Charter Hall Group (ASX: CHC) share price is pushing higher today after the property company provided an update on property revaluations. According to the release, the company's funds under management (FUM) Platform will generate gross valuation increases of $3.3 billion from these revaluations. That's even after factoring in $0.6 billion of development capex. This will result in forecast FUM rising to approximately $52 billion, up $12 billion over the course of FY 2021.

Best and worst ASX 200 performers

The best performer on the ASX 200 today has been the Chalice Mining Ltd (ASX: CHN) share price with a 7% gain. Although there has been no news out of the gold explorer, its shares were given a boost by being added to the ASX 200 index on Monday. The worst performer has been the WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) share price with a 3% decline. This is despite there being no news out of the logistics solutions company.

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