At lunch on Thursday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to extend its winning run. The benchmark index is currently up 0.3% to 7,290.4 points.
Here's what is happening on the ASX 200 today:
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NAB Q1 update impresses
The National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price is charging higher today after delivering a better than expected first quarter update. For the three months ended 31 December, NAB delivered a 12% increase in cash earnings to $1.8 billion. This was 13.2% ahead of Bell Potter's estimate of $1.59 billion and is run-rating 6% ahead of what is implied by Goldman Sachs' first half forecasts.
AMP shares rise on full year results
The AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP) share price is on the rise today following the release of its full year results. The embattled financial services company reported a 53% increase underlying net profit after tax to $356 million. And while on a statutory basis AMP recorded a loss of $252 million for the 12 months, this was due to previously announced impairment charges which were mainly non-cash write-downs.
ASX CEO to retire before CHESS replacement completes
The ASX Ltd (ASX: ASX) share price is tumbling today after releasing its results and announcing the impending retirement of its CEO, Dominic Stevens. After six years in the top job, the CEO will be stepping down later this year. This comes at a particularly tricky time for the stock exchange operator. It is in the process of replacing its ageing CHESS clearing and settlement system with a blockchain-based distributed ledger technology (DLT). Investors may be surprised that Stevens isn't sticking around to see the project through to completion in 2023.
Best and worst ASX 200 performers
The best performer on the ASX 200 on Thursday has been the Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) share price with an 8% gain. This follows a positive response from brokers to its half year results. One of those is Macquarie, which has retained its outperform rating and lifted its price target to $21.00. The worst performer has been the ASX share price with a 3.5% decline following its CEO retirement bombshell.
