The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is having a pretty pleasing day of trading thus far this Thursday. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 is up a pleasant 1.45% and back over 7,100 points. But that is currently being put to shame by the Block Inc CDI (ASX: SQ2) share price.
Block shares are currently up a very healthy 8.51% at $153.21 each after losing $141.20 yesterday and opening at $152.05 a share this morning. So what's behind this rather decisive move upwards that investors have given the new Afterpay owner today?
Well, there are a number of factors that could be helping to boost investor sentiment. The first is the general good mood of the market. While the ASX 200 is enjoying some healthy gains, most ASX tech shares are rocketing today. Apart from Block's move, we've seen some healthy movements from Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P), Appen Ltd (ASX: APX), Life360 Inc (ASX: 360), Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) and WiseTech Global Inc (ASX: WTC).
Afterpay, your debt is settled…
This follows similar moves in US tech shares on the American markets last night, particularly on the Nasdaq. That included Block Inc (NYSE: SQ), the company's primary US listing, jumping more than 11% overnight. Today, the BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ), which tracks the Nasdaq Index, has risen 2.84% so far.
But we've also got a Block-specific development today as well. This morning, before market open, Block announced that its Afterpay subsidiary has "redeemed 100% of the principal amount of the A$1.5 billion Zero Coupon Convertible Notes due 2026, as a result of the election of the [holders] to require Afterpay to redeem…".
In practice, this essentially means that Block has settled $1.5 billion in debts that Afterpay had taken out prior to Block's acquisition. The debt was scheduled to expire in 2026, so perhaps investors are happy that it won't be sitting on Block's books for that long.
Whatever the reason for today's strong move, it will no doubt have pleased many Block shareholders.
Block share price snapshot
Block shares have had a rather wild time of it lately. Although the company is now up more than 32% since 24 February, Block remains down 13.2% since its ASX listing back in January. At the current pricing, Block shares have a market capitalisation of US$64.92 billion.
