At lunch on Thursday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has followed the lead of US markets and is pushing higher. The benchmark index is currently up 0.65% to 7,352.5 points.
Here's what is happening on the ASX 200 today:
NAB half-year results disappoint
The National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price is in the red today after the bank's half-year results disappointed. For the six months ended 31 March, NAB reported a 4.6% increase in revenue to $9,071 million and a 4.1% lift in cash earnings to $3,480 million. However, this was short of the market's expectations. Furthermore, NAB has abandoned its cost base targets and now expects its operating expenses to increase by 2% to 3% in FY 2022.
Janus Henderson shares crash
Investors have been selling down the Janus Henderson Group (ASX: JHG) share price on Thursday after the fund manager's quarterly update underwhelmed. Janus Henderson reported first quarter operating income of US$124.6 million. This was down 21% from the fourth quarter and 35.3% over the prior corresponding period.
Qantas acquisition
The Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) share price is falling today after the airline operator announced an agreement to acquire Alliance Aviation Services Ltd (ASX: AQZ). The company has offered one Qantas share per Alliance share. This represents a 35% premium to the $3.51 Alliance share price at yesterday's close and values the fly-in, fly-out operator at an enterprise value of $919.2 million.
Best and worst ASX 200 performers
The best performer on the ASX 200 on Thursday has been the Imugene Limited (ASX: IMU) share price with a 7% gain. The biotech's shares are rebounding after crashing to a 52-week low this week. Going the other way, the Janus Henderson share price is the worst performer with a 15% decline. This follows the fund manager's aforementioned quarterly update.
