The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is experiencing a lukewarm reception on Wednesday.
Investors are being cautious today amid strong wage data that suggests the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) may be inclined to raise the cash rate by 40 basis points. This would bring the country's cash rate to 0.75% — making debt more expensive.
So, it might not come as a surprise to hear that the tech sector is the worst-performing today. Tracking closely behind is the materials corner of the market. Specifically, lithium shares are feeling the sting of Goldman Sachs' negative outlook on the battery commodity.
However, there are a few ASX 200 shares that are performing far better than the index today.
These ASX 200 shares are green all over
More than half of the companies inside the ASX 200 are in the red on Wednesday afternoon. Under these circumstances, it can be insightful to get a sense of which shares investors are remaining confident in.
One of the three holding its own today is iron ore miner, Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG). Shares in the ASX 200 constituent are swapping hands at $20.73, up a tidy 3.1% from their previous close.
For context, the benchmark index is only up 0.15% this afternoon. With no announcements out, it appears the strength stems from an improvement in iron ore prices overnight.
Another company showering in gains today is TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG), one of Australia's largest telecos. As the closing bell approaches, the company's shares are ~3% above where they were at the end of yesterday's session at $5.92.
While it's hard to say, the solid showing might be attributable to news that Optus is not happy with plans for TPG and Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) to buddy up. A deal is on the table for the two to share access to each other's respective networks — a move that could hurt Optus' edge.
Speak of the devil… Telstra is our final ASX 200 share going above and beyond the benchmark this afternoon. The largest network provider in Australia is trading 2.84% higher at $3.99 per share. As mentioned above, this might be due to Optus' nervousness.
