It's been a pretty disappointing hump day for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and ASX shares so far this Wednesday At the time of writing, the ASX 200 has slipped by a nasty 0.86%, putting the Index at just over 7,300 points.
But that doesn't mean that all ASX 200 shares are having a bad day today. In fact, there are two that just smashed both 52-week and multi-year highs. Let's dig in.
2 ASX 200 shares at new highs today
QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE)
First up is ASX 200 insurance giant QBE. The QBE share price has had a cracker of a session so far. The company opened modestly at $15.27 a share this morning but has climbed higher as the day has progressed, and touched a new high of $15.48 a share just after midday today.
Not only is that a new 52-week high for QBE, but the highest the company has traded at since way back in 2013.
Investors have been flocking to QBE shares ever since the insurer released its latest earnings report last month. As we covered at the time, these earnings saw the company announce a huge increase to its dividend, built on a 5.2% rise in profits after tax.
Since these earnings were released, QBE has risen by almost 15%:
Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG)
This Wednesday has also been exceptionally kind to ASX 200 energy generator and retailer Origin. Origin shares opened at $8.11 this morning before rising as high as $8.19 soon after market open.
That's a new 52-week high for the company, but also the highest Origin shares have traded at since the pre-pandemic days of early 2020.
In Origin's case, investors have been swarming into this share ever since a consortium led by Brookfield Asset Management made a revised takeover offer for the company last month.
The consortium offered $8.90 a share following Origin's latest earnings, which have seen the company rise more than 12% over the past month:
