The S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) was trading 1.5% higher at lunchtime today. Making news today on the ASX sharemarket was Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN), Seek Ltd. (ASX: SEK) and Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P).
Here’s what happened on the ASX 200 and Australian share market today before lunch.
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ASX 200 movers
1. Qantas Airways – up 4%
Qantas announced today that it is extending its flight cancellations for June and July, which were still set at pre-coronavirus levels. This has been extended from the end of May.
However, Qantas does have the ability to add back capacity if domestic and New Zealand restrictions ease in the coming weeks.
The airline announced another $550 million in funding against three wholly-owned Boeing 787-9 aircraft. That follows the $1.05 billion in March against seven 787-9s.
Qantas’ net debt is now at $5.8 billion, which is the middle of its target range. But, there are no financial covenants on any of its debt facilities and significant maturities until June 2021. Continue reading the full story here.
2. SEEK – up 3%
Supported by revenue growth of around 20% per year, Seek has leveraged its Australian cash flow into acquisitions for future growth. This strategy has been focused around taking minority (and eventually larger) stakes in the leading online job placements sites in Emerging Markets: Zhaopin (63 per cent owned) in China being a perfect example.
However, it has similar positions throughout Brazil, Thailand and Malaysia, countries where internet penetration is in its early stages. The company has further solidified its diversification by entering the less cyclical online education space, via venture capital investments and partnerships with the likes of Coursera.
Read the full article from Drew Meredith by clicking here.
3. Zip Co – up 7%
Zip Co is one of the largest buy now, pay later providers in Australia. Some of its largest clients include Bunnings Warehouse, Appliances Online, EB Games and Officeworks.
Over the last two days, it has seen successive strong share price growth. This is likely due to the news that rival credit provider Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) saw a 5% investment from Chinese company Tencent Holdings Ltd (HKG:0700). Afterpay has continued with its strong day of trading yesterday with a share price gain of 4% today.
This comes at the perfect time for both of these companies. Only two months ago both Zip Co and Afterpay were trading shares at yearly lows on the back of the Coronavirus (COVID-19).
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