- ASX200 is trading 0.1% higher at 7516.40 after lunch.
- Sezzle falls again on provision for bad debts equalling 50% of revenue.
- Qantas shares fall on requirement of frontline staff to be fully vaccinated.
The Australian market is trading just 0.1% higher at 7516.4 after lunchtime as a strong rally for utilities stocks drives the key index into positive territory.
The tech sector is following the general market higher today led by Codan surging more than 2.5%, while Nuix and Wisetech Global each trade more than 2% higher.
Bitcoin is trading 3.80% lower in the last 24-hours at US$44,751.56 at 1:30pm AEST.
US-based BNPL provider Sezzle is taking a hit again today after reporting its provision for bad debts has skyrocketed to US$13.8m on revenues of US$27.8m for the three months ended June 30. Sezzle said the jump in bad debts to equal almost half of its revenues is as a result of its investment in expansion and the onboarding of large enterprise clients.
Making headlines, Qantas share price is trading in the red today after the national carrier announced it will require all frontline staff to be fully vaccinated by November to help keep flights in the air and prevent long-distance spread of the virus. Qantas? is just the second major Australian company to commit to the vaccination requirement.
And TikTok has partnered with decentralised music streaming service Audius to offer a first-of-its-kind feature enabling artists on Audius to offer their songs for TikTok users to include in their video creation and like their following back to Audius.