- The ASX200 is trading 1.08% higher at 7403.3 after lunchtime.
- Telstra shares rise on 5-year renewal of Defence contract.
- Eclipx rallies after releasing FY21 results including 156% surge in cash.
The Australian market is trading sharply higher today as all sectors aside from the gold miners trade in positive territory led by financials and materials stocks rallying more than 1.4% each.
The tech sector is rallying today led by Altium gaining 3.21%, Technology One up just under 2% and Appen trading 1.35% higher.
Bitcoin is trading 3.11% higher over the last 24-hours at US$63,024.44 at 1:30pm AEDT as the Commonwealth Bank announced it will allow customers to buy and sell cryptocurrency in 2022 if a trial in the coming weeks is successful. The CBA?s move is a first for Australian big banks.
Telstra shares are on the rise today after the telco giant announced the renewal of a major contract with the Department of Defence. Under the 5-year deal worth over $1bn, Telstra will continue delivering critical networks and telecommunications services for the Australian Department of Defence.
Making headlines, Australian-based leading vehicle fleet leasing, fleet management and diversified financial services provider Eclipx is shooting higher today after releasing FY21 results. For the year, Eclipx reported new business writings up 2% to $644m, net corporate debt decreased 80% compared to FY20 to $20m, and cash net profit after tax and amortisation soared 156.3% YoY to $86.15m.
And Facebook is shutting down the use of facial recognition in its platform due to growing concerns of privacy breaches, with the thousands of faces already scanned set to be discarded from the system upon removal of the technology.