- The ASX200 is trading 0.5% lower on Wednesday at 7211.9 points.
- Swoop surges 8% on Countrytell acquisition worth $4.2 million.
- Medibank Private announced COVID-19 vaccination mandate for staff.
The Australian market is trading lower again today, down 0.5% at 7211.90 with the financials sector taking the biggest hit following New Zealand?s central bank raising the cash rate to 0.5% in its first rate hike in seven years.
The tech sector is leading the gains today, surging more than 1.6% after the Nasdaq?s strong session on Wall St overnight. Afterpay has recovered some losses from yesterday?s dive to trade 3.5% higher today, while Technology One and Xero each trade more than 1.8% higher.
Bitcoin is trading 4.12% higher over the last 24-hours at US$51,313.32 at 1pm AEDT.
Telecommunications provider Swoop is soaring today after announcing it has acquired another telecommunications provider to expand its regional network. Swoop announced it will acquire Newcastle-based internet services company Countrytell for $4.2m, of which $2.1m is cash and 2.1 million in Swoop shares.
Making headlines, Medibank Private shares are falling from a morning high today after the health insurance company announced nearly all employees will be required to have full COVID-19 vaccination by December 15 for retail staff and January 31, 2022 for all other staff, in order to continue working at the company.
And Tinder is rolling out its own in-app currency to offer a gamified way for users to spend and earn money in the app in a bid to keep users on the app for longer periods of time. The currency is a way for the dating app to monetise non-paying subscribers by allowing one-off, ad-hoc purchases.