ASX 200 live: CBA at fresh highs; L1 Capital and Platinum Asset merger; Woolworths mixed quarter

Could CBA's surge be linked to another short trade? Shares in Platinum and L1 Capital rise on talks for an $18bn merger. Mining and energy declines weigh.

CBA, led by CEO Matt Comyn, has seen some strange trading recently. Picture: Adam Yip

Welcome to the Trading Day blog for Thursday, May 1. The ASX 200 index closed 0.2 per cent higher to 8145.60 points on strong tech stocks, with mining and energy stocks leading losses on commodity price falls.

Wall Street's major indexes closed mixed after weak gross domestic growth data for the first quarter of the year. The S&P 500 closed 0.2 per cent higher, the Dow Jones index was up 0.4 per cent and the technology-focused Nasdaq index fell 0.1 per cent.

Cryptocurrency giant bitcoin was under $US95,000 at 5pm AEST.

The Aussie dollar was trading around US64c.

Originally published as ASX 200 live: CBA at fresh highs; L1 Capital and Platinum Asset merger; Woolworths mixed quarter