It has been another disappointing day of trade for the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO).
At lunch the benchmark index is down 0.65% to 5,631 points due partly to declines in the financial, tech, and materials sectors.
Here's what has been happening on the ASX 200 so far today:
Tech selloff.
Australian tech shares have been sold off on Thursday after Nasdaq futures pointed to a sharp decline on Wall Street tonight. The likes of Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX: APT), Altium Limited (ASX: ALU), and WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) have all fallen heavily.
Mining shares tumble lower.
The BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) share price has tumbled 2.5% lower at lunch despite being added to the Goldman Sachs conviction buy list this morning. The Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) share price is down by a similar amount as well.
Bank shares in the red.
One of the major drags on the ASX 200 on Thursday has been the big four banks. All four banks are in the red at lunch, with the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) share price the worst performer of the group with a 1.8% decline. The next worst performing bank share is National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) with a 1.6% decline.
CSL shares rated as a buy.
The CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) share price may have edged lower with the market today but one broker that is tipping big gains ahead is Citi. This morning the broker retained its buy rating and $218.00 price target on the biotherapeutics company's shares following its R&D update on Wednesday.
Best and worst performers.
The best performer on the ASX 200 at lunch is the Automotive Holdings Group Ltd (ASX: AHG) share price with a gain of 5%. Bargain hunters appear to be swooping in to buy the beaten down shares of the auto retailer. Going the other way is the Afterpay Touch share price which is down 5.5%, closely followed by the Pendal Group Ltd (ASX: PDL) share price which has fallen 5%. The latter went ex-dividend this morning.
