At lunch on Thursday the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has fought back from a heavy early decline to be flat at 5,578 points.
Here's what has been happening on the ASX 200 so far today:
Bank shares recover from 52-week lows.
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ), National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB), and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) shares have edged higher at lunch after dropping to 52-week lows this morning following news that the U.S. Federal Reserve has hiked interest rates. U.S. rates have an impact on the borrowing costs for Australia's major banks.
MYOB takeover offer revised.
The MYOB Group Ltd (ASX: MYO) share price has dropped 11% to $3.00 after the accounting software company provided an update on discussions with private equity firm KKR. Following the completion of due diligence and the finalisation of debt funding commitments, KKR has revised its offer price down from $3.77 per share to $3.40 per share.
InvoCare shares sink lower following rival's trading update.
The InvoCare Limited (ASX: IVC) share price is down 5.5% at lunch after one of the funeral company's rivals provided a trading update this morning. In its update, Propel Funeral Partners Ltd (ASX: PFP) warned that continued weakness in funeral market conditions in Australia means that it expects operating net profit after tax to be in line with the prior corresponding period. This weakness has been blamed on the funeral industry cycling through a strong prior corresponding period which included a severe flu season.
Syrah share price slides despite sales agreement.
The Syrah Resources Ltd (ASX: SYR) share price has dropped 3.5% lower at lunch despite announcing a binding term sales agreement with Qingdao Langruite Graphite for a minimum of 48kt of natural graphite from the company's Balama project in 2019. The agreement's financial terms have been kept confidential, making it difficult to judge its merits.
Best and worst performers on the ASX 200.
The best performer on the ASX 200 at lunch is the Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ASX: API) share price with its 3% gain. Last week it proposed a merger with rival Sigma Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SIG). Going the other way is the MYOB share price, closely followed by the Orocobre Limited (ASX: ORE) share price which is down 6%. Most lithium miners have tumbled notably lower today.
