At lunch on Friday the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has given back its morning gains and is down 0.1% to 6,172.1 points.
Here's what has been happening on the ASX 200 so far today:
Bank shares sink lower.
The banks have been a major drag on proceedings on Friday. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares are the worst performers with declines of at least 1% at lunch. ANZ's shares have been hit after being downgraded to an underweight rating by analysts at Morgan Stanley.
Elders slides.
The Elders Ltd (ASX: ELD) share price is down 2% at lunch after the agribusiness company released an update after the market closed on Thursday. The market appears disappointed with Elders' guidance for the full year. Earnings before interest and tax is expected to be in the range of $72 million to $75 million for the 12 months ending September 30, compared to $74.67 million a year earlier.
Nufarm on the rise.
The Nufarm Limited (ASX: NUF) share price has risen strongly on Friday and is up 4% at lunch. This could have been driven by a positive broker note out of Macquarie. According to the note, the broker has held firm with its outperform rating, albeit with a trimmed price target of $7.19. Its analysts see a lot of value in its shares at this level and feel the market is overlooking its omega-3 expansion.
WiseTech and Xero climb higher.
One area of the market that is performing well today is the tech sector. Although the Nasdaq dropped 0.15% lower, this hasn't stopped WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) and Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) shares from pushing over 2% higher. This has helped lift the S&P/ASX 200 Info Tech index by 0.5% at lunch.
Best and worst performers.
The best performer on the ASX 200 at lunch is the Emeco Holdings Limited (ASX: EHL) share price which is up almost 6.5%. The earthmoving equipment hire company's shares have fallen heavily over the last six months, possibly leading to bargain hunters swooping in today. Going the other way is the Syrah Resources Ltd (ASX: SYR) share price which has fallen 4.5%. On Thursday the company released a disappointing quarterly update which revealed even weaker than expected prices for its graphite.
