At lunch on Thursday the S&P/ASX 200 index is on course to end its winning streak with a sharp decline. At noon the benchmark index is down 0.75% to 6,237.4 points.
Here's what has been happening on the ASX 200 today:
Banks drop lower.
The banking sector has acted as a drag on proceedings on Thursday. All of the big four banks are in the red at lunch, with Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) shares leading the way with declines of around 0.7%.
Graincorp announces demerger plans.
The Graincorp Ltd (ASX: GNC) share price has pushed 4% higher after announcing plans to demerge its global malting business. This will result in two independent ASX-listed companies, MaltCo and New Graincorp, and is expected to unlock significant value for shareholders. MaltCo will be a global malting and craft brewing distribution business and the world's fourth largest independent maltster. In FY 2018 the business generated EBITDA of $170 million.
Syrah beats its guidance.
Also climbing strongly today is the Syrah Resources Ltd (ASX: SYR) share price. The graphite miner's shares have stormed 11% higher at lunch after it released a first quarter update. According to the release, the company achieved production of 48kt during the quarter, compared to guidance of 45kt. Furthermore, the company finished the period with cash of US$62 million, notably higher than its guidance of between US$55 million and US$57 million.
Galaxy changes its CEO.
The Galaxy Resources Limited (ASX: GXY) share price has dropped 2% after the lithium miner announced the surprise appointment of a new CEO. Galaxy has appointed former BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) production manager and Iluka Resources Limited (ASX: ILU) executive Simon Hay as its new chief executive officer with effect from July. The company's current CEO, Anthony Tse, will move into an executive director role.
Best and worst performers.
The best performer on the ASX 200 at lunch is the Syrah share price with its 11% gain. The next best performer is the Eclipx Group Ltd (ASX: ECX) share price which has rebounded 6% higher after coming under pressure on Wednesday after its merger with McMillan Shakespeare Limited (ASX: MMS) was terminated. The worst performer is the Inghams Group Ltd (ASX: ING) share price which has tumbled 8% lower after the AFR reported that TPG Capital was selling down its stake.
