ASX 200 lunch time report: Altium, ANZ, & Eclipx higher

Altium Limited (ASX:ALU), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX:ANZ), and St Barbara Ltd (ASX:SBM) shares are on watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday…

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The S&P/ASX 200 index is on course to bounce back from yesterday's sell off. At lunch the benchmark index is up 0.55% to 6,274.9 points.

Here's what has been happening on the market today:

Bank shares mixed.

The big four banks are mixed on Wednesday. Two of the big four banks are in the red at lunch, with the National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price the worst performer in the group with a decline of 0.2%. The best performer is the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) share price with a gain of 0.5%.

Tech shares rebound.

The Australian tech sector has rebounded strongly from yesterday's selloff. The Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) share price has been the standout with a gain of 4.5% at lunch. At the time of writing the S&P/ASX 200 Info Tech index is up an impressive 1.4%.

St Barbara announces major acquisition.

The St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) share price has been placed in a trading halt on Wednesday whilst it undertakes an acquisition and an associated capital raising. St Barbara has entered an agreement to acquire Canada based and TSX-listed low-cost gold producer Atlantic Gold Corporation for a total equity value of A$768 million. To fund the acquisition the company aims to raise A$490 million via an underwritten entitlement offer at $2.89 per share.

Best and worst performers.

The best performer on the ASX 200 at lunch is the Eclipx Group Ltd (ASX: ECX) share price with a 8% gain. Its shares were sold off earlier this week after a disappointing update and the announcement of large impairment charges. Some investors may have thought the selling was overdone. Going the other way is the Costa Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: CGC) share price which is down over 2% despite there being no news out of the horticulture company.

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended COSTA GRP FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Altium and National Australia Bank Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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