At lunch on Thursday the S&P/ASX 200 index has fought back from a morning in the red to be a fraction higher at 6,643.2 points.
Here's what has been happening on the market today:
Bank shares on the rise.
The majority of Australia's big four banks are on the rise on Thursday. The best performer in the group is the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price with a gain of 0.45%. The only member of the big four trading lower is the National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price which is down 0.4%.
Bravura Solutions makes final offer for GBST.
The Bravura Solutions Ltd (ASX: BVS) share price is 2% higher at lunch after the fintech company announced a third and final non-binding indicative proposal to acquire GBST Holdings Limited (ASX: GBT). Bravura Solutions has given GBST until the Friday afternoon to make a decision on its $3.00 per share offer. GBST advised that other companies are interested in acquiring it.
Shares trading ex-dividend.
The shares of property group Mirvac Group (ASX: MGR), airport operator Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD), toll road giant Transurban Group (ASX: TCL), and shopping centre operator Vicinity Centres (ASX: VCX) have all sunk lower on Thursday after trading ex-dividend this morning for their latest pay-outs. This has weighed heavily on the ASX 200 index.
Tech shares push higher.
A number of Australia's leading tech shares have followed the lead of their U.S. counterparts and pushed higher on Thursday. The Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) share price is leading the way with a gain of 3.5%. The Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) share price isn't far behind with a 2.5% gain at lunch.
Best and worst performers.
The best performer on the benchmark index at lunch is the BlueScope Steel Limited (ASX: BSL) share price which has pushed 4.5% higher despite there being no news out of it. The worst performer is the Cromwell Group (ASX: CMW) share price which has sunk 7% lower after completing its $375 million Institutional Placement. Cromwell raised the funds at $1.15 per share, which was a 7% discount to its last closing price.
