At lunch on Thursday the S&P/ASX 200 index is on course to extend its positive run with a solid gain. At the time of writing the benchmark index is up 0.5% to 6,673.1 points.
Here's what has been happening on the market today:
Bank shares hit 52-week highs.
A key driver of today's gain has been the Australian banking sector. All the big four banks are on the rise again on Thursday and posting solid gains. In fact, both National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) shares climbed to 52-week highs this morning. The rest of the big four aren't too far away from their own highs as well.
Tech shares rise.
A number of Australia's leading tech shares have pushed higher on Thursday following a positive night of trade on Wall Street's technology-focused Nasdaq index. Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) and WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) shares are amongst the best performers with gains of 3.5% and 2%, respectively.
ACCC approves Elders acquisition.
After a slow start to the day the Elders Ltd (ASX: ELD) share price has pushed higher following news that the ACCC will not oppose its $157 million acquisition of rural wholesale buying group Australian Independent Rural Retailers (AIRR). The competition watchdog decided that the combination of Elders and AIRR would not lessen competition. Management expects the acquisition to be highly accretive to earnings.
Best and worst performers.
The best performer on the S&P/ASX 200 index at lunch is the Blackmores Limited (ASX: BKL) share price with a gain of over 5.5%. The health supplements company's shares are now up almost 10% in the space of three days on the back of no news. Going the other way is the IOOF Holdings Limited (ASX: IFL) share price with a decline of 3.5%. This is largely due to its shares trading ex-dividend this morning.
