At lunch on Friday the S&P/ASX 200 index is on course to finish the week on a positive note. At the time of writing the benchmark index is up 0.3% to 6,697.5 points.
Here's what has been happening on the market today:
Bank shares rise.
The banking sector is back on form again on Friday with three of the big four banks pushing higher at lunch. The best performer in the group is the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) share price with a gain of 0.4%. The laggard in the group is the National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price which has edged 0.2% lower.
Tech shares rise.
News that the United States and China plan to resume trade talks in Washington in October has given the tech sector a major boost on Friday. At lunch the S&P/ASX 200 Info Tech index is up 0.8% thanks to solid gains by the likes of Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) and WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC).
Gold price tumbles.
One area of the market which has failed to climb higher today is the gold industry. News of the aforementioned trade talks has had the opposite effect on the gold price and sent it lower again. This has put pressure on the shares of gold miners such as Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG) and Saracen Mineral Holdings Limited (ASX: SAR), leading to the S&P/ASX All Ords Gold sliding 1.8% lower.
Best and worst performers.
The best performer on the ASX 200 index at lunch has been the Speedcast International Ltd (ASX: SDA) share price by some distance. It is up 13% at lunch after announcing that Peter Shaper and Joe Spytek have agreed to join its board as independent non-executive directors. Going the other way is the Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Limited (ASX: CUV) share price which has fallen 4.5% on the back of no news.
