At lunch on Thursday the S&P/ASX 200 index has come under pressure and is trading notably lower. The benchmark index is down 0.6% to 6,713.1 points.
Here's what has been happening on the market today:
Westpac shares slide.
The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price is down 1% on the day of its annual general meeting. A number of shareholders have been venting their frustrations at the event during questioning. The voting has yet to commence, but the bank's remuneration report looks likely to suffer a second strike. The rest of the big four are also trading lower at lunch.
Tech shares under pressure.
The tech sector is once again acting as a drag on the market. A number of tech shares such as Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME) and WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) are tumbling lower on Thursday. This has led to the S&P/ASX 200 Info Tech index falling over 1.3% at the time of writing.
Gold miners push higher.
A number of gold miners such as Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) and Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG) are charging higher today after the gold price pushed higher overnight. This follows news that the U.S. Federal Reserve held firm with rates overnight. In addition to this, the central bank indicated that it will keep rates on hold for the whole of 2020.
Best and worst performers.
The best performer on the benchmark index on Thursday has been the Lynas Corporation Ltd (ASX: LYC) share price with a sizeable 9% gain. This may be down to news that the U.S. Army is looking to fund the construction of a rare earths plant for weapons development. The ALS Ltd (ASX: ALQ) share price is the worst performer on the index with a 4.5% decline despite there being no news out of it.
