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 0.2% to 7,115 points.
Here's what has been happening on the market today:
Bank shares higher.
The big four banks are fighting hard to drag the market higher on Friday. All of the big four are trading higher at lunch, with the National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price the best performer with a gain of 2.5%. Investors have been buying the banking giant's shares after a number of brokers responded positively to its first quarter update.
Telstra rated as a buy.
The Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price is pushing higher at lunch. The catalyst for this may have been a broker note out of Goldman Sachs this morning. Its analysts have retained their conviction buy rating and $4.40 price target on the telco giant's shares. The broker was pleased with Telstra's first half result. It also doesn't expect the TPG-Vodafone Australia merger to have a material impact on the current rationality in the Australian mobile market.
Blackmores continues to slide.
The Blackmores Limited (ASX: BKL) share price has continued its slide and is lower again at lunch. This latest decline appears to be attributable to a broker note out of Credit Suisse. This morning the broker retained its underperform rating and slashed the price target on the health supplements company's shares to a lowly $55.00. This was in response to the company downgrading its guidance and suspending its dividend earlier this week.
Best and worst performers.
The best performer on the ASX 200 at lunch has been the AMP Limited (ASX: AMP) share price with a 3.5% gain. This may be down to a broker note out of Credit Suisse this morning. It has retained its outperform rating and $2.00 price target on its shares following its FY 2019 result. The worst performer has been the Breville Group Ltd (ASX: BRG) share price with a 6% decline. Profit taking appears to be weighing on its shares after a strong gain following the release of its half year results.
