At lunch on Friday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has given back its morning gains and is dropping lower. The benchmark index is currently down 0.1% to 5,879 points.
Here's what is happening on the market today:
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Tech shares push higher.
The Australian tech sector is defying a sizeable decline on the Nasdaq index overnight and is pushing higher. At the time of writing, the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) is up 0.4%. The likes of Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) are on the rise today and helping to drive the technology index higher.
AMP shares sink lower.
The AMP Limited (ASX: AMP) share price is sinking notably lower today. But rather than another scandal or something operational, this decline can be attributed to the financial services company's shares going ex-dividend for its 10 cents per share fully franked interim dividend. Eligible shareholders can look forward to being paid this dividend in just over two weeks on 1 October.
Big four banks mostly lower.
One area of the market acting as a drag on the market today is the banking sector. At lunch, three of the big four banks are in negative territory. The worst performer in the group is the Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ) share price with a 0.6% decline. The only bank pushing higher is National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB). At the time of writing, the NAB share price is up 0.3%.
Best and worst ASX 200 performers.
The best performer on the ASX 200 on Friday has been the Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) share price with a gain of almost 4%. This follows a rise in spot coal prices overnight. The worst performer has been the AMP share price by some distance. Its shares are down 8.5% at lunch after trading ex-dividend this morning.
