At lunch on Thursday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a disappointing decline. The benchmark index is currently down 0.35% to 7,070.4 points.
Here's what is happening on the market today:
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NAB half year results
The National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price is trading lower following the release of its half year results. NAB reported cash earnings of $3,343 million for the six months ended 31 March. This was up 94.8% on the prior corresponding period. A key driver of its result was the write-back of a credit impairment charge of $128 million. This compares to a charge of $1,161 million in the prior corresponding period. The NAB board declared a fully franked interim dividend of 60 cents per share.
Nearmap share price crashes on legal threat
The Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) share price is crashing lower today after being hit with legal proceedings. Nearmap advised that rival Eagle View alleges patent infringement in relation to its roof estimation technology. Nearmap believes that the allegations do not affect its core proprietary technology and do not affect the survey of imagery or the delivery of premium content.
Appen sinks
The Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) share price is sinking following the release of a presentation ahead of its appearance at the Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) conference. During the presentation, CEO Mark Brayan said: "Our competitors outside of relevance are maturing. This is unsurprising. Their presence and funding demonstrate that ours is an attractive market. We maintain our leadership position and our customers rely on us for quality, scale, security and reliability but it means that we have to maintain our flow of new product features and fight harder to stay ahead."
Best and worst ASX 200 performers
The best performer on the ASX 200 on Thursday has been the Chalice Mining Ltd (ASX: CHN) share price with a 4.5% gain. This morning Macquarie retained its outperform rating and lofty $9.20 price target on the fold explorer's shares. The worst performer has been the Nearmap share price with a decline of 17.5% following its legal update.
