At lunch on Thursday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has followed the lead of US markets and is tumbling lower. The benchmark index is currently down 1.2% to 7,477.2 points.
Here's what is happening on the ASX 200 today:
Tech shares sold off
It has been a brutal day for the tech sector on Thursday with heavy declines being seen across the board. This follows a tech selloff on Wall Street which led to the Nasdaq index having its worst day in almost a year. Among the worst performers are Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) shares. The former was down as much as 11% at one stage.
Mining giants rise
It has been a much better day for mining giants BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO). Both miners are pushing notably higher today after the benchmark iron ore price continued its ascent. According to CommSec, the spot iron ore price rose by US$2.45 or 2% to US$125.35 a tonne.
South32 to restart Brazilian aluminium operation
The South32 Ltd (ASX: S32) share price is trading largely flat today despite announcing the restart of its 40%-owned Brazilian aluminium operations after a pause of over six years. The diversified miner also revealed that it will be powering its share of the operations by 100% cost efficient renewable power. This will place the smelter in the second quartile of the global aluminium site cost curve.
Best and worst ASX 200 performers
The best performer on the ASX 200 on Thursday has been the Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Limited (ASX: CUV) share price with a 2.5% gain on no news. However, the biopharmaceutical company's shares have fallen by 33% over the last two months, so bargain hunters could be swooping in today. The worst performer has been the Afterpay share price with a decline of almost 10%. This follows another heavy decline by the Block share price overnight.
