At lunch on Thursday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is fighting hard to stay in positive territory. The benchmark index is currently up 0.4% to 6,625.7 points.
Here's what is happening on the ASX 200 today:
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Link shares sink
The Link Administration Holdings Ltd (ASX: LNK) share price is falling hard on Thursday. Investors have been selling the administration company's shares for a couple of reasons. One is news of legal action against it and the other is the prospect of its takeover collapsing. The latter has been driven by ACCC concerns over the deal. And with the Link share price now trading 35% below the offer price, it seems as though the market believes the deal is now dead.
BHP to retain NSW coal assets
The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price is under pressure today after the mining giant revealed that it has failed to offload its New South Wales based coal operations. The Big Australian will instead retain the operations and aims to keep them running until 2030. After which, BHP will spend 10 to 15 years and US$700 million rehabilitating the land.
Eagers Automotive's $250 million buyback
The Eagers Automotive Ltd (ASX: APE) share price is racing higher today. This follows news that the auto retailer plans to buy back up to 10% of its shares on-market over the next 12 months. The value of this buyback equates to approximately $250 million based on the current Eagers Automotive share price. Management said that this reflects the board's prudent focus on active capital management and is a testament to the company's strong balance sheet.
Best and worst ASX 200 performers
The best performer on the ASX 200 on Thursday has been the Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) share price with an 11% gain. This is despite there being no news out of the artificial intelligence data services company. Going the other way, the worst performer has been the Link share price with a 10% decline following its aforementioned disappointing updates.
