At lunch on Thursday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a small gain. The benchmark index is currently up 0.3% to 6,615.7 points.
Here's what is happening on the ASX 200 today:
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Bendigo and Adelaide Bank's acquisition
The Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN) share price is trading lower at lunch despite the announcement of an earnings accretive acquisition. The company has agreed to acquire the investment lending portfolio of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ). Bendigo and Adelaide Bank will pay an "immaterial premium over book value" for the $715 million investment lending portfolio.
Chalice Mining jumps
The Chalice Mining Ltd (ASX: CHN) share price is surging higher today after the release of a drilling update. According to the release, a new nickel-copper-PGE sulphide zone has been intersected in initial drilling at the Dampier target, ~10km north of the Gonneville Deposit. Management notes that this is the first significant indication of orthomagmatic sulphide mineralisation outside of the Gonneville Deposit and is considered an exciting result.
Zip shares sink on bearish broker note
The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP) share price is sinking on Thursday. This appears to have been driven by a broker note out of UBS this morning. According to the note, the broker has retained its sell rating on the buy now pay later provider's shares and cut its price target by 50% to 45 cents. UBS is concerned that Zip could inadvertently worsen its credit performance if it raises fees in an effort to improve profitability.
Best and worst ASX 200 performers
The best performer on the ASX 200 on Thursday has been the Chalice Mining share price with a 10% gain following the company's drilling update. Going the other way, the EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML) share price is the worst performer with a 9% decline. This may have been driven by a combination of weakness in the payments industry and potential profit taking after a strong gain yesterday.
