At lunch the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has bounced off its lows but is still down 0.2% to 5,848 points due largely to declines in the energy and materials sectors.
Here's what has happened on the ASX 200 so far today:
Challenger's shares crushed.
The Challenger Ltd (ASX: CGF) share price crashed 16% lower to a 52-week low of $7.77 in morning trade after the annuities company downgraded its full year earnings guidance. It now expects to post a full year normalised net profit before tax of $545 million to $565 million in FY 2019. This compares to FY 2018's normalised net profit before tax of $547 million and means a range of -0.5% to +3.2% year on year growth.
Energy shares slide lower.
Energy shares including Oil Search Limited (ASX: OSH) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) have tumbled lower on Wednesday after oil prices dropped overnight and continued to fall in Asian trade. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 2.3% to US$52.57 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has dropped 1.9% to US$61.50 a barrel due to trade war concerns.
Northern Star disappoints.
The Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) share price was down as much as 11% to $8.20 at one stage but at lunch is 7% lower following the release of its production update. Although the gold miner maintained its full year production guidance of between 850,000 to 900,000 ounces, investors appear concerned by management flagging rising costs.
NAB lower on broker downgrade.
The National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price has edged lower today after being downgraded by analysts at Macquarie. According to the note, the broker has downgraded the banking giant's shares to a neutral rating from outperform due to concerns that it won't be able to maintain its current payout ratio.
Best and worst performers.
The best performer on the ASX 200 at lunch is the Costa Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: CGC) share price which has climbed 4% higher despite there being no news out of the horticulture company. Going the other way is of course the Challenger share price, closely followed by the Northern Star share price. The next worst performer is the Syrah Resources Ltd (ASX: SYR) share price which is 4% lower, potentially due to profit taking after a stellar run.
