At lunch on Friday the S&P/ASX 200 index is on course to finish the week on a disappointing note. At the time of writing the index is down 0.75% to 6,185.4 points.
Here's what has been happening on the market today:
Tech shares hammered.
The Australian tech sector has been hammered on Friday with heavy declines being made by many popular tech shares. Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) and Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) shares are leading the way with declines of almost 4.5% each. The S&P/ASX 200 Info Tech index is down 2% at lunch.
Bank shares slide again.
Australian bank shares have slipped lower again on Friday and have acted as a major drag on the market. All big four banks are in the red, with Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) and National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) shares the worst performers with declines of 0.8% and 1.3%, respectively.
Afterpay charges higher.
The Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX: APT) share price has avoided the tech selloff and charged 3.5% higher to $24.32 at lunch. The catalyst for this appears to have been a broker note out of Goldman Sachs this morning. According to the note, the broker has retained its conviction buy rating and lifted the price target on its shares from $21.00 up to $27.10.
Best and worst performers.
The best performer on the ASX 200 at lunch is the Afterpay Touch share price with its 3.5% gain. The next best performer is the IOOF Holdings Limited (ASX: IFL) share price which has climbed 2% higher a day after announcing leadership changes. Going the other way is the Bravura Solutions Ltd (ASX: BVS) share price with a decline of 6%. The provider of software products and services to the wealth management and funds administration industries has been caught up in today's tech selloff.
