At lunch on Tuesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index is having a mixed day of trade and is currently flat at 6,219.3 points.
Here's what has been happening on the market today:
Bank shares sink lower again.
Australian bank shares have tumbled lower once again and are acting as a drag on the benchmark index. All big four banks are in the red, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) shares leading the way with declines of around 1%.
Crown receives takeover approach.
The Crown Resorts Ltd (ASX: CWN) share price has rocketed 20% higher at lunch after the casino and resorts operator confirmed that it has received a A$14.75 per share preliminary, confidential, non-binding and indicative takeover proposal from Wynn Resorts. The Crown board has not yet considered the proposal.
South32 shares tumble lower.
The South32 Ltd (ASX: S32) share price is down 3% to $3.77 after being downgraded by analysts at Goldman Sachs. The broker believes the mining giant's shares are overvalued and has slapped a sell rating and $3.20 price target on them.
Wesfarmers provides Lynas update.
Both the Lynas Corporation Ltd (ASX: LYC) share price and the Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) share price are lower at lunch following the release of a takeover update by the latter. The conglomerate advised that it was pleased with recent developments which it sees "as positive progress towards satisfactory licence certainty." As a result, Wesfarmers remains open to engage with the Lynas board, with a view to progressing a less conditional proposal.
Best and worst performers.
The best performer on the ASX 200 at lunch has been the Crown share price with its 20% gain. Some way behind, the next best performer is the Star Entertainment Group Ltd (ASX: SGR) share price which has risen 5% on the back of the Crown takeover approach. Going the other way is the South32 share price with a 3% decline following Goldman's downgrade. Not far behind is the Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price which has fallen almost 3% despite there being no news out of the travel agent.
