The S&P/ASX 200 index is on course to tumble lower for the second successive day on Thursday. At lunch the benchmark index is down 0.7% to 6,394.6 points.
Here's what has been happening on the market today:
Costa shares hammered.
The Costa Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: CGC) share price crashed as much as 25% lower to a 52-week low of $3.90 after downgrading its calendar year 2019 earnings guidance at its annual general meeting. Due to a number of issues, Costa expects NPAT-SL to be in the range of $57 million to $66 million. This will be an increase of between 0.7% and 16.6%, compared to its previous guidance of at least 30% growth.
Bank shares mixed.
Australian bank shares are mostly positive on Thursday. Three of the big four are in positive territory, with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price leading the way with a 0.4% gain. The laggard in the group is the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price which has fallen 0.4%.
Blackmores storms higher.
The Blackmores Limited (ASX: BKL) share price has been a strong performer and is up 3.5% at lunch. Today's gain appears to be attributable to a broker note out of Morgan Stanley this morning. According to the note, the broker has upgraded its shares to an equal-weight rating from underweight. The broker believes that Blackmores could benefit from the severe flu season Australia is experiencing.
Tech shares lower.
The Australian tech sector has followed the lead of the Nasdaq index and dropped lower today. At lunch the Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) share price is down 2% and the Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) share price is 4% lower. This has led to the S&P/ASX 200 Info Tech index sliding 1% lower at the time of writing.
Best and worst performers.
The best performer on the ASX 200 at lunch is the Syrah Resources Ltd (ASX: SYR) share price which has surged 8% higher despite there being no news out of the graphite miner. However, earlier this week Credit Suisse retained its outperform rating and lofty $3.30 price target. Going the other way is of course the Costa share price, followed some distance behind by the GUD Holdings Limited (ASX: GUD) share price which has fallen 5% after being downgraded by Credit Suisse.
