At lunch on Friday the S&P/ASX 200 index is on course to finish the week in the red. The benchmark index is down almost 0.5% to 6,757 points at lunch.
Here's what has been happening on the market today:
Rio Tinto sinks.
Despite announcing bumper profits and a special dividend, the Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) share price has sunk almost 4% lower on Friday. Investors appear to have been expecting even more from the company in the first half of FY 2019. Rio Tinto recorded underlying EBITDA of US$10.3 billion, which was an 11% increase on the prior corresponding period.
Bega Cheese downgrade.
The Bega Cheese Ltd (ASX: BGA) share price tumbled to a 52-week low this morning after the food company downgraded its earnings guidance for FY 2019. Bega Cheese downgraded its guidance for normalised EBITDA in FY 2019 to be in the range of $113 million to $117 million, subject to its final statutory audit. This compares to previous guidance of $123 million to $130 million and appears to be due to higher costs and its record milk intake.
Gold miner surge higher.
Trade war concerns have led to the gold price surging higher overnight. This has sent the shares of Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM), Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG), and the rest of the gold miners hurtling higher. So much so, at lunch the S&P/ASX All Ords Gold index is up almost 6.5%.
GrainCorp guidance disappoints.
It isn't just Bega Cheese that is disappointing the market with its earnings guidance today. The Graincorp Ltd (ASX: GNC) share price has crashed lower after the grains company advised that it expects to report FY 2019 underlying EBITDA in the range of $65 million to $85 million and an underlying net loss after tax in the range of $70 million to $90 million.
Best and worst performers.
The best performer on the ASX 200 on Friday has been the Resolute Mining share price with a gain of over 10% thanks to the rebound in the gold price and a bullish broker note out of Macquarie. Going the other way is the GrainCorp share price with a decline of 7% following its disappointing guidance.
