At lunch on Friday the S&P/ASX 200 index has continued its run and is on course to finish the week on a positive note. At the time of writing the index is up 0.1% to 6,723.8 points.
Here's what has been happening on the market today:
Bank shares mixed.
The shares of Australia's big four banks are mixed at lunch, with two pushing higher and two dropping lower. The best performer in the group is the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price which has risen 0.4% today. The other bank in positive territory is Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) with a 0.1% gain.
Coca Cola Amatil shares sink.
The Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd (ASX: CCL) share price fell as much as 5% to $9.97 this morning after the beverage company was the subject of a bearish broker note out of Goldman Sachs. According to the note, analysts at Goldman Sachs have downgraded its shares to a sell rating with an $8.50 price target due to concerns over the growth prospects of its Australian segment.
Western Areas Odysseus update.
The Western Areas Ltd (ASX: WSA) share price has charged 3% higher after the nickel producer provided an update on its Odysseus project. According to the release, the early capital works at the Odysseus Project have been completed as planned and on budget, with several key recent milestones achieved.
Broker downgrade sends Whitehaven lower.
The Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) share price is down almost 3% at lunch after analysts at Goldman Sachs downgraded the coal miner's shares to a sell rating with a $3.20 price target. The broker made the move due to the weak outlook for thermal coal.
Best and worst performers.
The best performer on the benchmark index on Friday has been the Western Areas share price following its update. Not far behind with a 3% gain is the Eclipx Group Ltd (ASX: ECX) share price despite there being no news out of the fleet management company. Going the other way is the Whitehaven share price, followed by the Coca-Cola Amatil share price.
