The local bourse is treading water today with the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) registering a gain of 0.07% just after noon today.
The tepid morning is perhaps surprising given the positive mood on global markets overnight. Both European and US markets ended higher despite news that Russia is planning to annex the Ukrainian territory of Crimea.
On the currency front the Australian dollar has rallied to a 3-month high, with the currency trading above 91 US cents. While in company news, investors were focussed on the half-yearly results release from department store retailer David Jones Limited (ASX: DJS) which showed a slight decrease in profit.
Here are the top five best performing stocks in the index at midday today:
- Wotif.com Holdings Limited (ASX: WTF) has soared 15.6% to $2.82
- Nufarm Limited (ASX: NUF) has rallied 4.5% to $4.18
- Arrium Ltd (ASX: ARI) is up 3.8% to $1.36
- Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG) has gained 3.8% to $13.70
- Buru Energy Limited (ASX: BRU) has climbed 3.5% to $1.32
These are the five worst performing stocks at midday today: