Best and worst stocks on the ASX at midday

The market has jumped higher in morning trade today.

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The ASX was in positive territory this morning with the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) up 0.62% at midday, helping to wipe-out most of yesterday's losses.

The move higher follows Wall Street's lead where US stocks bounced back over night. The Dow Jones closed up 0.72%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.56%.

Amongst this morning's major news items has been the interim results from the National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB). NAB reported an 8.5% lift in cash earnings to $3.15 billion and hiked its interim dividend by 6 cents to 99 cents.

Gold stocks are under pressure today while other sectors are mostly higher.

Here are the top five best performing stocks in the index just before midday today:

  • Sirius Resources N.L. (ASX: SIR) has rallied 5.8% to $2.91
  • Transfield Services Limited (ASX: TSE) has jumped 5.8% to $1.09
  • McMillan Shakespeare Limited (ASX: MMS) has climbed 4.1% to $10.18
  • Echo Entertainment Group Ltd (ASX: EGP) has added 3.6% to $2.88
  • Southern Cross Media Group Ltd (ASX: SXL) has risen 3.4% to $1.20

These are the five worst performing stocks just before midday today:

  • Beadell Resources Ltd (ASX: BDR) has fallen 6.5% to 64.5 cents
  • Evolution FPO (ASX: EVN) has dropped 5.8% to 80.5 cents
  • G8 Education Ltd (ASX: GEM) has lost 5.2% to $4.22
  • Kathmandu Holdings Ltd (ASX: KMD) has declined 4.5% to $3.60
  • Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG) has slipped 3.4% to 57.5 cents
Motley Fool contributor Tim McArthur owns shares in Echo Entertainment Group Ltd and McMillan Shakespeare Ltd.

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