The ASX has headed higher at the open today with the positive momentum continuing throughout the morning. At noon the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) was up 0.8%.
This morning's gains follow a positive session on Wall Street overnight where the Dow Jones climbed 0.56% and the S&P 500 added 0.44% after the release of upbeat home price data.
All sectors are higher with materials leading the charge thanks to gains of over 2% from the three major iron ore miners on the back of a rise of US$1.30 per tonne in the iron ore price.
Here are the top five best performing stocks in the index at midday today:
- Beadell Resources Ltd (ASX: BDR) has risen 6.2% to 63.7 cents
- G8 Education Ltd (ASX: GEM) has gained 5.1% to $5.00
- Automotive Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: AHE) has climbed 4.7% to $3.77
- JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH) has added 4.5% to $18.46
- Premier Investments Limited (ASX: PMV) is up 4% to $9.31
These are the five worst performing stocks at midday today: