The ASX has started the week down with the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) losing 0.47% by midday following Wall Street's lead where US stocks fell on Friday.
The sell-off on Wall Street continued on Friday with the Dow Jones declining 0.89% and the S&P 500 dropping 0.95%.
There is little domestic company or economic news out this morning to provide direction for traders, with offshore leads looking to be setting the tone once again.
Gold stocks are trading slightly higher as is the telecommunication services sector. All other sectors are down at lunchtime.
Here are the top five best performing stocks in the index at midday today:
- Horizon Oil Ltd (ASX: HZN) has rallied 4.6% to 34.5 cents
- Western Areas Ltd (ASX: WSA) has jumped 4.5% to $3.93
- Sirius Resources N.L. (ASX: SIR) has risen 4.4% to $2.64
- Sigma Pharmaceutical Limited (ASX: SIP) has climbed 3.6% to 73 cents
- Ten Network Holdings Limited (ASX: TEN) has gained 2.7% to 26.7 cents
These are the five worst performing stocks at midday today: