The ASX is trading lower at lunchtime today with the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) down 0.2% at midday. Despite an early pop higher and a positive lead from Wall Street where US stocks gained overnight, by mid-morning the ASX was in negative territory.
With no economic data or major company news to set the tone, investors are reliant on company releases including quarterly sales results from Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) to provide some influence.
Sectors are mixed. Materials, utilities, consumer discretionary and consumer staples are all trading around 0.5% lower; while health care and information technology are up close to 1%.
Here are the top five best performing stocks in the index at midday today:
- Acrux Limited (ASX: ACR) has gained 3.6% to $1.14
- Goodman Fielder Ltd (ASX: GFF) has climbed 3.5% to 65.7 cents
- James Hardie Industries plc (ASX: JHX) has added 2.1% to $13.92
- FlexiGroup Limited (ASX: FXL) has risen 1.9% to $3.81
- Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) is up 1.7% to $58.07
These are the five worst performing stocks at midday today: