The ASX has started the week with a fall; at lunchtime the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) was down 0.8%.
Last Friday on Wall Street, US stocks finished higher despite spending most of the session in negative territory after a weak reading on consumer confidence was released. US stocks appeared to receive a boost towards the close on the back of merger and acquisition activity, and a report from the Commerce Department which showed housing starts rose in April.
The local bourse has been influenced today by continued weakness in the iron ore price which is weighing on mining stocks. The fall in mining stocks has seen the materials sector lead the declines today; all sectors are in the red.
Here are the top five best performing stocks in the index at 12:06 pm today:
- Goodman Fielder Ltd (ASX: GFF) has jumped 4.1% to 69.2 cents
- IOOF Holdings Limited (ASX: IFL) has rallied 3.3% to $8.52
- Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE) has added 2.4% to $4.18
- Lynas Corporation Limited (ASX: LYC) has climbed 1.7% to 11.7 cents
- Western Areas Ltd (ASX: WSA) has risen 1.2% to $4.20
These are the five worst performing stocks at 12:06 pm today:
