Best and worst stocks on the ASX at midday

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) is up 0.4% at midday today after receiving a lack of direction from Wall Street overnight where the major indices lacked conviction but did manage to finish the session with small gains.

Closer to home there has been mixed responses from investors to companies reporting results and providing updates. The market reacted poorly to an update from Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG), while Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) reported a strong lift in its first quarter cash profit which has sent the bank's share price higher.

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

• QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE) has risen 3.6% to $11.40
• G8 Education Ltd (ASX: GEM) has gained 3.1% to $3.61
• ResMed Inc (ASX: RMD) has climbed 2.9% to $5.085
• Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL) is up 2.8% to $2.98
• Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) has added 2.1% to 81.2 cents

These are the five worst performing stocks at midday today:

• Bradken Limited (ASX: BKN) has sunk 10.9% to $4.64
• Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH) is down 9.9% to $53.05
• McMillan Shakespeare Limited (ASX: MMS) has lost 6.4% to $11.21
• Tabcorp Holdings Limited (ASX: TAH) has declined 3.4% to $3.45
• Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) has slipped 3.3% to $53.80