The local bourse has lost ground today with the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) down 1.1% by early afternoon. The drop follows a sharp fall in US stocks overnight which saw Wall Street register its worst day since February 3. The Dow Jones lost 1.4%, while the S&P 500 fell 1.2% as investors fretted about increasing tensions between Russia and Ukraine, as well as weak Chinese economic data.
Despite a jump in the iron ore price above US$110 a tonne, investors seem wary of the medium-term outlook for iron ore prices. The materials sector is sharply lower today, with all remaining sectors also losing ground.
Here are the top five best performing stocks in the index at lunchtime today:
- Alacer Gold Corp – CDI (ASX: AQG) has rallied 5.3% to $3.57
- Mermaid Marine Australia Limited (ASX: MRM) is up 1.8% to $2.27
- Whitehaven Coal Limited (ASX: WHC) has gained 1.5% to $1.69
- Beadell Resources Ltd (ASX: BDR) has added 1.3% to 77 cents
- Ausdrill Limited (ASX: ASL) has climbed 1.1% to 91.5 cents
These are the five worst performing stocks at lunchtime today:
