Best and worst stocks on the ASX at midday

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has dropped 0.9% at lunchtime on Friday, following a big sell off in overseas markets overnight.

The Dow Jones fell 1.6%, but that was nothing compared to the larger S&P 500 and NASDAQ indices, which dropped 2.1% and 32.1% respectively as the tech stock sell off continued.

China's exports slid 6.6% and imports declined in March, adding to the global unease, with concerns the world's growth engine is beginning to splutter.

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

• Echo Entertainment Group Ltd (ASX: EGP) soared 11.8% to $2.695
• Beadell Resources Ltd (ASX: BDR) gained 4.2% to 66.7 cents
• Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN) rose 4% to 44.7 cents
• Western Areas Ltd (ASX: WSA) added 3% to $3.79
• Mount Gibson Iron Limited (ASX: MGX) is up 2.7% at 84.7 cents

These are five of the worst performing stocks at midday today:

• Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG) dropped 5.9% to $12.20
• Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL) fell 4.7% to $2.525
• Carsales.com Limited (ASX: CRZ) lost 4.3% to $10.43
• Wotif.com Holdings Limited (ASX: WTF) slipped 4.0% to $2.62
• Ten Network Holdings Limited (ASX: TEN) is down 3.7% at 26 cents