At lunchtime on Thursday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 7.4 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 8,223.4, while the broader All Ordinaries was down one point, or 0.01 per cent, to 8,475.3.
Small cap stocks were struggling a bit. The ASX20 was up 0.3 per cent, while the Small Ordinaries index was down 0.4 per cent. The latter is an index of the 200 companies in the ASX300 but not the ASX100.
Seven of the ASX's 11 sectors were higher at midday, with four lower. Tech was the biggest mover, dropping 2.1 per cent as Wisetech Global slumped another 4.8 per cent and Nextdc fell 1.9 per cent.
In the heavyweight mining sector, Fortescue slid 3.3 per cent following a first-quarter report that RBC Capital Markets analyst Kaan Peker said contained a minor pricing miss.
BHP was down 0.7 per cent and Rio Tinto had dipped 0.6 per cent, while South32 had gained 2.6 per cent.
Goldminers were lower even as the precious metal changed hands for $US2,724 an ounce. Northern Star had dropped 1.0 per cent, Evolution had fallen 1.7 per cent and Newmont had plunged 6.9 per cent as the goldmining giant released its third-quarter results.
In the financial sector, ANZ was up 1.3 per cent, CBA had added 1.2 per cent, NAB had gained 0.8 per cent and Westpac had climbed 0.3 per cent.
IAG had gained 1.2 per cent as the insurance giant's executives told its annual general meeting it was on track to meet its financial targets and had few natural perils claims so far this year.
Adairs had gained 14.8 per cent to a one and a half year of $2.665 as the furniture retailer said sales at its flagship brand were up 16.1 per cent in the eight weeks since deployment of a new warehouse management system at its national distribution centre.
Strong product ranges had resonated well with customers and in-store stock levels had improved under the new system, Adairs said.
Reece was down 7.3 per cent to $24.62 after the plumbing supplier reported $2.2 billion in sales revenue for the first quarter, down five per cent from a year ago.
The ongoing softness in housing activity in both Reece's US, Australia and New Zealand regions were creating a challenging trading environment, the company said as it held its annual general meeting online.
The Australian dollar was buying 66.38 US cents, from 66.75 US cents at Wednesday's ASX close.
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