At 11:30am, the S&P/ASX 200 is 1.27 per cent lower at 7,760.30, mirroring losses in Europe due to better-than-expected performance by far-right parties in weekend elections, and in anticipation of the US Federal Reserve's resistance to immediate rate cuts.
The SPI futures are pointing to a fall of 69 points.
Best and worst performers
All sectors are in the red. The sector with the fewest losses is Consumer Discretionary, down 0.31 per cent. The worst-performing sector is Materials, down 2.11 per cent.
The best-performing large cap is Mercury NZ (ASX:MCY), trading 2.35 per cent higher at $6.09. It is followed by shares in Meridian Energy (ASX:MEZ) and Pro Medicus (ASX:PME).
The worst-performing large cap is Evolution Mining (ASX:EVN), trading 6.34 per cent lower at $3.765. It is followed by shares in Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST) and Telix Pharmaceuticals (ASX:TLX).
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$2326.30 an ounce.
Iron ore is 0.7 per cent lower at US$108.50 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 2.1 per cent fall.
One Australian dollar is buying 65.98 US cents.
