Australia's miners have given up some of the significant gains they made in recent sessions, as the ASX pulls back from a record high in the first trading day of the December quarter.
Near noon, the materials are down 2.11 per cent after posting a 10 per cent gain in September, fueled by renewed stimulus efforts from the Chinese government that drove traders back to the sector. BHP has lost 2.68 per cent to $44.73.
At 11:35am, the S&P/ASX 200 is 0.45 per cent lower at 8,232.30.
The SPI futures are pointing to a fall of 29 points.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector is Health Care, up 1.41 per cent. The worst-performing sector is Materials, down 2.11 per cent.
The best-performing large cap is REA Group (ASX:REA), trading 5.29 per cent higher at $211.63. It is followed by shares in Cochlear (ASX:COH) and ResMed (ASX:RMD).
The worst-performing large cap is Rio Tinto Group (ASX:RIO), trading 2.83 per cent lower at $125.48. It is followed by shares in Qantas Airways (ASX:QAN) and Fortescue (ASX:FMG).
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$2657.90 an ounce.
Iron ore is 6.4 per cent higher at US$108.30 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 10.7 per cent rise.
One Australian dollar is buying 69.24 US cents.
