Australian stocks declined as mining and energy sectors retreated, prompted by a significant overnight decline in iron ore prices and BHP reporting its weakest half-year profit in eight years.
At 11:30am, the S&P/ASX 200 is 0.04 per cent lower at 7,662.40.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector is Communication Services, up 0.95 per cent. The worst-performing sector is Energy, down 1.42 per cent.
The best-performing large cap is Suncorp Group (ASX:SUN), trading 6.44 per cent higher at $15.36. It is followed by shares in Mercury NZ (ASX:MCY) and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank (ASX:BEN).
The worst-performing large cap is Sonic Healthcare (ASX:SHL), trading 7.57 per cent lower at $29.31. It is followed by shares in South32 (ASX:S32) and Lynas Rare Earths (ASX:LYC).
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$2026.80 an ounce.
Iron ore is 0.9 per cent lower at US$128.80 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 2.1 per cent fall.
One Australian dollar is buying 65.39 US cents.
