Interest rate sensitive Technology & IT stocks were the key drag on the local market as we approach midday. The IT sector was trading down close to 2 per cent.
At 11:30am, the S&P/ASX 200 is 0.59 per cent lower at 7,742.10.
The SPI futures are pointing to a fall of 54 points.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector is Energy, up 0.17 per cent. The worst-performing sector is Information Technology, down 1.84 per cent.
The best-performing large cap is South32 (ASX:S32), trading 4.1 per cent higher at $3.425. It is followed by shares in Rio Tinto Group (ASX:RIO) and Endeavour Group (ASX:EDV).
The worst-performing large cap is NEXTDC (ASX:NXT), trading 3.95 per cent lower at $15.87. It is followed by shares in GQG Partners (ASX:GQG) and Meridian Energy (ASX:MEZ).
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$2369.10 an ounce.
Iron ore is 3.1 per cent higher at US$112.00 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 0.96 per cent rise.
One Australian dollar is buying 64.77 US cents.
