At noon on Friday the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 34.5 points, or 0.49 per cent to 7036.5. The broader All Ordinaries was down 32.1 points, or 0.44 per cent, to 7291.2
With four hours left in the trading week, the ASX200 was up for the week by 18.9 points, or 0.27 per cent. If the market manages to avoid sinking deeper this afternoon, it will be the index's fourth straight week of gains.
Property has been the biggest loser on Friday morning, falling 1.7 per cent, as social infrastructure owner Arena REIT fell 6.9 per cent and Charter Hall dropped 3.2 per cent.
Energy was up 1.2 per cent, with Woodside climbing 1.5 per cent to $32.05 and Whitehaven Coal gaining 2.9 per cent to a record high of $6.65.
Stanmore Resources had advanced 10.4 per cent to $2.23 after the coking coal producer announced that first-half revenue had increased 15-fold, to $1 billion, on soaring coal prices and the acquisition of two mines.
In financials, insurance giant IAG was up 0.9 per cent after beating consensus estimates with a full-year profit of $347 million.
Three of the four big banks were higher. But CBA, which reported on Wednesday, was on pace for its fourth consecutive day of declines. At lunchtime the banking behemoth was down 1.0 per cent to $99.86.
ANZ, Westpac and NAB were all up by about half a percentage point.
The heavyweight mining sector was down 0.4 per cent, with BHP down similarly although Rio Tinto was up 0.3 per cent.
Woolworths was down 0.4 per cent to $37.88 after Australian Competition & Consumer Competition decided not to oppose its $243 million acquisition of MyDeal.com.au. MyDeal shares were up 1.0 per cent to $1.045, with Woolies proposing buying them for $1.05.
In healthcare, ResMed was down 3.0 per cent to $33.60 after the sleep apnoea device maker announced that full-year revenue increased 12 per cent to $US3.6 billion.
Speaking on Ausbiz TV at lunchtime, Tribeca Investment Partners portfolio manager Jun Bei Liu called it "fantastic" result for ResMed.Â
"Obviously the expectation was very high, and they've managed to meet the expectations. They're just selling everything," she said.
Avita Medical had sunk 15 per cent to a two-week low of $1.925 after the regenerative skin company announced that half-year operating expenses had risen by 12 per cent to $29.9 million.