Flat Monday: Aus shares 0.08 per cent lower at noon

Text-only (non-video) report.

The S&P/ASX 200 has fallen slightly in morning trade. Most gains have been seen in Financials and Materials. Consumer Staples leads the decliners.

Among the biggest news stories are the resignation of Sigma Healthcare (ASX:SIG) CEO Mark Hooper and a potential agreement between Perenti Global (ASX:PRN) subsidiary Barminco and Newcrest Mining (ASX:NCM) for $38m worth of mining services.

At noon, the S&P/ASX 200 is 0.08 per cent or 6 points lower at 7054.7.

The SPI futures are pointing to a rise of 15 points.

Best and worst performers

The best-performing sector is Financials, up 0.60 per cent. The worst-performing sector is Consumer Staples, down 1.27 per cent.

The best-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is NIB Holdings (ASX:NHF), trading 11.97 per cent higher at $6.04. It is followed by shares in Perpetual (ASX:PPT) and Perenti Global (ASX:PRN).

The worst-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC), trading 5.87 per cent lower at $1.24. It is followed by shares in PolyNovo (ASX:PNV) and JB Hi-Fi (ASX:JBH).

Commodities and the dollar

Gold is trading at US$1780.96 an ounce.
Iron ore is 1.40 per cent higher at US$186.25 a ton.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a rise of 5.42 per cent.
One Australian dollar is buying 77.71 US cents.