Afternoon update: ASX down 0.18%, Tech standouts, Asian markets mixed

The S&P/ASX 200 is trading 0.18 per cent lower at 7,056.20.

Futures

The SPI futures are down 8 points.

Best and worst performers

The best-performing sector is Information Technology, up 1.04 per cent. The worst-performing sector is Materials, down 0.96 per cent.

The best-performing large cap is Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC), trading 3.26 per cent higher at $6.97. It is followed by shares in Yancoal Australia (ASX:YAL) and AGL Energy (ASX:AGL).

The worst-performing large cap is Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS), trading 3.53 per cent lower at $4.10. It is followed by shares in Mercury NZ (ASX:MCY) and Allkem (ASX:AKE).

Asian markets

Japan's Nikkei has gained 0.83 per cent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng has lost 1.23 per cent.
China's Shanghai Composite has lost 0.09 per cent.

Commodities and the dollar

Gold is trading at US$1,942.70 an ounce.
Light crude is trading $0.15 higher at US$90.18 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 64.25 US cents.