Afternoon update: ASX trading 0.3% lower, Utilities is best performer

The S&P/ASX 200 is trading 0.3 per cent lower at 6,955.60.

Futures

The SPI futures are down 17 points.

Best and worst performers

The best-performing sector is Utilities, up 0.63 per cent. The worst-performing sector is Energy, down 1.01 per cent.

The best-performing large cap is Boral (ASX:BLD), trading 5.01 per cent higher at $4.93. It is followed by shares in Altium (ASX:ALU) and Origin Energy (ASX:ORG).

The worst-performing large cap is TPG Telecom (ASX:TPG), trading 11.28 per cent lower at $4.84. It is followed by shares in ANZ Group Holdings (ASX:ANZ) and Meridian Energy (ASX:MEZ).

Asian markets

Japan's Nikkei has gained 0.56 per cent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng has lost 0.33 per cent.
China's Shanghai Composite has gained 2.05 per cent.

Commodities and the dollar

Gold is trading at US$1,941.30 an ounce.
Light crude is trading $0.71 lower at US$76.46 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 63.56 US cents.