Aust stocks edge lower at noon

The Australian stock market edged slightly lower at noon, following mixed international leads and renewed doubts over China.

At 1205 AEST, the S&P/ASX200 index edged down 0.34% to 5,017.8 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index lost 0.38% to 5,002.8 points.

CMC Markets' William Leys said investors were reassessing yesterday’s weak Chinese manufacturing data.

"The prospect of Chinese stimulus had cushioned the blow at the time, but the market is less optimistic today with the big miners in particular shedding some of their recent gains," he said.

"However, in the absence of any major local economic news today any index activity should remain relatively restrained."

Materials were lower, with the major miners both in the red.

Rio Tinto lost 1.27% to $56.95, while BHP Billiton dropped 1.07% to $34.36.

Fortescue Metals lost 1.86% to $3.70.

Whitehaven Coal shed 2.51% higher to $2.135, while Newcrest tumbled 3.27% to $12.275 after reiterating its increased 2014 gold production forecast on full-year output that met its own guidance.

OZ Minerals tumbled 6.79% to $4.325 after lowering full-year production guidance on sharp falls in June quarter gold and copper production.

In energy, Santos lost 1.3% to $13.67, Oil Search edged up 0.25% to $7.97 and Woodside slipped 0.63% to $37.62.

Financials were mostly higher.

Commonwealth Bank inched 0.29% higher to $73.11, while ANZ Banking Group edged down 0.1% to $28.95.

National Australia Bank increased 0.29% to $30.76, while Westpac Banking Corporation put on 0.64% to $29.94.

Investment bank Macquarie Group fell 3.19% to $44.26 after saying it remains on track to deliver an improvement in fiscal 2014 earnings.

In the insurance sector, QBE added 1.05% to $16.29, Insurance Australia Group dropped 0.67% to $5.90 and Suncorp slipped 0.71% to $12.60.

The retail sector was also mixed.

Wesfarmers fell 0.25% to $39.86, while Woolworths inched 0.12% lower to $33.50.

Myer was flat at $2.60 while rival David Jones pushed 0.19% higher to $2.585.

Harvey Norman shed 0.95% to $2.595 while JB Hi-Fi slipped 0.29% to $17.18.

In media, Fairfax Media lost 3.57% to 47.25 cents, while 21st Century Fox added 0.64% to $33.27.

Ten Network increased 2.83% to 27.25 cents and Southern Cross Media lost 0.34% to $1.445 while Seven West put on 0.48% to $2.08.

Meanwhile, blue chip Telstra lost 0.7% to $4.975, while Qantas lost 1.54% to $1.28.

Ausenco Ltd plummeted 31.4% to $1.475 after the engineering and construction group flagged lower first-half earnings and warned on its full-year performance.

No major economic news is expected.

The NAB's National Small Business Summit continues in Brisbane.

In Australia, the market on Wednesday finished firmer with resource companies shaking off a slowdown in Chinese manufacturing activity.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 18.0 points, or 0.36%, at 5035.1 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index was up 17.2 points, or 0.34%, to 5021.8 points.