At noon AEDT on Wednesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 11.9 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 8,217.6, while the broader All Ordinaries was up 12.8 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 8,481.8.
Capital.com analyst Kyle Rodda said markets were treading water ahead of what was bound to be a historic three weeks: a deluge of results from US tech giants; back-to-back US inflation and jobs figures; the US presidential election and a Federal Reserve meeting that will likely see interest rate cuts.
Seven of the ASX's 11 sectors were higher at midday and three were lower, with financials basically flat.
Consumer staples was the biggest mover, up 1.2 per cent as Coles added 1.3 per cent and Woolworths climbed 1.3 per cent.
In the heavyweight mining sector, BHP was up 1.0 per cent, Fortescue had added 1.1 per cent and Rio Tinto had grown 0.4 per cent.
The big four banks were mixed, with ANZ up 0.4 per cent and Westpac adding 0.2 per cent, while NAB had dipped 0.1 per cent and CBA had slipped 0.2 per cent.
In small caps, Playside Studios had plummeted 28.7 per cent to a nearly one-year low of 51 cents after the Melbourne-based video game developer said it expected to make between zero and $5 million in operating earnings this financial year, down from $17.5 million in 2023/24.
A series of layoffs in the video game industry have hurt Playside's work-for-hire business, and it plans to spend more on developing and marketing games, its executives told the company's annual general meeting.
Michael Hill was up two per cent to 52 cents after the jewellery store chain said same-store sales were up four per cent so far in 2024/25..
"As we prepare for the all-important Christmas trading period, the positive momentum we have seen in the first 14 weeks is very encouraging," managing director Daniel Bracken said.
The Australian dollar was buying 66.65 US cents, from 66.89 US cents at Tuesday's ASX close.
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