At 12pm (AEDT), the benchmark S&P/ASX200 had eased 13.9 points, or 0.39 per cent to 3568.2, while the broader All Ordinaries declined by 13.6 points or 0.39 per cent to 3518.7.
On the Sydney Futures Exchange, the June share price index contract was trading 14 points higher at 3,580 on volume of 15,660 contracts.
Macquarie Equities' associate director Lucinda Chan said the market was consolidating albeit on low volumes and a muted response to the release of February retail trade and building approvals data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
"Overall, people are starting to look at the market and no-one is too concerned about what's happening offshore," she said.
"The data has been actually quite good for building and retail was expected anyway to be a bit lower," Ms Chan said.
ABS data showed retail trade at current prices fell 2.0 per cent in February to a seasonally adjusted $18.873 billion, from $19.257 billion in January, while building approvals rose 7.8 per cent to 10,050 units in February, seasonally adjusted, from an upwardly revised 9.327 units in January.
The market forecast was for building approvals to have recorded a rise of 1.5 per cent in February.
BHP Billiton had a strong morning session with the oil sector also trading up, Ms Chan said.
BHP Billiton was nine cents, or 0.28 per cent stronger at $32.00, while rival Rio Tinto lost 74 cents, or 1.31 per cent, to $55.83.
Oil and gas leader Santos put on 43 cents, or 2.55 per cent to $17.28, while Woodside Petroleum added 61 cents, or 1.6 per cent to $38.71 and Oil Search eased five cents or 0.95 per cent to $5.21.
Elsewhere in resources, the new $1.75 billion offer to miner OZ Minerals from China's Minmetals was positive if regulators approve the deal, Ms Chan said.
"There are still hurdles to go through. It still requires FIRB (Foreign Investment Review Board) and shareholder approvals," she said.
Oz Minerals was off 0.5 cent, or 0.9 per cent to 55 cents.
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