Australian stocks are struggling to get off the ground today, and the two major airlines are heading in different directions.

The All Ordinaries Index was up just 1 point to 5,422 around 1:00pm (AEDT), and the ASX 200 was also 1 point higher at at 5,412.

Shares in Virgin Australia were down 0.9 per cent, after it revealed a first-half loss of $84 million.

Qantas was clawing back some of the ground it lost yesterday, climbing 1 per cent.

Shares in furniture and electrical retailer, Harvey Norman were up 1.6 per cent, after the company revealed a rise in its half-year profit.

In the six months to the end of December, Harvey Norman made a net profit of $111.4 million.

That was up from the company’s $81.9 million profit recorded during the same period a year earlier.

Shareholders will receive a fully-franked dividend of 6 cents per share.

Other retailers basked in the result – Myer was 2.3 per cent higher and David Jones was up 1.4 per cent.

The Australian dollar has strengthened slightly, rising to 89.75 US cents.