Miners on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) faced sharp declines in morning trading, with significant drops in the prices of gold, uranium, and iron ore. These commodities were responsible for seven of the ten worst-performing stocks in the ASX 200 index, highlighting a broad slump in the materials sector.
By midday (12:30 pm AEDT), the materials sector emerged as the worst performer, down 1.3%, as the ASX 200 index fell by 0.3%. Among the hardest-hit companies were some of Australia’s largest iron ore producers, including Fortescue Metals (-1.8%), BHP (-1.3%), Rio Tinto (-1.3%), and Champion Iron (-1.3%), all of whom experienced notable declines.
Uranium stocks were also significantly impacted. Boss Energy (-6.3%), Deep Yellow (-4.3%), and Paladin Energy (-3.8%) ranked among the worst 10 performers on the ASX 200, as market sentiment around the sector turned negative.
Gold stocks extended their losses from the previous session. Vault Minerals (-5.3%), West African Resources (-3.7%), and Newmont (-3.3%) were the worst performers in the precious metals sector, as investors continued to sell off their positions. This follows a retreat in spot gold prices from a five-week high, as traders locked in profits ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s anticipated meeting later this week. At the time of writing, gold was up 0.22%, priced at US$2,654.17 per ounce.
The slump in iron ore prices followed disappointing signals from China’s recent policy meeting, which failed to announce the anticipated fiscal stimulus measures. Despite this, Singapore iron ore futures saw a slight recovery, rising by 0.35% to US$104.25 per tonne (roughly A$163.61).
Meanwhile, uranium stocks came under pressure after new modelling suggested that the Coalition’s nuclear energy plan could be more cost-effective than Labor’s current renewables strategy by 2050, further dampening market confidence in the sector.
This broader downturn in commodity prices signals ongoing volatility across the Australian mining landscape, leaving investors to weigh the impact of global economic factors and government policy shifts on the mining sector’s future prospects.
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