The big iron ore players all lost ground on Monday (10 February) following news US President Donald Trump will slap tariffs of 25% on all steel and aluminium imports.
The S&P/ASX 200 dropped 28.6 points, or 0.34%, to 8,482.8 points by the closing bell. The index has lost 0.58% over the last five days, and sits 0.98% below its 52-week high.
Eight of the 11 sectors fell. Materials slipped 0.71%, industrials gave back 0.51% and energy was down 0.31%.
Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) retreated 1.2% to $119.32, BHP (ASX:BHP) closed down 0.96% at $40.09 and Fortescue (ASX:FMG) dipped 1.52% to $19.42. Aluminium producer Alcoa (ASX:AAI) ended the day 0.19% lower at $57.
Champion Iron (ASX:CIA), however, held onto its early gains to finish 3.75% higher at $5.81.
Meanwhile, Bluescope Steel (ASX:BSL) also escaped the downward pull of the broader market to close up 1.88% at $21.90, likely because the Australian steelmaker has substantial investments in the US.
The S&P/ASX200 is Australia’s leading share market index and contains the top 200 ASX-listed companies in terms of market capitalisation, and accounts for about 80% of the country’s equity market. The index is designed to measure the performance of the 200 largest index-eligible stocks listed on the ASX by float-adjusted market capitalisation.
It is recognised as the institutional investable benchmark in the country.
Write to Angela East at Mining.com.au
Images: ASX & Stock
