Rare earth materials producer Lynas Rare Earths (ASX:LYC) is a bottom-performing stock today on the S&P/ASX 200 index, which slumped by 0.5% to 8,418.70.
Lynas’ share price decreased by 5.7% to $18.60 in the first hour of the Australian Securities Exchange opening for trade.
Copper, zinc, lead, silver, and aluminium producer South32 (ASX:S32) was down by 4% to $4.23 a share. Bauxite, alumina, and aluminum producer Alcoa (ASX:AAI) also dwindled by 1.8% to $91.56 per unit.
The downward movement continued for a second day despite mining multinational Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) and gold developer and explorer Emerald Resources (ASX:EMR) defying this trend on March 30.
The index earlier fell sharply on 23 March by 1.73% to 8,282.90 points, 20 March by 0.33% to 8,470.10 points, and 19 March by 1.62% to 8,501 points.
“Over the last five days the index has gained 0.47% but is down 3.39% year to date,” the ASX markets website says.
As Mining.com.au previously reported, the index reported a third year of “positive returns” during 2025 despite “some concerns about the state of the world”.
“Big option trades using longer dated contracts we found in January appear to be looking for continuation of this upward trend in 2026,” the ASX says.
Analysts predict the ongoing Israel-Iran-US conflict will impact commodity prices and economic growth. Vantage senior market analyst Hebe Chen sees “acute” pressure across the resources sector.
“When the world’s most critical oil choke point becomes a public bargaining chip, there are few places to hide — and Australia’s commodity-heavy market is feeling that more acutely than most,” Chen tells the Australian Associated Press.
“Basic materials stocks are caught in an especially cruel position — the same war that pushed oil higher is now threatening to slow the economies that consume Australia’s iron ore, copper, and coal,” he adds according to the newswire agency.
Write to Richard Szabo at Mining.com.au
Images: Marcus Reubenstein via Unsplash
