ASX200 slumps on sluggish iron ore outlook

A slump in the price of iron ore and gold sent the ASX200 down on Wednesday, despite eight of the 11 sectors trading higher.

A sell-off in the major iron ore and gold miners weighed on the ASX 200 on Wednesday, as investors bide their time and await the fallout from the Israel-Iran conflict.

The benchmark ASX 200 index fell 10.1 points or 0.12 per cent to 8,531.2 on a day investors largely stayed on the sidelines.

The broader All Ordinaries also slipped 13.20 points or 0.15 per cent to 8,757.90.

The Australian dollar traded marginally higher up 0.37 per cent to buy 65.03 US cents.

On a day of low trading volume, eight of the 11 sectors finished up, despite the overall market falling.

Overall 104 stocks ending in the red, 86 gaining and 10 remaining unchanged.

But this was not enough to lift the overall market, with a slump in material, utilities and A-REITs offsetting gains in the information technology and healthcare sectors.

The major miners slumped dragging the ASX 200 lower. Picture Newswire/ Gaye Gerard.

Materials slumped 1.56 per cent on the day with the price of iron ore falling to $US93 a tonne amid sluggish growth forecasts out of China and US steel tariffs.

BHP shares fell 1.18 per cent to $36.86, Fortescue slumped 4.02 per cent to $15.03 and Rio Tinto fell 1.07 per cent to $106.00.

Citi Group has cut its iron ore price forecasts, predicting $US90 a tonne for both the next three months and the next 6–12 months.

ANZ senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes said a combination of low demand and high supply was seeing the price of the commodity fall.

“The rainy season has slowed construction activity in southern China. In the north, high temperatures are contributing to a slowdown,” he said.

“Beijing’s efforts to curb overcapacity in the steel industry looks to be playing out, with China’s steel production falling 6.9 per cent in May.”

Gold miners were also a drag on the ASX, with the price of the underlying commodity also dropping.

Northern Star Resources is down 1.95 per cent to $20.58, Evolution Mining slipped 3.55 per cent to $8.15 and Genesis Mineral slumped 3.00 per cent to $4.53.

Despite the ASX falling on Wednesday more stocks finished in the green. Picture: NewsWire / Max Mason-Hubers

It was a mixed day for the big four banks with CBA gaining 0.58 per cent to $180.19 and Westpac eked out a small gain up 0.03 per cent to $33.02.

NAB slipped 0.23 per cent to $38.71 and ANZ finished in the red down 1.43 per cent to $29.04.

Investors remained on the sidelines, with the ASX now only swinging 59 points or 0.70 per cent during the last two and half days of trading until 2.30pm.

IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said the average range on the ASX over the past nine weeks has been 165 points or almost 2 per cent.

“This suggests there is room for some fireworks/movement into the week’s end as the spring winds become increasingly tighter,” he wrote in a note.

In company news, shares in Cettire have rallied 10.5 per cent to $0.32, but comes after shares slumped 31 per cent in a single trading day last week on a less than favourable trading update.

Shares in uranium producer Boss Energy rose 4.3 per cent to $4.66 after announcing its operations in South Australia have met its first-year production guidance.

Originally published as ASX200 slumps on sluggish iron ore outlook