Fortescue smash sinks ASX, as iron ore falls, banks, miners slide

ASX 200 recovered slightly by the close from a 1% drop after iron ore continued to freefall. Fortescue lost 11%. Iress down 10.5%.

Weakness in the iron ore price is dragging on the Australian market. Picture: Nikki Short

Welcome to the Trading Day blog for Friday, September 17. The S&P/ASX 200 index closed down 0.8% at 7403.7 after hitting a 5-day low of 7376.1.

It came as stronger-than-expected retail sales data stoked fears of Fed tapering ahead of next week's FOMC meeting, commodity prices dived and UBS downgraded Fortescue Metals, while slashing its targets for FMG, RIO and BHP.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce took home just under $2 million in the 2021 financial year in a $250,000 improvement on the previous year, although still well down on pre-Covid pay levels.

AUD/USD inched modestly higher to near US73.05c.

The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average both slipped 0.2 per cent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.1 per cent. European stocks rose, Asian markets declined and oil prices eased.

Originally published as Fortescue smash sinks ASX, as iron ore falls, banks, miners slide

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