S&P/ASX 200 drops with miners hit after iron ore price falls

Iron ore price falls helped reverse the ASX's early gains, with index closing down 57 points or 0.84 per cent.

Tech shares roared back to life in the US, pushing the Nasdaq more than 4pc higher at one point, to recoup losses made over the past sessions, as US bond yields retreated. Picture: David Dee Delgado/Getty Images/AFP

The ASX 200 fell on Wednesday, as a fall in the iron ore price hits the big miners. Tech shares rebounded and in the US, the Nasdaq was up more than 4% at one point, as US bond yields retreated.

Locally, RBA governor Philip Lowe has given a speech and EnergyAustralia will close its Yallourn coal fired power station in Victoria earlier than expected.

In the US, Tesla and other tech shares powered higher after a period of weakness as Congress neared final passage of a $US1.9 trillion economic aid package.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index ended 3.7pc higher at 13,073.82. The index has underperformed the Dow in recent sessions as investors have steered funds into industrial, banking and other sectors.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.1pc to 31,832.74, while the broad-based S&P 500 advanced 1.4pc to 3985.44. US 10-year Treasury bond yields eased to 1.53pc after being around 13-month highs of 1.613pc previously.

The OECD has sharply raised its 2021 global growth forecast, projecting the global economy will expand by 5.6pc, an increase of 1.4 percentage points from its December forecast. It said the outlook has “improved markedly in recent months” because of fiscal spending packages, coronavirus vaccines and accommodative monetary policy.