ASX200 sinks on China-fuelled mining sell-off

The Australian sharemarket slipped on Tuesday after Chinese planners denied investors a fresh blast of economic stimulus.

The benchmark ASX200 fell 28.5 points, or 0.35 per cent, to close at 8176.9 in a choppy, volatile session, while the broader All Ordinaries index lost 35.3 points, or 0.42 per cent, to 8443.7.

The All Technology sector fell 0.82 per cent to 3482.6.

The materials sector propelled the fall, slumping 1.74 per cent.

Bourse-heavyweight mining stocks tumbled in the afternoon following an 1pm AEDT update from the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission, which failed to deliver any large-scale spending into the Middle Kingdom’s sputtering economy.

Singapore iron ore futures tumbled 2.62 per cent in the late afternoon to hit US$107.85 a tonne.

BHP lost 2.39 per cent to $43.79 a share, Rio Tinto edged down 0.15 per cent to $120.99 and Fortescue declined 5.31 per cent to $19.27.

Coal stocks also fell sharply, with Coronado Global Resources tumbling 4.31 per cent to $1.11 and Stanmore Resources falling 3.76 per cent to $3.07.

The bourse’s retreat followed a rough night on Wall St overnight on Monday, with the Dow Jones shedding 398 points, or 0.94 per cent, to close 41,954, while the S and P 500 index tumbled 0.96 per cent to 5695 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index declined 1.18 per cent to 17,923.

Global investors are battling “two large headwinds”, moomoo market strategist Jessica Amir said.

“Bond yields rose to 4 per cent for the first time since August, while Brent crude rose above $US81 for the first time since August as well, after oil gained 3.7 per cent,” she said.

“Almost one year on from the October 7 attacks, the US launched air strikes on Houthi rebels, while exchanges between Hezbollah and Israel intensified.

“So storm clouds and a recipe of caution and potential pullbacks are hanging over markets.

“This is all while the US jobs report showed the US central bank may not need to go full throttle on cutting interest rates.”

Aussie tech stocks followed their American counterparts into the red, with the IT sector losing 1.07 per cent.

Xero fell 1.74 per cent to $145.15 and Technology One declined 2.4 per cent to $24.01.

The energy sector bounced in morning trade but then retreated after the China update to end down 0.95 per cent for the day.

Woodside Energy fell 1.27 per cent to $26.34 and Santos lost 0.55 per cent to $7.25.

In corporate news, gold miner West African Resources advised investors its mining permits in Burkina Faso were not under threat.

“WAF personnel have recently communicated directly with officials from the Ministry of Mines and Quarries in Burkina Faso who have confirmed that none of WAF’s mining permits are under review and all of them remain in good standing,” CEO Richard Hyde said.

Stock in the company soared 7.46 per cent to $1.44, making it the benchmark’s top performer.

Rio Tinto acquisition target Arcadium Lithium retreated 2.46 per cent to $5.94 after soaring 47 per cent on Monday.

The largest laggard was IGO Limited, which slumped 5.5 per cent to $5.49.

The Aussie dollar lost 0.3 per cent to buy US67.3c at the closing bell.