At the closing bell, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.78 per cent lower at 7,257.10.
The price of iron ore has been steadily increasing, with recent futures pricing in Singapore pushing it past $115 per tonne. Today, iron ore futures for October contracts have risen by 1.1%, reaching $116.20 per tonne. This upward trend follows a three-week rally that has boosted iron ore prices by 16% since mid-August.
FuturesThe Dow Jones futures are pointing to a fall of 4 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a fall of 3.5 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a fall of 24.25 points.
The SPI futures are down 47 points.
Best and worst performersThe best-performing sector was Energy, up 0.95 per cent. The worst-performing sector was Information Technology, down 1.49 per cent.
The best-performing large cap was Yancoal Australia
(ASX:YAL), closing 1.99 per cent higher at $5.12. It was followed by shares in Infratil
(ASX:IFT) and Fortescue Metals Group
(ASX:FMG).
The worst-performing large cap was Altium
(ASX:ALU), closing 4.36 per cent lower at $45.80. It was followed by shares in Macquarie Group
(ASX:MQG) and Sonic Healthcare
(ASX:SHL).
Asian marketsJapan's Nikkei has gained 0.63 per cent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng has lost 0.03 per cent.
China's Shanghai Composite has lost 0.08 per cent.
Company newsLive Verdure Ltd
(ASX:LV1) has successfully completed $1.68 million placement to fund NPD, retail growth & partnership opportunities. Proceeds of the raising will also enable the Company to progress partnership discussions and conduct further due diligence on prospective partnership and M&A opportunities.
Besra Gold
(ASX:BEZ) announced that follow up drilling confirms Bekajang’s ‘multi-storey’ endowment. In response, Interim Chairman, John Seton, commented: “With unparalleled funding capacity for a junior, we intend to exploit these results with further drilling to identify the source of these exceptional gold grades.”
Si6 Metals
(ASX:SI6) announced that drilling has commenced at flagship Dibete Copper- Gold Project today. The first hole will test the oxidised zone and into the primary zone.
Commodities and the dollarGold is trading at US$1,952.70 an ounce.
Iron ore is 0.2 per cent higher at US$118.75 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 0.5 per cent fall.
Light crude is trading $0.12 lower at US$86.57 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 63.94 US cents.
