The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) is dragging the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) into the red on Friday as many of the market’s biggest mining shares struggle.
The materials sector has fallen 1.8% at the time of writing following a disastrous night for iron ore. For context, the ASX 200 is up 0.02% right now
ASX 200 mining giants BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO), and Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) are among those suffering. Their share prices are falling between 1.8% and 2.5% right now.
So, whatâs weighing on the sector on Friday? Letâs take a look.
What’s going wrong for ASX 200 mining shares?
ASX 200 mining shares are sliding on Friday as a major lockdown in China weighs on sentiment for materials.
Chengdu, the capital of Chinaâs Sichuan province, is in lockdown after 157 COVID-19 infections were detected in the city, BBC News reports. That sees around 21 million people in lockdown.
Fears the lockdown could further hamper the nationâs recovery seemingly weighed on iron ore futures overnight. It plummeted 8% to US$96.39 a tonne.
Meanwhile, base metals tumbled as much as 7.6% after Chinese factory activity was found to have fallen in August, according to CommSec.
To top it off, Macquarie has reportedly downgraded its outlook for the copper price and slashed earnings forecasts for copper miners as a result, The Australian reports.
The broker is also said to have dropped its price targets for Sandfire Resources Ltd (ASX: SFR), 29Metals Ltd (ASX: 29M), BHP, and Rio Tinto by between 17% and 3%.
Todayâs tumble comes after the ASX 200 sector housing the marketâs mining shares posted a whopping 4.9% loss on Thursday. It’s currently 10.2% lower than its August peak.
Lithium shares are among todayâs worst performers. Shares in Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN), Lake Resources NL (ASX: LKE), and Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) are currently the ASX 200 materials indexâs biggest weights, falling 5.7%, 5.3%, and 5.4% respectively.
The post Why are ASX 200 mining shares getting hammered on Friday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.
Wondering where you should invest $1,000 right now?
When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for over ten years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.* Scott just revealed what he believes could be the “five best ASX stocks” for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at near dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they could be great buys right now
See The 5 Stocks
*Returns as of August 4 2022
(function() {
function setButtonColorDefaults(param, property, defaultValue) {
if( !param || !param.includes(‘#’)) {
var button = document.getElementsByClassName(“pitch-snippet”)[0].getElementsByClassName(“pitch-button”)[0];
button.style[property] = defaultValue;
}
}
setButtonColorDefaults(“#43B02A”, ‘background’, ‘#5FA85D’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#43B02A”, ‘border-color’, ‘#43A24A’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#fff”, ‘color’, ‘#fff’);
})()
More reading
- Why is the Mineral Resources share price down a hole on Friday?
- Is the BHP share price 7% cheaper after trading ex-dividend?Â
- What’s the outlook for ASX 200 copper shares in September?
- Why is the BHP share price tumbling again on Friday?
- These ASX 200 shares are going ex-dividend on Monday
Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.
from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/iLpYZvJ
Leave a Reply