Shares in the ASX’s mining giants sank on Friday after iron ore prices plunged to their lowest level since 2020, and major producer Vale posted a steeper-than-expected decline in quarterly profit.
Iron ore futures traded in Singapore fell 2.2 per cent to $US79.95 a tonne by Friday afternoon. Prices fell as much as 4.7 per cent on Thursday to the lowest level since May 2020.
The S&P/ASX 200 shed 59.4 points, or 0.9 per cent, to 6785.7 on Friday but still managed to post a weekly gain of 1.6 per cent. China’s blue-chip CSI 300 Index was on track for a 1.6 per cent decline on Friday as COVID-19 flare-ups heightened concerns of a dim economic outlook.
The local materials sector slumped 4 per cent as Fortescue Metals Group fell 8.2 per cent to $14.76, BHP dropped 5 per cent to $37.48 and Rio Tinto declined 4.4 per cent to $88.55.
Macquarie Group closed flat at $166.50 after reporting aninterim net profit of $2.3 billionthat was 13 per cent lower than the previous half-year period but 8 per cent of consensus analyst estimates.
Judo Capital said its profit before tax for the September quarter exceeded $23 million which was more than its pro-forma profit of $15.6 million for the entire 2022 financial year. Shares in the bank also closed flat at $1.17.
ANZ added 0.9 per cent to $25.21, Commonwealth Bank rose 0.8 per cent to $103.22, NAB climbed 0.3 per cent to $32 and Westpac rose 0.9 per cent to $23.99.
Vicinity Centres reaffirmed its earnings guidance for the 2023 financial year and said that customer visitations in the first quarter represented 86 per cent of pre-COVID levels. The stock gained 4.3 per cent to $1.95.
Brainchip Holdings released its third quarter results after the market closed on Thursday, reporting net operating cash outflows of $US3.8 million for the three months. Shares in Brainchip plunged 21.2 per cent to 67¢ on Friday.