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.
Futures
The 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 performers
The 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 markets
Japan’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 news
Live 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 dollar
Gold 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.