The ASX200 has been down 0.11% at 8,205 points in early afternoon trade.
Investors’ bullish expectations around Chinese stimulus has put a rocket under the iron ore price – now $114 per tonne in Singapore. Citi has turned ‘tactically bullish’ and has a price target of $120 a tonne for iron ore and $10,500 for copper.
Meanwhile, Gina Rinehart has informed the Western Australia government her Mulga Downs iron ore mine will now produce just over half what was originally planned.
Rinehart pointed to a conflation of environmental and native title concerns hampering the project, breaking from her well-known stance as a fierce opponent of green tape.
To the sectors, Real Estate has been the best performing sector, up 0.4%, followed by Energy and Staples, up around a tenth of a percent.
IT has been the worst performing sector, down 1.3%, followed by Telecommunication and Financials – both down around a third a percent.
Company News
Iron Ore giant BHP (ASX:BHP) has been up three quarters of a percent on the back of a surging iron ore price. The big Australian’s hedging against the iron ore price is expected to impact price movements.
BHP has been trading at $45.12.
Sun Silver Ltd (ASX:SS1) has been up 11.7% on discovery of silver grades of up to 524 grams per tonne over more than a metre at its Maverick Springs play in Nevada.
The readings from one hole including 75 grams per tonne of silver over a width of 73 metres from 249.94 metres.
Sun Silver has been trading at 86 cents.
Poseidon Nickel (ASX:POS) has been flat after advancing its copper gold exploration efforts at Lake Johnston.
The company has now selected a range of copper-gold drill targets including the Billy Rae and Norfolk prospects.
Poseidon Nickel has been $0.004.