Australian shares get hammered, Rio Tinto falls 11%, Bhp Billiton 6%
Published: 04:55 14 May 2009 EDT
n a stark reminder of the still brittle nature of the current market cycle, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, big banks and emerging miners were hammered today. This followed the rout on Wall Street overnight.
Biggest loser was Rio Tinto which fell a staggering 11.8%, BHP Billiton was down 6.2% and Fortescue Metals fell 9%.
By contrast, big bank falls of 2-3% were mild by comparison. Today's market falls were the biggest in four months.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was was down 3.4%, or 132.7 points, at 3723.4.
BHP Billiton (ASX:BHP) closed down $2.13 to $32.30, Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) was down $7.65, or 11.7%, at $57.60, Fortescue Metals (ASX:FMG) was down 32 cents, or 10.9%, at $2.62, OZ Minerals was down 7.5 cents, or 9.4%, at 71.5 cents and Mirabela Nickel was down 16 cents at $2.06.
Gold miners were lower, Lihir (ASX:LGL) was down 8 cents, or 2.6%, at $3.02 and Newcrest Mining (ASX:NCM) was off 82 cents, or 2.6%, at $29.53.
In oil stocks, Santos (ASX:STO) was hammered losing 99 cents, or 6.8%, at $13.48 and Woodside Petroleum (ASX:WPL) was down $1.67, or 3.7%, at $43.15.
Macarthur Coal (ASX:MCC) was down 47 cents, or 8.8%, at $4.87, Centennial Coal (ASX:CEY) was off 11 cents, at $2.01, Arrow Energy (ASX:AOE) was off 5 cents at $3.69 and Riversdale Mining (ASX:RIV) was down 64 cents, at $5.79.
Banks were lower, ANZ Bank (ASX:ANZ) ANZ lost 34 cents to $15.37, Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) lost $1.27 to $35.47, NAB (ASX:NAB) was down 54 cents at $21.18 , Westpac (ASX:WBC) was down 40 cents to $20.20 and Macquarie Group (ASX:MQG) lost $1.24, or 3.6%, to $33.51.
