Big iron ore companies weighed on the materials index as futures were hammered in Asia.

The most traded January contract for Dalian iron ore was trading down 7.1% at 4.20 AEDT, fetching US$81.64/t.

The contract for January delivery in Singapore was similarly troubled, falling 5.73% to US$84.85/t.

Spot iron ore fell 1.6% to US$92.30/t on Tuesday according to Fastmarkets MB.

Fortescue (ASX:FMG), BHP (ASX:BHP) and Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) all copped a whack, falling 2.13%, 2.7% and 1.65% respectively as weakness in China’s steel market weighed on iron ore prices and sentiment.

A few bright spots came from the gold sector, with St Barbara (ASX:SBM) rising by 2.89%, Kirkland Lake (ASX:KLA) up 3.21% and Silver Lake Resources gaining 2.01%, all on no news.

Chalice Mining (ASX:CHN), was the top performing mid-cap stock, but dropped to a 4.94% gain to $9.13, having soared as high as $9.95 in morning trade.

The materials index was down 1.47%, the weakest of the 11 sectors on the ASX.

 

Monsters share prices today:

 

Read MoreIron OreIron Ore NewsIron Ore StocksLarge Cap

You might be interested in