AU Morning Wrap: ASX Falls Following a Sharp Sell-Off in the Mining Giants

The market climbed back Monday, with stocks reaching past last week's one day 2% pullback to trade just barely higher, beating stocks declining by about 6600 to 4900. The $S&P 500 Index(.SPX.US)$ was up 0.08%, the $Dow Jones Industrial Average(.DJI.US)$ was almost flat and down 12 bps, and the $Nasdaq Composite Index(.IXIC.US)$ was up just 0.07%.

Investors are watching major earnings this week from four of the final magnificent seven companies- the largest stocks in the world. $Microsoft(MSFT.US)$ will arrive on Tuesday, $Meta Platforms(META.US)$ on Wednesday, and $Apple(AAPL.US)$ and $Amazon(AMZN.US)$ on Thursday, alongside a host of other $10B and $100B+ market cap giants. Firms releasing earnings Tuesday include $PayPal(PYPL.US)$, $Pinterest(PINS.US)$, $Advanced Micro Devices(AMD.US)$, $BP PLC(BP.US)$, $Pfizer(PFE.US)$ and $Starbucks(SBUX.US)$.

The Australian sharemarket dropped nearly 1 percent at the open on Tuesday following a sharp sell-off among mining giants. The benchmark $S&P/ASX 200(.XJO.AU)$ fell 1.2 percent, or 92.4 points, to 7987.2 at the start of trading, with all 11 sectors in the red.

The materials sector was the worst performer, sliding 1.8 percent. The entire sector was dragged lower as index heavyweight $BHP Group Ltd(BHP.AU)$ dropped 1.5 percent. The mining giant announced that it and Lundin Mining have agreed to jointly acquire Toronto-listed copper miner Filo Corp. BHP's total cash payment for the proposed transaction is expected to be $US2.1 billion ($3.2 billion).

$Fortescue Ltd(FMG.AU)$ dropped 8.6 percent after The Australian Financial Review's Street Talk column first reported that JPMorgan's equity capital markets team was seeking buyers for $1.9 billion of discounted stock after Monday's closing bell on behalf of an undisclosed institutional investor.

As of latest data, $Bitcoin(BTC.CC)$ is priced at $66,568, down by 3.45% in the past 24 hours, while $Ethereum(ETH.CC)$ is priced at $3,296, up by 0.13% in the past 24 hours.

$Ramsay Health Care Ltd(RHC.AU)$ has announced that CEO Craig McNally will retire at the end of June 2025. The ASX-listed private hospital operator has appointed former Woolworths Supermarkets managing director Natalie Davis as CEO-elect, starting in October this year.

According to its latest quarterly update, $IGO Ltd(IGO.AU)$ has reported underlying earnings before interest, tax, and amortization (EBITDA) of $88.2 million. The miner attributed the higher EBITDA to increased net profit from its Chinese partner Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia and higher spodumene sales at its Greenbushes mine in Western Australia.

$The Star Entertainment Group Ltd(SGR.AU)$ has stated that it is not aware of any undisclosed information that could explain the recent trading in its shares. The stock has surged 15% over the last five sessions, reaching 58 cents, the highest level in over 12 months.