By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 declined 174.8 points or 2.4% to 7,298.5 after the first hour of trade on Tuesday as easing commodity prices pushed major miners lower, after local markets remained closed yesterday for a public holiday.
ASX 200 Futures were pointing 0.3% lower.
Among stocks, Materials companies plunged 5.2%, after Copper and Iron ore prices eased amid growing concerns about Chinese demand as the country’s COVID-19 outbreak worsens. Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) fell 3.8%, BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) dipped 5.3%, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) lost 6.4%, Champion Iron Ltd (ASX:CIA) dropped 8.8% and Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX:PLS) fell 3.6%.
Financials dipped 1.8% as Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX:MQG) fell 2.1%, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX:ANZ) lost 1.4%, National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX:NAB) fell 2%, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC) dipped 1.8% and Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (ASX:CBA) retreated 1.7%.
Energy also retreated 4.4% as Brent oil prices fell. Beach Energy Ltd (ASX:BPT) dipped 3.9% after reporting its quarterly results, Woodside Petroleum Ltd (ASX:WPL) lost 5.5% and Santos Ltd (ASX:STO) dipped 4.2%.
EML Payments Ltd (ASX:EML) also tanked 31.9% as the company slashed earnings guidance for the 2022 financial year.
On the bond markets, Australia 10-Year rates eased slightly to 3.055% while United States 10-Year yields were at 2.818%.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 lost 0.7% to 11,829.