The local share market edged lower again today, led by some of the country's blue chip shares including Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO).
Here's a quick recap:
- S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) down 0.2% to 5735 points
- ALL ORDINARIES (Index: ^AXAO) (ASX: XAO) down 0.1% to 5786 points
- AUD/USD at US 79.36 cents
- Iron Ore at US$72.30 a tonne, according to the Metal Bulletin
- Gold at US$1,262.04 an ounce
- Brent oil at US$52.13 a barrel
The Rio Tinto share price declined 2.5% today. While a retreat in the iron ore price overnight may have contributed to the result, the miner also reported its half-year earnings results yesterday evening.
Rio Tinto's rivals, Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) and BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) also ended the session in the red.
The Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) share price, on the other hand, rose 4%, making it one of the market's top performing shares. The Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price gained 3.5% as well, while Steadfast Group Ltd (ASX: SDF) jumped 8.5%.
At the other end of the market, the Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ASX: API) share price was slammed 13.1% on the back of its updated full-year earnings guidance. The company now expects full-year net profit (NPAT) to be 5% higher than the previous year.
The Mantra Group Ltd (ASX: MTR) share price fell 7.1%, too, while Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN) dropped 6.4%.
