The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has just experienced a week to forget, recording 5 straight sessions of losses in a row. Falling commodity prices, ongoing concerns over the savage Delta outbreak and a mixed bag of earnings results all contributed to the ASX's woes last week.
But it was the ASX mining shares that really dragged the whole index down.
It was a brutal week for miners. The large iron miners that dominate the ASX 200 led the losses. BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) was down a phenomenal 16%, while Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) lost 10.9%. Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) slipped 8.7%.
With BHP, the company has also seemingly copped some flack over its FY21 earnings report we saw on Tuesday. Although BHP delivered some pleasing metrics, including a big dividend hike, the reception for its plans to offload its petroleum business to Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) seems to be getting some pushback from the markets.
But miners outside the majors also felt the pain. South32 Ltd (ASX: S32) fell more than 3%, as did other mid-tier iron diggers like Champion Iron Ltd (ASX: CIA) which was down more than 8%.
These moves followed a dramatic collapse in the price of iron ore itself. A week ago, iron ore was at US$165 per tonne. A fortnight ago, it was around US$172 per tonne. Today, it's sitting at US$154 per tonne. It's this notable decline in pricing that was likely behind the moves we saw last week in these miners.
Miners lead ASX 200 off a cliff
But it wasn't just the iron ore miners in the dumps last week. Popular lithium and rare earths companies like Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS), Orocobre Limited (ASX: ORE) and Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC), which have recently been exploring new all-time highs, were also smashed. Lynas was down close to 7% last week, while Pilbara fell 5.6% and Orocobre, 5.7%.
Gold miners were also hit hard. The ASX's largest gold prospector, Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM), fell 3.3%, which was not an uncommon move for its peers either.
ASX bank shares like Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) also spent the week going backwards.
We also saw some familiar lockdown moves that might remind investors of 2020. The ongoing restrictions across many major Australian cities last week, Sydney and Melbourne included, saw ASX travel shares like Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD) and Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) lose a lot of steam.
In their place, ASX tech shares like Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) and Redbubble Ltd (ASX: RBL), as well as Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP) surged. On the latter, this was partly assisted by a well-received earnings report as well.
How did the markets end the week?
Well, as we mentioned above, it wasn't a great week on the ASX boards last week, with back-to-back losses Monday to Friday. Monday and Tuesday saw the largest losses of the week, with the ASX giving back 0.61% and 0.94%, respectively. But Wednesday, Thursday and Friday also saw drops of 0.12%, 0.5% and 0.05% apiece, meaning that no day was especially joyous for investors last week.
Overall, the ASX 200 started the trading week off at 7,628.9 points and finished up at 7,460.9 points, a steep fall of 2.2%.
Meanwhile, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) also had a pretty nasty week. The All Ords started the week at 7,897.7 points but finished up at 7,725.1 points – a drop of 2.19%.
Which ASX 200 shares were the biggest winners and losers?
Time now for our most salacious segment, where we check out the ASX 200's biggest winners and poorest losers of the week. And boy, with the week the ASX has just had, it's going to be a juicy one. So get the coffee brewing as we, as always, start with the losers:
| Worst ASX 200 losers | % loss for the week |
|---|---|
| Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC) | (18.2%) |
| Sims Ltd (ASX: SGM) | (17.4%) |
| Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN) | (17%) |
| BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) | (16%) |
The ASX 200's wooden spooner share last week was indeed Lynas Rare Earths, with a steep 18.2% loss for the week. Lynas was caught up in the commodity sell-off last week, with perhaps some profit taking going on as well. Until recently, Lynas had been on an incredible run, and even after this chunky loss, remains up more than 51% in 2021 so far.
Scrap metal company Sims was also caught in the crosshairs. That was despite the company's FY21 earnings report delivering better than expected numbers for the financial year just passed. Falling iron ore prices do tend to translate into lower scrap metal prices, so this might be what is behind investors hitting the sell button on this one.
Miner and supplier Mineral Resources was likely caught up in the same headwinds here, with no major news out of this company. And we've already looked at BHP, which has responded to the falling iron ore price especially hard.
Now with the losers out of the way, let's take a gander at last week's winners:
| Best ASX 200 gainers | % gain for the week |
|---|---|
| Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME) | 17.5% |
| Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) | 15.1% |
| Chorus Ltd (ASX: CNU) | 12% |
| Domain Holdings Australia Ltd (ASX: DHG) | 11.1% |
Our winning ASX 200 share last week was healthcare company Pro Medicus. Investors responded with great excitement to this company's FY21 earnings report, which was released on Wednesday. With profits before tax rising by an impressive 41%, it's not hard to see why.
Kogan was also a winner last week. Unlike Pro Medicus though, there wasn't much news out of the company that may explain Kogan's 15% jump. Perhaps its reputation as a 'lockdown winner' was behind this.
Turning to the New Zealand-based Chorus, and a favourable decision from the New Zealand Government seemed to be behind the telco's good fortune last week, underpinning a 12% jump.
Meanwhile, Domain shares rose after the company reported its FY21 earnings on Thursday. Again, we saw some impressive numbers here, with Domain reporting net profits were up a very healthy 66%. Investors reacted accordingly.
A wrap of the ASX 200 blue-chip shares
Before we go, here is a look at how the ASX 200's blue-chip shares are faring as we start on yet another week of company results:
| ASX 200 company | Last share price | Trailing P/E ratio | Trailing Dividend Yield | 52-week high | 52-week low |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) | $306.10 | 38.02 | 1% | $320.42 | $242 |
| Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) | $99.27 | 21.09 | 3.53% | $109.03 | $62.64 |
| Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) | $25.76 | 22.04 | 3.45% | $27.12 | $16 |
| Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) | $28.31 | 17.15 | 3.71% | $29.64 | $16.40 |
| National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) | $27.41 | 21.04 | 3.28% | $27.84 | $16.56 |
| Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) | $163.57 | 19.84 | 2.87% | $166.36 | $118.36 |
| Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) | $20.36 | 7.16 | 12.13% | $26.58 | $15.62 |
| BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) | $44.34 | 14.41 | 9.23% | $54.55 | $33.73 |
| Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) | $107.23 | 6.75 | 8.46% | $137.33 | $90.04 |
| Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) | $24.71 | 14.95 | 1.77% | $34.77 | $23.08 |
| Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) | $19.70 | – | 2.93% | $27.60 | $16.80 |
| Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) | $4.02 | 25.74 | 3.98% | $4.02 | $2.66 |
| Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) | $41.99 | 37.48 | 2.41% | $44.06 | $35.96 |
| Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) | $66.06 | 39.84 | 2.5% | $67.20 | $43.50 |
| Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) | $18.72 | 23.81 | 3.26% | $19.11 | $15.28 |
| Transurban Group (ASX: TCL) | $14.03 | – | 2.6% | $15.64 | $12.36 |
| Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD) | $7.70 | – | – | $8.04 | $5.20 |
| Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) | $129.50 | – | – | $160.05 | $70.06 |
And finally, here is the lay of the land for some leading market indicators:
- S&P/ASX 200 Index (XJO) at 7,460.9 points.
- All Ordinaries Index (XAO) at 7,725.1points.
- Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) at 35,120 points after rising 0.65% on Friday night (our time).
- Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) going for US$49,163 per coin.
- Gold (spot) swapping hands for US$1,782 per troy ounce.
- Iron ore asking US$154.30 per tonne.
- Crude oil (Brent) trading at US$65.18 per barrel.
- Australian dollar buying 71.3 US cents.
- 10-year Australian Government bonds yielding 1.08% per annum.
That's all folks. See you next week!
