Whichever way you slice it, it was a brutal day for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) on Wednesday. Fortunately, a late wave of buying across ASX mining shares cauterised the Australian market to an extent.
The ringing of the closing bell marked the end of a painful day for many shareholders. Once it came to rest, the Aussie index had scratched away 2.6% to settle at a smidgen over 6,828 points.
However, the damage toll could have been worse if not for a more upbeat finish from a few ASX 200 giants.
These shares dug the ASX 200 out of a hole
As many would know, the benchmark is weighted by market capitalisation. In short, this means the larger the company, the more bearing it has on the performance of the index.
This worked to the broader market's favour on Wednesday afternoon, as some of the largest companies inside the ASX 200 pared back their steeper losses witnessed earlier in the day. The standouts included mining heavyweights BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO), and Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG).
Let's take a look at the opening and closing share prices of each of these companies:
- BHP: opened $38.60 — closed $38.60
- Rio Tinto: opened $94.00 — closed $94.83
- Fortescue: opened $17.60 — closed $17.77
Of these three companies, Fortescue Metals Group had the largest inversion today. At one point the iron ore miner was down 5.2%. However, it managed to claw back enough to finish only 2.5% below its previous close.
The improvement in sentiment followed a welcomed sign of cooperation between Australia and China this morning. A joint venture between ASX 200 constituent Rio Tinto and China's largest steelmaker indicates the market of Aussie iron ore in China is still alive and well.
Finally, the iron ore price is around US$101.40 per tonne on Wednesday. This represents a decline of nearly 22% compared to a year ago.
