SYDNEY: The Australian stocks opened weaker as tumbling COMMODITY PRICES pressured the resource sector, offsetting a positive lead from Wall Street.
At the 10.15am (AEDT) official market open, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index declined 47.8 points, or 0.81 per cent, to 5,872.1, while the broader All Ordinaries index dropped 46.4 points, or 0.79 per cent, to 5,842.5.
Major resource companies fell after the price of iron ore slumped to another six-year low, base metals prices slipped at the end of last week, led by declines in nickel, and oil prices dived as concerns about conflict in Yemen eased.
China’s Baosteel warned the iron ore bear market could last for another four or five years, helping send the benchmark price for delivery to Tianjin down 1.3 per cent to $US54.10 a tonne.