SYDNEY, June 9, 2026, 18:19 AEST
- BHP shares fell 1.89% to A$60.08, with prices sliding between A$59.04 and A$60.43. It was last quoted at A$60.08.
- S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.24% to 8,604.20. Defensives were up again, but miners dragged the index lower.
- Iron ore dropped to $101.05 per tonne on June 8, down 9.31% for the month.
BHP Group shares dropped Tuesday, hurt by softer iron ore prices. The fall weighed on Australia’s big miners and left the world’s biggest listed miner missing out as the broader market bounced late.
ASX trading started up again after the King’s Birthday holiday kept markets shut on Monday, putting investors straight into weaker bulk commodity prices and stronger U.S. rate bets, while the market keeps trying to defend gains from early June. The ASX had cash-market trading closed on June 8, according to its calendar.
BHP closed at A$60.08, dropping A$1.16. Shares traded were 12.4 million, beating the usual 8.7 million volume. The stock didn’t recover to the A$65.04 52-week high it touched earlier this year.
ASX 200 ended down 20.9 points after dropping as much as 134 earlier in the day. The All Ordinaries index slipped 0.35%. Materials stocks lagged, while consumer, telecoms, and healthcare shares helped pare the losses.
IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said the market bounced back from a “stomach-churning” drop at the open. He said the early drop came after Wall Street fell on strong U.S. non-farm payrolls, with the jobs report shifting some bets toward a possible Fed rate hike late in 2026. Higher rates would mean more expensive money and can hit risk assets like shares. IG
Sycamore, in another note, pointed out that interest-rate markets were showing 27 basis points of U.S. tightening priced in for December 2026. One basis point equals one-hundredth of a percentage point.
BHP and iron ore prices moved together. The steelmaking material was quoted at $101.05 a tonne on June 8, according to Trading Economics, down 0.93% for the day and off more than 9% so far this month. Investors were cautious around miners with heavy exposure to China’s steel business.
Peers also slipped. Rio Tinto lost 1.81% at A$181.23. Fortescue skidded 3.80% to A$19.75, flagging the heavier pressure on iron ore stocks.
BHP has moved beyond its iron ore roots. Copper made up 51% of BHP’s operating earnings in the half-year, Reuters said in February, passing iron ore for the first time. Underlying attributable profit was up 22% at $6.2 billion.
Iron ore is still drawing interest. BHP topped third-quarter iron ore production targets back in April and said yearly copper output is tracking to the top half of its range. The company also wrapped up negotiations with China Mineral Resources Group. At the time, eToro analyst Josh Gilbert called the resolution a move that “quietly de-risks” BHP’s iron ore earnings stream. Reuters
Iron ore risks falling under $100 as U.S. inflation data brings rate-hike worries back to the surface. On top of that, Reuters said last month that electrical workers at BHP’s Port Hedland export facility in Western Australia could strike by June 30. Any action there threatens operations at a major iron ore port.
Copper is the offset. If copper prices hold up and iron ore stays close to where it is, BHP might see less pressure on earnings from here. On Tuesday, the stock traded as if investors still view BHP as split between traditional iron ore and the newer copper angle.
