Sydney, March 3, 2026, 16:59 AEDT — After-hours
- BHP fell 2.6% to A$57.70, breaking its two-day winning streak.
- Australian shares slipped 1.34%, miners weighing heavily on the index.
- BHP’s ex-dividend date on March 5 is on traders’ radar, while oil and freight moves tied to the Middle East remain in focus.
BHP Group Ltd (BHP.AX) dropped 2.6% to close at A$57.70 on Tuesday, paring back gains from Monday’s 3.8% surge as risk sentiment faded across the local market. Reuters cited a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards official who threatened that any ship attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz would be attacked and “set ablaze.” 1
BHP carries serious heft on the Australian market. The S&P/ASX 200 dropped 123 points, losing 1.34% to finish at 9,077.30, according to the ABC. 2
Markets had been jittery. According to a Reuters wrap, stocks tumbled after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran ramped up worries about escalation, sending energy prices surging and pushing supertanker shipping rates to all-time records. Brent hovered near $79 a barrel, Reuters said, while LNG prices in both Europe and Asia soared—up roughly 40% in just a day. 3
Back home, nerves over rates intensified. Reserve Bank of Australia chief Michele Bullock called the central bank’s March 17 meeting “live,” cautioning that persistent, oil-fueled supply shocks risk sending inflation expectations off course, Reuters reported. Markets are pricing in about a 30% likelihood of a rate move next month. 4
Selling pressure hit the major miners, too. Rio Tinto (RIO.AX) dropped 2.4% to A$165.37, while Fortescue (FMG.AX) tumbled 4.5% to A$19.58, according to Morningstar data. 5
BHP’s next big date is coming up fast. The mining giant is offering an interim dividend of 73 U.S. cents a share, payable March 26. But anyone picking up its ASX-traded stock from March 5 onward won’t see that payout, with the shares trading ex-div on that day. Investors eyeing the dividend reinvestment plan have until March 9 to make their move. 6
BHP’s top earner, iron ore, is caught in a tug of war between shipping expenses and shaky demand. Singapore iron ore futures hovered near $99 a ton on Monday, Reuters reported via Mining Weekly, as pricier oil nudged freight costs up and shipments out of Australia and Brazil dipped a bit. But sluggish steel demand and stubbornly high inventories in China kept a lid on gains. “Slow recovery in steel demand” and stockpiles are pressing on prices, said Guiqiu Zhuo, analyst at Jinrui Futures. 7
BHP faces the familiar lineup: China’s mood, the latest in shipping lanes, and freight costs shaping bulk commodities. Lately, the risks tied to each of those levers have stretched fast. When freight and fuel shift, it’s not just expense—suddenly, the whole margin calculus for supply can move.
Still, the risks are hard to ignore. An escalation in the Middle East and sustained elevated energy prices could push traders to bet more aggressively on weaker global growth and tighter policy. That scenario tends to weigh on cyclical stocks and could put a lid on metals prices, even if miners are fetching higher nominal prices right now.
BHP’s ex-dividend date lands on Thursday on the ASX. Traders are also eyeing this week’s developments out of China’s policy calendar, plus any new headlines around Hormuz shipping. The RBA’s March 17 decision looms just past the upcoming session.
