ASX Round-Up: Mining Sector Boosted by Chinese Data, Production Reports

The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) closed at 5,583.5 points today, down 4.3 points from the previous session. The share market experienced a slight decline in value after rallying for the past seven sessions, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

Despite that decline, the mining industry was helped somewhat by “better than expected factory data out of China and guidance-beating quarterly production reports.” Pete Sumner, a portfolio manager for MLC Investments, explained, “[t]he mining sector had retreated about 3 per cent over the June quarter. This bounce comes as concerns about declining demand growth for iron ore and coal from China subsides, while the local producers have delivered some pleasing production updates over the past fortnight.”

Interestingly, though the mining sector saw a bit of an uptick, mining companies did not fare so well today. Sirius Resources (ASX:SIR), which mines for gold, nickel and other minerals in Western Australia and Brazil, fell by $0.19, or 4.66 percent, to reach $3.89 per share. Similarly, gold-focused Beadell Resources (ASX:BDR) fell by $0.03, or 4.39 percent, to arrive at $0.55 per share.

Finally, Atlas Iron (ASX:AGO), an iron ore company that exports direct shipping ore from the Northern Pilbara region of Western Australia, fell by $0.03, or 4.24 percent, to reach $0.57 per share.