ASX falls, weighed down by plummeting gold stocks

The Australian sharemarket has dipped in early trading on Friday as a risk-off sentiment triggered by the Gaza peace plan sent oil and gold stocks down, while the big iron ore miners also fell amid reports of further price disputes between BHP and China.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 26.6 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 8943.2 in the opening 10 minutes, with five out of the 11 sectors in the red.
Oil and gold both edged lower as traders focused on cooling tensions in the Middle East and broader markets struck a more cautious tone. West Texas Intermediate fell 1.7 per cent to settle below $US62 a barrel while Brent closed near $US65.
Risk off sentiment took hold as Israel implemented a ceasefire deal in Gaza after it reached an agreement with Hamas for the release of all the hostages it holds, a major step toward ending a two-year war has loomed over oil flows from the Middle East, the source of a third of the world's crude.
"Geopolitical developments shook up the markets overnight, with the breakthrough between Israel and Hamas - that could see a sustained ceasefire and the return of hostages and progress made to a bigger peace deal - hitting crude and gold," said Capital.com market analyst Kyle Rodda. "Gold prices were so primed for a pullback, with the hype in the market louder than any time in recent memory."
On the ASX, oil and gas giant Woodside fell 1 per cent. Beach Energy fell 1.7 per cent, while Santos edged down 0.6 per cent.
Index heavyweight BHP fell 1 per cent after Bloomberg reported that price dispute between the Australian mining giant and China's state-run iron ore buyer risked as far as early next year, as both sides remain locked in stalemate. Rio Tinto fell 0.9 per cent, while Fortescue came off 0.8 per cent.
Gold stocks also weighed on the local bourse after the price of bullion fell 1.6 per cent to $US3,976.65 as of 4.32pm in New York (7.32am AEDT ). Newmont dropped 2.4 per cent, Northern Star 4.3 per cent, Ramelius and Genesis 5.5 per cent, Vault 4.6 per cent, Westgold 4.7 per cent, Perseus 5 per cent, and Greatland 3.3 per cent.
Stocks on the move
Perenti fell 1.2 per cent after it announced that chief executive Mark Norwell would step down next year, with a search for his replacement underway.
Mineral Resources rose 2 per cent on news that founder Chris Ellison had lost one of his key boardroom backers after Zimi Meka became the sixth director in as many months to exit, with the company appointing Susan Ferrier and Colin Moorehead as independent non-executive directors to fill the boardroom holes.
DigiCo fell 2 per cent after it announced that chief executive Chris Maher has stepped down from its board and would be replaced by newly recruited former AirTrunk deputy chief executive Michael Juniper.

Sumber : AFR