Australian stocks have tumbled for a third straight day, led by hefty falls from the major miners in response to a bleak outlook for iron ore prices.
At 4.15pm AEDT, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 20.1 points, or 0.4 per cent, at 4967.3 points.
The broader All Ordinaries index was down 21.8 points, or 0.44 per cent, at 4982.6 points.
The big two, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, fell more than 1 per cent after Goldman Sachs forecast iron ore prices would fall from $US139 a tonne in 2013 to $US80 a tonne in 2015.
BHP and Rio, whose shares also trade in London, were also subject to a number of analysts' downgrades during the overnight session.
BHP fell 93c, or 2.69 per cent, to $33.62, while Rio fell $1.18, or 2.01 per cent, to $57.48.
Among the other iron ore-focused miners, Fortescue Metals fell 9c, or 2.31 per cent, to $3.80 and Mount Gibson Iron fell 3c, or 5.17 per cent, to 55c.
The weakness among mining stocks pushed the overall Australian market to a third consecutive day of declines, with the S&P/ASX200 closing at its lowest level since February 12.
The Australian market was down by as much as 0.75 per cent during the day, but managed to pare back some of those losses in afternoon trade.
"The main sore point for the market today came in the form of steep declines by mining giants BHP and RIO," CMC senior trader Tim Waterer said.
"Essentially, the Goldman Sachs estimate cut for iron ore pricing had a predictable impact on the blue-chip miners."
IG market strategist Evan Lucas said there was concern that there would be increased use of scrap metal in China, which would lead to lower steel production.
Among other stocks, retailer David Jones rose 12c to $3.08 despite its first-half profit falling 14 per cent in challenging trading conditions.
Sydney Airport rose 3c to $3.19 after it reported a 2.2 per cent rise in passenger numbers in February.
The March share price index futures contract was down 30 points at 4960 points, with 102,173 contracts traded.
National turnover was 2.1 billion securities worth $4.92 billion.
