The S&P/ASX 200 fell 26 points to 5624, with most resource stocks reversing yesterday’s gains.

BHP Billiton was down 1.1% to $A36.88 while Rio Tinto finished 1.7% lower at $63.06.

As has been the story for most of the week, other companies with exposure to the iron ore price also had a tough day.

Atlas Iron was down a hefty 7.2% to 57c while Fortescue Metals Group tumbled 3.8% to $4.14.

On the smaller side Kogi Iron plunged 18.4% to 4c after posting an update on its entitlement offer and plans to joint venture or sell down the Agbaja project in Nigeria.

Another steep loss came from mining manufacturer Austin Engineering, which fell 17.1% to $1.25 after releasing its full-year results.

The company said weakness in the resource sector drove a big drop in profits for the 2014 financial year.

On the positive side, Horseshoe Metals climbed 10.4% to 2.1c after releasing drilling results from the Kumarina copper project in Western Australia.

Blackthorn Resources and Intrepid Mines also posted healthy gains after announcing a friendly merger.

Intrepid announced a $110 million buyback as part of the deal.

In wider economic news, figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed total capital expenditure rose 1.1% in the June quarter, exceeding expectations.

The data helped boost the Australian dollar, which was last trading at US93.57c.