Basic Materials Under-Performing Today, Led By Ivanhoe Mines

Basic materials are one of the worst-performing sectors today down 1.3%. It's being led down by Ivanhoe Mines IVN, which is down 13%. Gold prices plunged today, dropping almost 2% today. Ivanhoe is one of the world's largest gold miners, and is adversely affected by a drop in gold prices. The company also announced a deal with Rio Tinto RIO to provide funding towards the Oyu Tolgoi Copper-Gold complex in Mongolia. Some analysts are speculating that this may have been a bad deal for IVN, as the company has lost leverage with this agreement. At last check, shares of IVN were off $3.97 to $25.23, a drop of 13.6%.