Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 18 : 9-Jan-18

The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index has outperformed the broader Australian sharemarket over the last two years, and Macquarie Equities is bullish about the outlook for mining stocks in 2018. The firm believes that major resources groups will have the scope to increase their capital returns to shareholders if the spot prices of key commodities remain at around current levels. Macquarie has maintained its "outperform" rating for both BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, while Fortescue Metals Group is its preferred stock among pure-play miners.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 MATERIALS INDEX, MACQUARIE EQUITIES LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, OZ MINERALS LIMITED – ASX OZL, METALS X LIMITED – ASX MLX, EVOLUTION MINING LIMITED – ASX EVN, ST BARBARA LIMITED – ASX SBM, REGIS RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX RRL, ILUKA RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX ILU, NEOMETALS LIMITED – ASX NMT, OROCOBRE LIMITED – ASX ORE, WESTERN AREAS LIMITED – ASX WSA, ALUMINA LIMITED – ASX AWC