Westfield Corp (ASX: WFD) has been amongst Australia's worst-performing stocks today following a dogged performance by US equity markets overnight. In what has been the stock's worst single-day setback in its short life, it has dropped 17c or 2.2% to be trading at just $7.31.
The Dow Jones and NASDAQ indices fell sharply on Thursday night following Argentina's debt default, a number of corporate result misses, and weak US jobs data.
All three of these factors could be causing some Westfield Corp shareholders to head for the exits today. While the data showed a greater-than-expected rise in claims for jobless benefits in the last week, weaker-than-anticipated corporate results could also indicate the US's recovery isn't going quite as strongly as the market first thought.
Given Westfield Corp's heavy exposure to the US, it is likely that investors are weighing up how these events could impact the company's near-term earnings prospects.
The stock's 2.2% fall compares to the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) index's 1.4% fall, as well as the 1.6% fall of Scentre Group (ASX: SCG).
A better bet than Westfield
Westfield presents as a solid buy for investors, particularly with its shares having dropped more than 4% since Wednesday. However, given the rising concerns of a potential market crash, there is another stock you should probably consider buying before Westfield…
