The S&P/ASX 300 (Index: ^AXKO) (ASX: XKO) is barely holding above last night's close – up just 0.02% at 5,476.90 points – and looks headed for a flat close.
That's despite an early rally that saw the market soar to 5,516 points. Gains amongst the large resources and energy stocks are struggling to offset falls mainly in the financial sector.
These four companies saw their share prices suffer on Friday…
BWP Trust (ASX: BWP) saw its share price sink 3.7% to $3.54 before the close, as the A-REIT sector crumbled. Perhaps the biggest factor in the fall was a warning from AMP Capital's Shane Oliver – who says investors need to approach the A-REIT sector with caution. Mr Oviler expects returns to fall back to around 7%. BWP, which is the major property trust behind hardware powerhouse Bunnings, had seen its share price rise 25% so far this year, but there are plenty more A-REITs that have seen stronger gains.
iCarAsia Ltd (ASX: ICQ) continues to sink following its disastrous latest update, losing 5.7% to 41.5 cents. The share price has now lost nearly half its value in the past month after reporting disappointing full year profit guidance. Investors are now worried the company – which operates car classifieds websites in Asia – could be forced to raise capital to shore up its balance sheet. iCar had $13 million of cash, but expects to report an EBITDA loss of as much as $15 million.
Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG) saw its share price sink 2.7% to $25.27, despite reporting very nice results for the 2016 financial year as we noted yesterday. Perhaps some investors have been put off by analysts' research covering the result – which usually comes out the day after a company reports. Still, investors might want to keep paying attention, as any further falls in the share price could signal an opportunity to pick up a part-ownership of this incredibly successful fund manager.
Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN) saw its share price fall 4.3% (60 cents) to $13.11 after going ex-dividend by 38 cents. After posting a $1 billion profit after tax for the 2016 financial year last week, anyone would think that the future looked bright for the part insurance company/part bank. However, it seems that not all is rosy with the company despite CEO Michael Cameron's confidence in the business. There was no special dividend this year (after 4 consecutive years) and the worst general insurance result in four years according to some analysis.
