There hasn't been much in the way of excitement on the ASX today. At the time of writing, the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) is up a mere 0.1% at 5,439 points. There are, however, a number of businesses that are trading deep in the red today.
Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) is one such business. Its shares have fallen 4.2% to $3.92, down from a high of $5.92 in July. Since then, gold prices have come off the boil with signs that they could fall even further if, or when, the U.S. Federal Reserve resumes its interest rate hikes. Notably, fellow gold miner Independence Group NL (ASX: IGO) has also shed 5.1% today.
Baby Bunting Group Ltd (ASX: BBN) shares are trading 1.1% lower today, although they have fallen more than 10% since the beginning of the week. It seems the likely catalyst for this was the group's Morgans Queensland Conference 2016 presentation, released on Wednesday, in which investors may have been disappointed to see the group's outlook for financial year 2017 remain unchanged. What's more, comparable store sales growth is expected to moderate considerably from 15% as at 7 August 2016 to be more in-line with historical averages (mid-single digit).
BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) shares have fallen 1.5% today, after its London-listed shares slipped 4.5% overnight. The fall comes after weaker-than-expected Chinese trade data which has clearly left some investors concerned about the health of the world's second-biggest economy.
Fastbrick Robotics Ltd (ASX: FBR) had its time in the spotlight as investors piled into its shares. But the stock now appears to be stuck in reverse, falling 7.4% today and 24.2% since its intraday high on Friday last week. Fastbricks Robotics remains a highly speculative investment proposition, and investors would be wise to give it a wide berth in my opinion.
