It wasn't the ideal start to May as the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) plummeted 45.6 points in heavy trading. After achieving a fresh five-and-a-half year high on Monday at 5,548.4 points, the market has since fallen roughly 2% to close on Thursday at 5,443.5.
Here are three companies which acted as a strong drag on the market for the day:
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ): Despite delivering a better than anticipated result for its first half operations, including a $3.5 billion cash profit (up 11% compared to last year) and a 14% increase in interim dividend to 83 cents per share, the bank dropped 1.2% to close at $34.06 per share. Unfortunately, it seems that the strong result had already been more than priced into the company's shares, which have been trading at an all-time high level in recent days. Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC), National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB) and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) also fell between 0.5% and 1.8% for the day.
BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP): Australia's largest diversified miner also succumbed to the market's pressure today, with its shares falling 0.9%. While this could partially be attributed to the slight decline in iron ore price overnight to US$108.30 a tonne, it is more likely in relation to the steep decline in first quarter profits reported by Brazilian iron ore producer Vale. Given its higher level of diversification, BHP didn't fall as heavily as Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) (4.2%) or Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) (1.8%) – both of which rely more heavily on iron ore for their earnings.
Woolworths Limited (ASX: WOW): The supermarket giant plunged 2.1% in today's session after it yesterday delivered its third quarter sales results. As is the case with ANZ, shares in the company have been trading around all-time highs on a P/E ratio of around 20 and although the results were strong, they clearly didn't satisfy the market. Further, Morgan Stanley has described the share strength as being "totally overdone" and lowered its earnings forecast by 1% which has weighed on the stock's performance.
