The fears of investors appeared to rise during Tuesday's trading session with the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) plunging 1.7%. It was one of the worst days this year on the ASX.
Meanwhile, the news wires are reporting that Chinese shares have tumbled the most since 2009 with a one day fall of 5.4%!
The ASX's decline has seen a number of high profile stocks sink to new intra-day 52-week lows – here's how some of the major decliners looked at the close:
- Ainsworth Game Technology Limited (ASX: AGI) dropped to $2.10, representing a 12-month decline of 52% and a market capitalisation of $673.5 million.
- BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) fell to $28.88, a fall of 21% over the past 12 months and equating to a market capitalisation of $150.6 billion.
- Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) closed at $38.23, down nearly 17% over the last 12 months and with a market capitalisation of $3.8 billion.
- Myer Holdings Ltd (ASX: MYR) finished at $1.46. The stock has now lost 47% over the past year and has a market capitalisation of just $869 million.
- Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG) ended Tuesday's session at $10.80. The shares are now down around 21% over the past year and the market capitalisation is $11.85 billion.
- Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) dropped to $55.50 and has now lost 16% in the last year. The falls have taken the company's market capitalisation to just below the $100 billion level.
- Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) plunged to a close of $7.70. The group's share price is now down 47% over the last 12 months and its market capitalisation is down to $7.65 billion.
- Village Roadshow Ltd (ASX: VRL) closed at $6.20. The stock is down 10% over the year and its market capitalisation stands just shy of $1 billion.
Are any of them buys?
Obviously a number of these stocks are influenced by commodity prices. While it can be tempting to jump in and buy after such significant falls in price it is important to remember that the market's perception of value has changed markedly as a result of the plunge in iron ore and oil prices. This change in perception and valuation is driving the price falls and therefore without a meaningful upward reappraisal of commodity prices there may be no sustained bounce in 2015.
In the case of the 'industrials', these stocks are arguably easier to value as the inputs are more predictable than commodity prices. Given Ainsworth, Flight Centre, Myer and Village Roadshow are all leaders in their respective sectors, their lower share prices could certainly make them worth a closer look by bargain hunters.
