5 large cap stocks sinking on the ASX today

S&P/ASX 200 closes down 0.8%, but these 5 fared worse

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The S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX: XJO) (ASX: XJO) has recovered from early falls but has still ended the day down 0.8%. Apart from a couple of insurers, most of the top 20 dipped into negative territory.

Here're 5 ASX 200 stocks that were hammered down more than 4% by investors today.

AWE Limited (ASX: AWE) fell 5.1% to $1.49 despite confirming a huge gas discovery at its Irwin-1 well in the Perth Basin, Western Australia today. AWE also noted today that it was on track to meet guidance and is focused on producing 10 million barrels of oil equivalent by the end of 2018. AWE also says it is prioritising gas assets ahead of oil assets, due to lower oil prices.

M2 Group Ltd (ASX: MTU) dropped 5% to close at $10.55 as investors fret over the company being forced to make a higher takeover offer for iiNet Limited (ASX: IIN). iiNet's board has recommended shareholders accept TPG Telecom Limited's (ASX: TPM) revised offer, but M2 still has the option of upping its bid. The problem for M2 is that TPG Telecom has bigger pockets and can easily trump any bid M2 makes.

Gold miner Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL) sank 4.3% to $1.225, despite spot gold prices hanging around US$1,192 an ounce. Regis recently announced production of 66,000 ounces of gold in the March quarter, at a pre-royalty cash cost of $936 per ounce from its 3 mines. It's a pity the miner doesn't provide all-in sustaining costs – which are likely to be much higher than that.

Karoon Gas Australia Limited (ASX: KAR) is down 5.3% at $2.68. Today the company gave a positive update on its Echidna-1 Exploration Well, which is in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil. Managing director Robert Hosking was upbeat saying it moves Karoon a step closer to developing an integrated production hub in the Basin – but it seems investors weren't buying it.

Domino's Pizza Enterprises Limited (ASX: DMP) dropped 4.9% to $37.99, but shares are still up more than 50% this calendar year. In its latest presentation, CEO Don Meij reported that Domino's has a 52% share of the Australian Pizza Chain market and a quarter of every pizza sold in the country. The company has also announced the launch of a GPS tracker, so customers can track the location of their pizzas. Given the company's trailing P/E ratio currently sits above 60x, it appears some investors are taking some profits off the table.

Motley Fool contributor Mike King owns shares in M2 Group and TPG Telecom. You can follow Mike on Twitter @TMFKinga The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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