The S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) moved sharply lower on Friday, falling 0.8% by mid-afternoon trade. However, the following ASX 200 shares were getting hit particularly hard.
- Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd. (ASX: DMP) – down 8.5%
Domino's Pizza Enterprises has been one of the ASX's great success stories in recent years, soaring some 680% since 2011. However, so far in 2016 the Domino's share price has fallen nearly 16% despite some decent announcements from the company. Earlier this week, analysts at Goldman Sachs placed a $53 price target on Domino's shares, up 4% from their previous estimate, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
- WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED (ASX: WHC) – down 4.6%
Surprisingly, the Whitehaven Coal share price trended lower today despite the company releasing an upbeat half-year report to the market. In the six months ended 31 December 2015, Whitehaven said a 55% rise in coal sales, fuelled by a 59% increase in production, helped the company turn a $77.8 million loss last year into a $7.8 million profit this year. It also provided a bullish long-term outlook despite falling coal prices.
- REA Group Limited (ASX: REA) – down 5.3%
The owner of realestate.com.au also saw its share price discounted by the market following the release of its half-yearly result. And rightly so. The company claimed to have lifted profit 28% year over year. However, that figure was achieved only after excluding a number of items from its "core" earnings. Nonetheless, the report appeared promising, albeit not what the market was expecting.
- News Corp (ASX: NWS) – down 4.7%
News Corp released its fourth quarter update to the market today and its shares subsequently fell. The global media heavyweight revealed a fall in earnings per share from $0.27 to $0.15 and a modest decrease in revenue. The company's news and information services and book publishing businesses both reported a 25% fall in operating profit year over year.
