The S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) opened lower today, but has fought back and is currently clinging onto a small 0.3% gain to 5,340 points.
This is quite impressive considering the large declines in the energy and materials sectors which are both nursing losses of almost 3% today.
There have been four shares in particular that have acted as a drag on the market today. Here's why:
BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) shares are down over 4% to $17.62 today following a terrible night for commodity markets. This heavy fall came as a result of both iron ore and oil prices falling overnight. Of course, BHP Billiton was not alone. Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) and Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) have suffered from steep declines today as well for the same reasons.
BHP Billiton shares are now down by just under 2% in 2016.
Greencross Limited (ASX: GXL) has suffered a sharp decline of almost 7% to $7.05 today. This appears to be related to recent news that Quadrant Private Equity has sold its stake in the pet care group. Greencross had been subject to a takeover bid of $6.45 per share, with many speculating an improved offer was coming. But by selling their stake it would appear that Quadrant is not interested in a takeover now.
Despite this Greencross shares are still up 8% in the last 12 months.
Prophecy International Holdings Limited (ASX: PRO) saw its share price drop again today, this time by over 5% to $1.18. The shares have been under a lot of selling pressure since it downgraded its 2016 full year forecast last week. The IT security company is now expecting EBITDA to come in between $5 million and $7 million, compared to its earlier forecast of $8.9 million.
Prophecy has now lost almost 39% of its market value since the turn of the year.
SEEK Limited (ASX: SEK) has not had the best of days today, dropping almost 4% to $16.54. Whilst there was no news released today, the ANZ Job Advertisements data for April was released yesterday showing job advertisements down 0.8% month-on-month. Economists had been expecting a small gain. It is worth noting that Freelancer Ltd (ASX: FLN) jumped by almost 4% today, possibly suggesting that the job advertisements data is not related to SEEK's share price fall.
SEEK has still managed to gain over 7% so far in 2016.
