The S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX:XJO) is trading in slightly negative territory today on the back of weak offshore leads and disappointing earnings results from some of the heavyweights of the index.
The gold and health sectors have been hit particularly hard today, with strong gains coming from the energy and materials sectors.
Four shares that have seen their share prices come under massive selling pressure today, include:
CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)
CSL has been one of the major drags on the overall market today after delivering full year results that came in below market expectations. The shares fell to a low of $107.35 earlier in the day, but have managed to claw back some of those losses to trade around 5.5% lower at $110.40 per share. As highlighted here, most operating segments performed reasonably well, although the Seqirus vaccine division was a drag on the company's overall bottom line. Despite today's disappointing result, CSL has guided for stronger growth in FY17 with underlying net profit expected to grow by around 11%.
Spotless Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: SPO)
Spotless shares have fallen by more than 11% today after the cleaning and laundry services company announced it would not proceed with the potential sale of its laundries business. The company had previously announced it would consider the sale of the division in a bid to increase shareholder value. The sale was expected to raise between $400 million to $500 million but Spotless' management has determined that "the best value for its shareholders will be achieved by retaining the Laundries business within Spotless' integrated services portfolio".
BWX Ltd (ASX: BWX)
Following on from yesterday's sharp decline, shares of BWX have plunged another 9% today to trade at $4.35. The natural skin and hair care product company reported a 25% lift in net profit after tax (NPAT) yesterday, but it appears this hasn't been enough for investors who had bid up the stock quite heavily since the company listed in November 2015. The company's core product line, Sukin, has been particularly popular with Chinese consumers and there may have been an expectation that BWX would have made more progress with its direct expansion into China by now. Nevertheless, the company is anticipating profit growth of around 30% in FY17 and any further share price falls from here should warrant attention from investors.
QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE)
QBE has been one of the biggest talking points today after the insurance giant once again disappointed investors with a lacklustre interim result. The company blamed a range of issues for the poor result which has seen first half cash profits crash 39% to $287 million. It appears the only positive for shareholders is a slight increase in the dividend to 21 cents per share. Still, this wasn't enough to stop the shares from crashing more than 11% in early trade.
