In afternoon trade the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) is down by a disappointing 0.2% to 5,957 points.
Four shares which have acted as a drag on proceedings are listed below. Here's why they are in the red:
The Audio Pixels Holdings Ltd (ASX: AKP) share price has crashed 14% lower to $15.71 following the release of an update on its audio speakers. According to the release, a deficiency in the chips internal electrical interconnects has delayed the delivery of its wafers by three to four weeks. Investors appear to be growing restless and concerned the speakers may never live up to the company's $500 million market cap.
The Independence Group NL (ASX: IGO) share price has tumbled 4% to $4.10. As well as taking a hit from the gold price falling to a four-month low, Independence is feeling the brunt of a sharp decline in the copper price overnight. I'm quite bearish on gold in 2018, so would suggest investors lock in their gains.
The Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price has fallen 3% to 92.2 cents. The majority of Australia's lithium miners are in the red today as investors continue to take profit. The Pilbara Minerals' share price has now lost over 16% of its value in a week.
The Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) share price is down almost 2% to $4.93 following the release of a broker note out of the Macquarie equities desk. According to the note, the broker has downgraded the energy company to a neutral rating from outperform.
