The S&P /ASX200 (ASX: XJO) is 1% higher at 5,637 points in afternoon trade as investors react to positive tweets from President Trump over potential resolutions to the US / China trade dispute.
However, it's far from plain sailing for local investors, with some well known companies heading lower. So let's take a look at what might be behind some of the price action.
The Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price is down 1.9% to $3 per share even though the telco recently announced it won $386 million of super-fast next-generation 5G mobile spectrum at a government auction. Subsequent to the auction influential broker UBS reportedly put a $3 share price target and "neutral" view on Telstra shares. Other analysts such as those at Citi are concerned Telstra will have to cut its dividend again in the years ahead, which is keeping a lid on the share price.
The St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) share price is down 4.2% to $4.44 as the $2.7 billion gold miner is vulnerable to a falling gold price if investors become more confident about the outlook for the global economy. Recently, St Barbara reported it has entered into a forward contract to deliver 50,000 ounces of gold out to December 2020 at a price of US$1,300 per ounce. The spot price is currently US$1,249, with St Barbara also having hedged a further 98,000 ounces of gold forward contracts at different prices for FY 2020.
The Integrated Research Limited (ASX: IRI) share price is down 2.8% to $1.52 as investors react to more news about senior management departures at the information technology services business. On December 10 the group announced its President Americas and Global Alliances had resigned, while on November 20 the group surprised investors by announcing that its CEO, John Merakovsky, had also resigned with no replacement identified.
The TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPM) share price is down 1.4% to $7.66 today with the competition regulator the ACCC due to hand in its verdict on TPG's proposed merger with Vodafone Hutchinson Australia tomorrow December 13. On December 10, TPG revealed it had secured $263.3 million worth of next-generation 5G mobile spectrum in a joint bid with Vodafone Australia. The TPG share price could be volatile tomorrow as investors react to the ACCC's decision.