In early afternoon trade the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has given back its morning gains but has just managed to keep its head above water. At the time of writing the benchmark index sits a touch higher at 5,836.3 points.
Four shares that are failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here's why they have dropped lower:
The Perseus Mining Limited (ASX: PRU) share price has continued to slide lower and is down 2% at 39 cents. The lack of volatility in share markets at the moment appears to have led to investors selling off safe haven assets like the gold miners this month. The Perseus Mining share price is now down over 11% during the last couple of weeks.
The Praemium Ltd (ASX: PPS) share price has dropped 4% to 74 cents. Prior to today the investment platform provider's shares were up over 11% in the space of two days following the release of its latest quarterly update. I suspect that profit taking from day traders could be weighing heavily on its shares today.
The Syrah Resources Ltd (ASX: SYR) share price has tumbled 5.5% lower to $1.92. As with Praemium, I suspect that profit taking could be weighing on its shares today. Even after accounting for today's decline, the graphite miner's share price has been the best performer on the ASX 200 in 2019 with an impressive gain of 28%. A positive production update has helped propel its shares higher this month.
The Western Areas Ltd (ASX: WSA) share price is down almost 3.5% to $2.10 despite there being no news out of the nickel miner. Once again, this decline appears to have been triggered by profit taking. Prior to today the Western Areas share price was up a sizeable 15% year to date. A positive update on its Odysseus project last week has been a key driver of this strong gain.
