Trade war tensions weighed heavily on the S&P/ASX 200 index last week, leading to the benchmark index finishing it 2.7% lower than where it started it at 6584.4 points.
Whilst the majority of shares on the index traded lower for the week, some performed worst than others.
Here were the worst performers on the benchmark index last week:
The Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) share price was the worst performer on the ASX 200 last week with a decline of 15.4%. Trade war tensions led to significant weakness in the tech sector and sent many investors out of risk on assets and into safe haven assets such as gold. Also falling heavily for the same reasons were the WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) share price (-13.8%), the Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Limited (ASX: CUV) share price (-12.9%), the Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME) share price (-11.3%), and the HUB24 Ltd (ASX: HUB) share price (-10.3%).
The NRW Holdings Limited (ASX: NWH) share price had a week to forget, sinking 10.3% lower over the period. With no news out of the mining services company or broker notes that I'm aware of, this decline may also be related to trade war concerns. Any slowdown in global economic growth could put pressure on commodity prices and ultimately lessen demand for its services.
The a2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) share price was caught up in the market selloff last week and dropped 9.3%. Investors may be concerned that if the trade war escalates, exporters to China could face issues. And as a2 Milk Company generates a significant portion of its revenues from the country, it could be one of the hardest hit.
The Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG) share price dropped 9.1% last week following the release of a disappointing full year result. In FY 2019 the insurance giant delivered cash earnings of $931 million, which was a decline of 10% on FY 2018's cash earnings. In addition to this, it declared a fully franked final dividend of 20 cents per share, which fell short of the market's expectations of 22.7 cents per share final dividend.
