In afternoon trade the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to start the week on a high. At the time of writing the benchmark index is up a solid 2.2% to 4,950.2 points.
Four shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here's why they are dropping lower:
The Boral Limited (ASX: BLD) share price is down almost 4% to $1.93. This follows the release of two pieces of negative news since the market closed on Friday. The first was that Boral has been served with a class action by Quinn Emanuel. The second was news that S&P Global Ratings have affirmed their 'BBB' ratings on Boral, but revised the outlook from stable to negative.
The Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Limited (ASX: CUV) share price is down 3.5% to $18.20. Investors appear to have been spooked by news that Clinuvel is now one of the most shorted shares on the Australian share market. The biopharmaceutical company was a new entry in the top ten most shorted ASX shares this morning.
The Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) share price has dropped 4.5% to $3.26. Investors have been selling Santos and other energy shares after oil prices continued to slide on Monday. According to CNBC, the WTI crude oil price is down 5.4% to US$20.35 a barrel. The Brent crude oil price has fallen harder and is down 6.6% to US$23.28 a barrel. Traders are betting on a sharp reduction in demand due to the coronavirus.
The Scentre Group (ASX: SCG) share price is down 4.5% to $1.44. The catalyst for this decline appears to be concerns over the increasing number of retailers that are planning to pay no rent whilst their stores are closed. It isn't just Scentre which is sliding lower. A large number of REITs with retail exposure are deep in the red today.
