In afternoon trade on Wednesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on form and on course to record a strong gain. The benchmark index is currently up 0.75% to 5,938.6 points.
Four shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here's why they are dropping lower:
The Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) share price is down 1.5% to $14.70. Investors have been selling the gold miner's shares amid softness in the gold price overnight. The price of the precious metal pulled back after the U.S. dollar strengthened. The S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold index is down 0.25% on Wednesday.
The Sealink Travel Group Ltd (ASX: SLK) share price is down 2% to $5.08. This appears to have been driven by news that one of the travel and transport company's non-executive directors has been selling shares. According to a change of director's interest notice, Christopher Smerdon sold 100,000 shares through a series of on-market trades last week. Mr Smerdon received a total of $500,000 for the shares.
The THC Global Group Ltd (ASX: THC) share price has crashed 11% lower to 24.5 cents. This morning the cannabis company responded to a request from the ASX relating to its accounts. This follows comments by its auditor which revealed that it disagreed with THC Global's management over the application of Australian Accounting Standards and particularly is use of fair value measurements and asset impairments. THC defended its accounting practices.
The Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) share price is down 3% to 94 cents. I suspect that this decline is due to profit taking after some strong gains by the coal miner's shares over the last three trading periods. Prior to today, Whitehaven Coal's shares were up over 14% since closing at 84 cents on Thursday afternoon. At the start of the month UBS put a buy rating and $2.00 price target on its shares.
