Last week was a very volatile one for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). However, despite a poor finish to the period, the benchmark index recorded a weekly gain of 0.6% to end at 6,710.8 points.
Four ASX shares that were unable to follow the index higher last week are listed below. Here's why they were the worst performers on the ASX 200:
IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL)
The IDP Education share price was the worst performer on the ASX 200 last week with a 13.6% decline. This appears to have been driven by a number of factors. One of those was its shares trading ex-dividend for its interim dividend on Thursday. In addition to this, profit taking after some very strong gains appears to have weighed on its shares. Especially given the concerns about rising bond yields.
Gold Road Resources Ltd (ASX: GOR)
The Gold Road share price wasn't far behind with an 11.9% decline over the five days. Investors were selling Gold Road and other gold mining shares last week after rising bond yields put pressure on the gold price. This led to the S&P/ASX All Ords Gold index falling a disappointing 6% over the period.
Cimic Group Ltd (ASX: CIM)
The CIMIC share price was out of form last week and dropped 11.2%. This was despite the engineering company revealing that its UGL and CPB Contractors businesses have entered into an early contractor involvement contract with CuString. The agreement is for works relating to the Copperstring 2.0 project.
IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO)
The IGO price was a poor performer over the five days and tumbled 9.5% lower. Investors were selling the nickel, gold, and lithium producer's shares despite analysts at UBS putting a buy rating and $8.00 price target on them. Weakness in gold and nickel prices sent investors to the exits last week. At one stage, the latter was down 16% in the space of just one week. This was driven by concerns over rising nickel stockpiles and higher supply.
