Why is the Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price having a day to forget?

What's wrong with Wesfarmers shares today?

Sebastian Bowen

Author Bio Sebastian Bowen has been a Motley Fool contributor since late 2018. Sebastian found his passion for writing and educating others about shares and all things finance after completing his studies in political, economic and social science and enjoys bringing this passion to life at the Fool. His investment philosophy is a simple one – buying high-quality companies at prices that make sense. When he’s not researching his next investment at all hours of the morning, Sebastian enjoys classic movies and likes to unwind with a good book, newspaper or record. Areas of Expertise Dividend investing ETFs Education Bachelor of Political, Economic, and Social Sciences (Government and International Relations), University of Sydney Social Media X/Twitter Favorite Investment Quote "In the short run, the market is a voting machine, but in the long run, it is a weighing machine." – Benjamin Graham

Published December 14, 2021 3:08 pm AEDT

Sure, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is not having a great day thus far this Tuesday. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 remains down by around 0.06%, after dipping by almost 0.5% earlier this morning. But why is the Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) share price doing so much worse?

Wesfarmers shares are currently down by a nasty 2.16% at $58.50 each. They dipped as low as $58.13 earlier in today's trading session too. So why is Wesfarmers, arguably one of the ASX's most respected blue-chip shares, in the doldrums today?

Well, unfortunately, we can't say for sure. There are no major news or announcements out of the company today, or this week for that matter. Or any other relevant direct developments.

A woman sits with her hands covering her eyes while lifting her spectacles sitting at a computer on a desk in an office setting. — Image source: Getty Images

Why are Wesfarmers shares in the doldrums today?

However, there is one possible explanation. Wesfarmers' peer Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) is having a shocker today. Woolies released a trading update this morning covering the company's performance over the first half of FY2022. As my Fool colleague James covered this morning, this update saw Woolworths report Australian Food sales growth of 3% for the half against the same half of FY2021. Woolworths' Big W chain saw its sales fall by 3.3% over the same period.

Woolworths CEO Bradford Banducci called the results "one of the most challenging halves we have experienced in recent memory". Clearly, investors agree, seeing they have sent the Woolworths share price down a nasty 8% today so far. It's presently sitting at $37.31 after closing at $40.72 a share yesterday.

Seeing as Woolworths and Wesfarmers operate in similar (and sometimes overlapping) arenas of the Australian retail market, it's possible that the fallout from Woolworths' report this morning has extended to its peers like Wesfarmers. That might also explain why the Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) share price is also nursing heavy losses today. It's currently down 3.2% at $17.30 a share.

So perhaps investors can blame Woolworths for the Wesfarmers share price woes we see today.

At the current Wesfarmers share price, this ASX 200 blue chip has a market capitalisation of $66.06 billion, with a dividend yield of 3.06%. Despite today's losses, Wesfarmers shares remain up 13.1% year to date in 2021 so far.

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