Trading was weak on Friday as traders across sectors took their profits following the United States' Thanksgiving holiday, with the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) falling 10.3 points to 5324 points after having dropped as low as 5308.1 points in earlier trading – its lowest point in five days.
However, no stock felt as much pain as grain business GrainCorp (ASX: GNC), which plunged nearly 22% to $8.74 per share. Investors sold the stock heavily following Australia's decision to block a $3 billion takeover bid by Archer Daniels Midland Co., a US agribusiness company. It was decided that such a takeover would go against the nation's interest, which in itself is intriguing considering the Liberal-National government's support of foreign investment to help drive the economy.
Although the news was disappointing for shareholders (obviously), it can also be seen as a buying opportunity. Shawn Hickman from Shaw Stockbroking said "It's a great company, and this is not a downgrade. GrainCorp makes a good profit; it will pay a 4.5% fully-franked dividend yield at these sort of prices, and I want to be in food production."
It's certainly an attractive industry to be in, given the world's rapidly expanding population.
Also falling today were gold producer Kingsgate Consolidated (ASX: KCN), which dropped 3.7%, as well as various other mining and resources companies including Western Areas (ASX: WSA), Oz Minerals (ASX: OZL), Ausdrill (ASX: ASL) and Sundance Resources (ASX: SDL), which all fell between 2.6% and 4.7%.
On the other hand however, Australia's three biggest miners actually supported the index. BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP) and Fortescue Metals Group (ASX: FMG) were both trading higher, whilst Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) appreciated 2.6% following its announcement that it expected to spend around just 50% of what it had been anticipating to spend in order to increase its annual iron ore output.
Meanwhile, NAB (ASX: NAB) was the only major bank to see green today, with ANZ (ASX: ANZ), Westpac (ASX: WBC) and Commonwealth Bank (ASX: CBA) all dropping marginally in value.
Foolish takeaway
Whilst the index actually dropped by around 1.9% for the month of November – its first monthly fall since June – shares are still not cheap, and it is difficult to find bargains. However, if you're interested in finding a stock to add to your portfolio today, then this might just be the answer.
