The Australian sharemarket has been hit hard today, and it's been near impossible to escape the carnage with some of the nation's biggest, most widely held stocks leading the bourse south.
While the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) itself has slipped 1.5% (after having traded 1.9% lower earlier in the session), these four stocks have worn the brunt of the market's wrath.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) has been one of the market's worst-performing stocks and has certainly acted as the heaviest weight on the ASX 200's overall performance.
Indeed, it's an unusual situation for one of the nation's major banks to find itself in but Commonwealth Bank left much to be desired from its third-quarter earnings update this morning. Net profit fell to $2.2 billion, compared to the $2.3 billion reported in the prior corresponding period, but few other details were revealed which is no doubt causing a stir amongst investors. The stock has plummeted 4.5% and is trading at $84.14.
Woolworths Limited (ASX: WOW) also finds itself amongst the ASX 200's 10 worst performers today with the stock down 5% at $28.14. The retail behemoth provided an earnings update for the three-months ended 31 March, which revealed a 1.6% decline in overall sales. While this was mainly impacted by a fall in petrol sales, growth in its food and liquor division was well below that recently recorded by Coles, owned by rival Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES).
Greencross Limited (ASX: GXL) isn't anywhere near as widely held as Commonwealth Bank or Woolworths, but investors will still be feeling a similar pain with the stock plunging 9.1% to $6.47. The veterinary and pet retail specialist downgraded its full-year earnings guidance, citing a waning Western Australian economy and supply chain disruption as two of the primary reasons.
REA Group Limited (ASX: REA) also finds itself deep in the red-zone, despite having reported a 21% lft in reported revenue during its third quarter. While the company certainly delivered an impressive report, it seems that the market was expecting even better results given the premium at which the stock is currently trading. As highlighted here, the stock was trading at 42 times last year's profits as of yesterday's closing price, with the stock having retreated 8.2% today. It's now trading at $44.14 per share.
Indeed, days like today are enough to put any investor on edge – especially when so many of Australia's largest companies are causing the carnage.
