The local sharemarket has returned to the red in a big way today. The S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has erased all of yesterday's gains and then some in a selloff sparked by further concerns regarding China's future, as well as another dive in commodity prices.
While the market itself is down 2.0% heading into the close, these four companies have been hit especially hard:
Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd (ASX: LNG) hit a low of just $1.475 earlier today – a fresh 15-month low. It has since regained some composure, although it is still down 7.4% for the day and 70% since April. The decline follows further declines in the oil price which is threatening the economic viability of LNG Ltd's two primary projects.
Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) has lost 5.4%, making it the fourth-worst performing stock from the ASX 200 group. The miner produces iron ore and hence relies heavily on strong Chinese demand to grow. Unfortunately, revised Chinese growth forecasts suggest the nation's economy is even weaker than first thought, which poses as a key issue for miners like Fortescue.
Vmoto Ltd (ASX: VMT), a small-cap electric scooter maker, has fallen 13.2% and even hit a near two-year low price earlier in the session. The loss came after the company announced it was offloading its Nanjing Haiyong business that it bought a year ago because it had not delivered expected returns. This also resulted in a downgraded earnings forecast.
Crown Resorts Ltd (ASX: CWN) fell 4.7% after hitting a near three-year low price of just $9.96 earlier. While this could partially be attributed to the shares going ex-dividend today – meaning they are now trading without rights to its final dividend – it could also be linked to China's weak economy. Indeed, Crown's Macau gaming market has been through a challenging period recently with gaming revenue from the segment declining by 26.8% during the 2015 financial year.
