It has been another pretty lacklustre day for investors today with the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX:XJO) sliding 0.3% to 5,740 points.
The mining and energy sectors are the clear losers today, although the consumer discretionary and financial sectors have provided some stability to the broader market.
Four shares that are having a particularly bad day include:
Senex Energy Ltd (ASX: SXY)
The Senex Energy share price has plunged 4.5% today after crude oil prices dropped more than 5% overnight. The fall comes after stronger-than-expected figures revealed U.S. oil inventories are currently sitting at record high levels. Unfortunately, the outlook for the oil market remains unclear and it appears investors are now less confident of higher oil prices even if OPEC production targets are reduced even further.
BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP)
The BHP share price has been hit by a double whammy today thanks to the big fall in oil prices and the shares going ex-dividend. At lunchtime, the shares had dropped more than 4.4% to $24.10. Although this is the cheapest the shares have been all year, they have still managed to gain more than 35% over the past 12 months thanks to soaring iron ore prices.
Mantra Group Ltd (ASX: MTR)
The Mantra share price has dropped more than 2% today, despite no news from the company. Unfortunately, it appears investors are continuing to lose confidence in the accommodation provider and today's move has seen the shares hit a new 52-week low of $2.58. The shares have now lost around 36% of their value over the past 12 months due to concerns over increasing competition and the potential for an over-supply of hotel rooms across some parts of Australia.
QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE)
The QBE Insurance share price has fallen more than 2.1% today after the shares went ex-dividend. The global insurer has been one of the best performing blue-chip shares over the past six months thanks to the prospect of higher U.S. interest rates coupled with the announcement of a $1 billion share buy-back. Other shares that are also trading ex-dividend today include ASX Ltd (ASX: ASX), South32 Ltd (ASX: S32), FlexiGroup Limited (ASX: FXL) and Monadelphous Group Limited (ASX: MND).
