The S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) is on course to finish the week with another day in the red due to heavy declines in the telco sector. In afternoon trade the benchmark index is down almost 0.3% to 6,333.9 points.
Four shares that have acted as a drag on the market today are listed below. Here's why they are ending the week in the red:
The Codan Limited (ASX: CDA) share price has dropped 2.5% to $3.13. Today's decline is attributable in full to the electronics company's shares going ex-dividend for its final dividend this morning. Eligible investors can now look forward to receiving the 8.5 cents per share fully franked dividend in their nominated accounts on September 14.
The Harvey Norman Holdings Limited (ASX: HVN) share price has fallen over 3.5% to $3.63 after the retailer released its full year results this morning. Although Harvey Norman delivered an increase in both company-operated and franchised aggregated headline sales, it posted a 15.7% decline in earnings before interest and tax. In addition to this, its outlook for FY 2019 was a touch underwhelming.
The NEXTDC Ltd (ASX: NXT) share price has given back its solid early gains and is down 4% to $7.05 in afternoon trade following the release of its full year results. Thanks to growing demand for its data centre services, NEXTDC achieved revenue growth of 30.6% to $161.5 million and underlying EBITDA growth of 27.7% to $62.6 million in FY 2018. Management expects underlying EBITDA to grow at a similar rate in FY 2019. Judging by the share price reaction some investors may have been expecting even stronger growth.
The TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPM) share price has fallen over 6.5% to $8.69. Investors appear to be taking a little profit off the table after the telco company's shares rocketed higher on Thursday. The catalyst for that major share price gain was news that TPG Telecom and Vodafone Australia had signed an agreement to merge. TPG Telecom's shares are still up 13.5% since this time last week despite today's decline.
