Why Ophir Energy, Dunelm, and Sirius Minerals Lagged the FTSE 100 Today
LONDON -- The FTSE 100 was going steady today until the last couple of hours of trading, when it spiked to close 1.17% higher at 6,387 points, thanks in part to the mining and banking sectors. That comes after slower inflation in China helped Asian and U.S. markets to higher finishes yesterday, though there are still fears of overheating consumer demand in China.
Although the index rose today, there are always individual shares falling. Here are three that slipped today.
Ophir Energy
Shares in Ophir Energy dropped 2.8% even though the firm upped its resource estimates for its Jodari field in Tanzania by 700 billion cubic feet to 4.1 trillion cubic feet. The company is also planning a drill stem test at its Mzia-2 field, scheduled for completion by the end of the month. Once these testing phases are complete, Ophir plans to start drilling at its Ngisi prospect, and it has also secured a drilling ship for its Starfish-1 well off the shore of Ghana.
Dunelm
Soft-furnishings retailer Dunelm Group announced a 15.4% rise in third-quarter revenue, with like-for-like sales up 5.2% -- and the share price fell 0.8% to 841 pence! The outlook for the rest of the year is behind the fall: Q3 figures were boosted by a late end to the firm's winter sale and an early Easter. Chief executive Nick Wharton warned, "We anticipate that sales growth in like for like stores will become much harder to achieve in the remainder of the current financial year," compared with a strong final quarter last year.
Sirius Minerals
Potash miner Sirius Minerals saw its shares drop by 1.2% to 21.5 pence today despite positive results from coring tests at its York Potash project -- the company has found 58 meters of 88% polyhalite within a total length of 72.4 metres. In the words of chief executive Chris Fraser, "These preliminary results provide further confirmation of the volume, quality and consistency of the York Potash polyhalite orebody."
Finally, reliable dividends can more than compensate for the day-to-day ups and downs of share prices. So how about a company that's offering a 5.7% yield and could be set for some nice share-price appreciation, too? It's the subject of our brand-new report "The Motley Fool's Top Income Share For 2013," which you can get completely free of charge -- but it will only be available for a limited period, so click here to get your copy today.
The article Why Ophir Energy, Dunelm, and Sirius Minerals Lagged the FTSE 100 Today originally appeared on Fool.com.
Alan Oscroft has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
