Three ASX stocks that fell on Tuesday

The market was down, but these three bore the brunt of larger losses

Mike King

Mike King is a Fool.com.au Investment Analyst and Writer. He caught the investing bug more than a decade ago, at a time when the U.S. had invaded Iraq and fear reigned in the markets. His initial success as the markets took off encouraged his passion and thirst for knowledge. With 13 years behind him at one of Australia's largest domestic banks, Mike's passion for stocks led him to join a boutique funds management firm, where he stayed for four years. A seven-year stint in equity research at one of the largest investment banks in the world followed that, giving Mike a thirst to pursue his passion further. Mike holds a Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment and a Graduate Certificate in Financial Planning. His passion is to help retail investors invest better, and that passion was one of his primary reasons for joining The Motley Fool Australia in late 2011. Mike has written thousands of articles since joining, including for Fairfax Media, Yahoo!7, Ninemsn and has also appeared on ABC's The Business. You can see all of Mikes' holdings here

Published April 11, 2012 11:43 am AEST

The S&P / ASX 200 index fell again yesterday for the fourth day in a row, falling 27.5 points to 4292.3, or 0.6 per cent, one the back of weak leads from Wall Street. It looks like pessimism and fear have well and truly hit the markets globally. Fear of slowing growth in China, fears that the US is not recovering as fast as everyone would like, and Europe stuck in a hole that it can't seem to get out of.

The following three stocks managed to tumble even further.

Energy World Corporation Limited (ASX: EWC) shares have tumbled from 82 cents on the 26^th March 2012, to a low of 68 cents, falling 7.5 per cent just yesterday. The fall may be due to a couple of recent columns in Fairfax broadsheets (here and here), questioning whether EWC's accounts are actually correct and whether the company has anything to show for the capital it has raised since 1997. The company is supposedly designing, developing and constructing power stations and liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants, but Fairfax's Michael West, in one of those cited articles shared his pessmism thus: "I bet that EWC never builds a commercially viable LNG plant at the scale that it claims".

If there's any substance to the Fairfax doubts, EWC looks like a stock to steer clear of.

Karoon Gas Limited (ASX: KAR) share price fell from $6.45 to $6.15 yesterday. The fall may be some profit-taking as the company's shares have more than doubled since September 2011. The company has just kicked off a much anticipated drilling program in the gas-rich Browse Basin, in what the company and its major partner, ConocoPhillips hope will confirm to be a discovery big enough to justify an LNG development.

Aquarius Platinum Limited (ASX: AQP) is a platinum explorer and miner, with operations focused in South Africa and Zimbabwe. The company's shares fell another 4 per cent yesterday to close at $2.12, having fallen over 60 per cent in the last 12 months. The major concern for investors is the company's operations in Zimbabwe, where the government demanded the company and partner Impala Platinum Holdings (LSE: IPLA) hand over 51 per cent of their Mimosa platinum mine to the state, locals and workers. Impala is a major shareholder in Zimplats Holdings Limited (ASX: ZIM).

The Mimosa mine has over 9.4 million ounces of mineral resources, and produces over 20% of the company's total production of platinum. Investors might also be worried that the government of South Africa may institute similar demands.

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Motley Fool contributor Mike King doesn't own shares in any companies mentioned. The Motley Fool's purpose is to educate, amuse and enrich investors. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson. Click here to be enlightened by The Motley Fool's disclosure policy.

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