The Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price is plummeting on Tuesday despite no word having been released by the company.
Right now, stock in the lithium favourite is down 10.02%, trading at $4.76. That's a slight improvement on its intraday low.
The Pilbara Minerals share price bottomed out at $4.60 earlier today, marking a 13% tumble and its lowest point in nearly a month.
For comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 0.34% right now, while the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) is proving to be its biggest weight, falling 1.72%.
Let's take a closer look at what might be going wrong for the ASX lithium share today.
Image source: Getty Images
What's dragging the Pilbara Minerals share price lower?
The Pilbara Minerals share price is among the ASX 200's worst performers on Tuesday, only outperforming some of its fellow lithium stocks.
Joining it in the red are shares in Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) and Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE). They're down 13.94% and 12.33% respectively right now.
Some of their tumble might be chalked up to an international lithium sell-off.
Stock in many of the globe's most recognisable lithium players, such as Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB), Livent Corp (NYSE: LTHM), and Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (NYSE: SQM), slipped between 2.8% and 5.3% overnight.
Though, the trio each reached their highest closing price in more than a month on Friday, potentially helped along by optimistic US inflation data. Thus, their falls may have represented profit-taking.
Additionally, Wall Street struggled overnight, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) slipping 0.6% and the S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX) falling 0.9%.
Interestingly, there has been a non-price-sensitive release from Pilbara Minerals. The company revealed AustralianSuper has ditched its previously-held 5% stake in its stock after the market closed last night.
Additionally, lithium shares might be front of mind amid Allkem's annual general meeting, held this morning, as my colleague James reports.
Fortunately, the Pilbara Minerals share price still has a long way to go before it will reach the long-term red. The stock has soared 34% year to date and more than 90% over the last 12 months.
