In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to end the week with a small gain. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up slightly to 7,496.8 points.
Four ASX shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here's why they are dropping:
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Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO)
The Core Lithium share price is down 11% to 23 cents. Investors have been selling this lithium miner's shares today after it announced that it will suspend its mining operations to conserve cash while lithium prices are weak. Core will continue processing established ore stockpiles to generate revenue. Core Lithium's CEO, Gareth Manderson, called the suspension a "difficult decision."
Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA)
The Sayona Mining share price is down 3% to 6.2 cents. This may be in reaction to the Core Lithium news. Given that Sayona Mining also recently commenced its lithium mining operations, investors may be concerned that it will be forced to do the same if its margins are squeezed from low prices.
WA1 Resources Ltd (ASX: WA1)
The WA1 share price is down 7% to $13.67. This appears to have been driven by profit-taking after some strong gains again this week. Even after today's decline, the niobium explorer's shares are up over 10% since this time last week. They are also up a whopping 850% over the last 12 months.
Xero Limited (ASX: XRO)
The Xero share price is down 2.5% to $106.13. Investors have been selling Xero and other ASX tech shares on Friday following further weakness on Wall Street's tech-focused Nasdaq index. This has led to the S&P/ASX All Technology Index dropping by over 1% this afternoon.
