The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to give back some of yesterday's strong gains. In afternoon trade the benchmark index is down 0.3% to 6,568.9 points.
Four shares that are falling more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are dropping lower:
Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)
The Appen share price is down 2% to $31.72. This is despite there being no news out of the artificial intelligence services company. However, a number of tech shares are tumbling lower on Wednesday even after a strong night of trade for the tech-focused Nasdaq index. At the time of writing, the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) is down 0.5%.
Chalice Gold Mines Limited (ASX: CHN)
The Chalice Gold Mines share price has returned from its trading halt and dropped 5% to $3.86. This morning the mineral exploration company announced firm commitments for its $100 million institutional placement. Chalice Gold Mines is raising the funds at $3.75 per new share, which represents a discount of almost 8% to its last close price. These funds will be used to accelerate its exploration activities.
Piedmont Lithium Ltd (ASX: PLL)
The Piedmont Lithium share price is down 5% to 37 cents despite a positive announcement. This morning the US-based lithium miner announced the appointment of Primero Group and Marshal Miller to undertake the definitive feasibility study (DFS) for its planned spodumene concentrate operation in North Carolina. The DFS will target production of 160,000 tonnes per year of spodumene concentrate.
Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)
The Zip Co share price is down 1% to $5.97. This follows the release of a trading update which revealed a record performance during November. The buy now pay later provider reported record transaction value of $577.1 million for the month. This was up 44% month on month and more than 100% year on year. This was driven by a 157% increase in monthly transaction numbers and a 104% year on year increase in customer numbers to 5.3 million. Investors appear to have been expecting even stronger growth.
