It's shaping up to be a rough day on the ASX for the Hazer Group Ltd (ASX: HZR) share price.
At the time of writing, the company's stock is trading at $1.30, 2.99% lower than its previous close.
The fall comes despite no news released today by the hydrogen and graphite production technology developer.
For context, the broader market is also in the red today. Right now, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has fallen 0.47%, while the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is down 0.53%.
Let's take a look at what might be weighing on the Hazer share price on Wednesday.
Why is the Hazer share price slipping?
The Hazer share price is sliding alongside the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) and its ASX hydrogen peers.
Right now, the materials sector is down 0.43%.
Meanwhile, Pure Hydrogen Corporation CDI (ASX: PH2) and Province Resources Ltd (ASX: PRL) are both experiencing share price drops of around 4%.
So, what's going so wrong for ASX hydrogen shares today? Well, they might be being impacted by the movements of some of their United States-based counterparts.
US market concerns
Overnight, the share price of FuelCell Energy Inc (NASDAQ: FCEL) fell 2.6%, while that of Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ: PLUG) tumbled 4.2%.
While the drop wasn't experienced across the board, its potential cause might be enough to worry ASX investors.
According to reporting by our United States-based colleagues, the NASDAQ-listed companies struggled overnight due to their position as growth stocks.
As hydrogen as an energy source is a relatively new concept, most players in the field are growth stocks.
That leaves them vulnerable to market movements, such as those we often see when big news of COVID-19 or interest rates come out.
And such market movements that might be happening right now, as the Omicron variant takes centre stage, spurring the United States Federal Reserve to pin the variant as a potential driver of inflation.
Meanwhile, back in Australia
However, good news for Australia's hydrogen industry – though, perhaps a signal of increasing competition – was released recently.
GeelongPort announced it's committed to building a $100 million hydrogen hub, where it will produce and distribute the energy source, yesterday.
Today's fall included, the Hazer share price is 12% lower than it was this time last month. Though, it's still 62% higher than it was at the start of 2021.
