In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to start the week with a strong gain. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 1.5% to 6,778.4 points.
Four ASX shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here's why they are dropping:
Austal Ltd (ASX: ASB)
The Austal share price is down 6% to $2.26. This is despite there being no news out of the shipbuilder on Monday. However, in recent news, last week, the company was ordered to pay a $0.65 million penalty for a disclosure breach.
New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC)
The New Hope share price is down 5% to $7.06. The catalyst for this has been the coal miner's shares trading ex-dividend this morning for its latest dividend. Thanks to sky high coal prices, last month the company was able to declare a mammoth fully franked final dividend of 56 cents per share. This was the equivalent of a fully franked 7.3% dividend yield at Friday's close price. Eligible shareholders can look forward to receiving this dividend on 8 November.
Playside Studios Ltd (ASX: PLY)
The Playside share price is down 2.5% to 60 cents. This morning the video game developer released its first quarter update and revealed a modest 6.5% quarter on quarter increase in revenue to $6.5 million. This wasn't enough to cover its operating costs, leading to an operating cash outflow of $0.85 million.
South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)
The South32 share price is down 2% to $3.64. This follows the release of a mixed quarterly update from the mining giant this morning. South32's production during the quarter was a little hit and miss. One of the disappointments was its met coal production, which fell short of expectations and has forced a reduction in its full year production guidance.
