In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on track to post a small decline. The benchmark index is down 0.4% to 7,361.7 points.
Four ASX shares that are falling more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are dropping:
Ampol Ltd (ASX: ALD)
The Ampol share price is down 2.5% to $35.02. This morning, the fuel retailer released an update which appears to have fallen short of expectations. It is expecting its unaudited Replacement Cost Operating Profit (RCOP) EBIT for the full year to be "slightly ahead" of the record results delivered in 2022, on a continuing basis. This appears to suggest that fourth quarter earnings were below expectations.
APM Human Services International Ltd (ASX: APM)
The APM share price is down a massive 40% to 80 cents. Investors have been selling the international human services provider's shares after it released an update on its first half performance. It expects to report revenue of $1.14 billion and underlying NPATA of $55 million for the six months ended 31 December. While the former is an increase on last year, the latter is down sharply on the underlying NPATA of $85.4 million it reported a year earlier.
Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR)
The Liontown share price is down 12.5% to $1.19. This has been driven by reports that lithium giant Albemarle Corp (NYSE: ALB) has sold its stake in the company. The lithium developer hasn't commented on the news, but approximately 96.26 million Liontown shares were traded before the market open for a discount of $1.26 per share.
Wildcat Resources Ltd (ASX: WC8)
The Wildcat Resources share price is down 9.5% to 48 cents. This appears to have been driven by broad weakness in the lithium industry. It also doesn't help that Albemarle has announced that it is scrapping the development of the Kemerton lithium expansion in Western Australia because of weak lithium prices. Clearly it isn't a great environment to be developing lithium assets.
