In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to end the week with a solid gain. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.7% to 7,639.6 points.
Four ASX shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here's why they are falling:
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Bapcor Ltd (ASX: BAP)
The Bapcor share price is down a further 1% to $4.37. Investors have been selling this auto parts retailer's shares this week following the release of a trading update. That update revealed that trading has been below expectations in the second half. As a result, Bapcor now expects to report FY 2024 pro-forma net profit after tax of between $93 million and $97 million. This will be down from $125.3 million in FY 2023. In addition, alarm bells were ringing when Bapcor advised that its CEO-elect decided against joining the company the day before his start date.
Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN)
The Evolution Mining share price is down 4% to $3.78. Investors have been selling Evolution Mining and other ASX gold miners again on Friday following a pullback in the gold price this week. The precious metal tumbled in response to comments out of the US Federal Reserve. The S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold index is down 1.3% this afternoon.
Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG)
The Macquarie Group share price is down almost 2.5% to $183.51. This follows the release of the investment bank's FY 2024 results this morning. For the 12 months ended 31 March, Macquarie's net operating income fell 12% to $16,887 million and its net profit dropped 32% to $3,522 million. This was driven largely by weakness in the Macquarie Asset Management and Commodities and Global Markets businesses. These businesses reported 48% and 47% declines in earnings, respectively, over the prior corresponding period. However, it is worth noting that the company's profit result was in line with the consensus estimate of $3,512 million.
Meteoric Resources NL (ASX: MEI)
The Meteoric Resources share price is down over 2% to 22 cents. This appears to have been driven by profit-taking after a solid gain for the rare earths developer on Thursday. That was driven by the announcement of a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Neo Performance Materials Inc. (TSX: NEO). The agreement is for offtake of 3,000 metric tonnes of total rare earth oxide (TREO) per year from its Caldeira Project in Brazil once operational.
