In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a decline. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down 0.4% to 8,394.1 points.
Four ASX shares that are falling more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are dropping:
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Block Inc (ASX: XYZ)
The Block share price is down 3.5% to $140.15. This follows a pullback in the payments company's NYSE listed shares overnight. It is unclear why investors were hitting the sell button. However, profit taking is a possible explanation. After all, its shares are up approximately 30% over the past six months.
Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO)
The Core Lithium share price is down 3.5% to 9.65 cents. Investors have been selling the lithium miner's shares following the release of its quarterly update. As the company has suspended operations at the Finniss lithium project, there wasn't any production during the three months. However, management advised that the restart study for the Finniss lithium project is progressing as planned and is on track for completion in the June quarter. CEO Paul Brown said: "We aim to make Finniss a more efficient, lower cost and resilient operation. We will seek to align our strategy with the prevailing market dynamics when the Restart Study is concluded in the June quarter."
Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG)
The Fortescue share price is down almost 2% to $18.68. This is despite the mining giant releasing a strong quarterly update this morning. During the second quarter, the company shipped 49.4 million tonnes (Mt) of iron ore, bringing total shipments for the first half of the financial year to 97.1Mt. The latter is a 3% increase on the same period in FY 2024 and marks the highest half year shipments in the company's history. Looking ahead, management has reaffirmed its full year shipments guidance of 190Mt to 200Mt. Fortescue's FY 2025 Hematite C1 cost guidance also remains unchanged at US$18.50–US$19.75 per wmt. Broad weakness in the mining sector appears to be overshadowing the update.
Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd (ASX: VUL)
The Vulcan Energy share price is down 4.5% to $5.46. This morning, this lithium developer announced the close of its share purchase plan. As part of a $164 million institutional and strategic placement, Vulcan has raised a further $8 million through the issue of 1,366,332 new fully paid ordinary shares to retail investors. New shares will be issued on 28 January and are expected to commence trading on 29 January.
