The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is under pressure on Monday. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down 0.3% to 8,408 points.
Four ASX shares that are falling more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are dropping:
Brazilian Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: BRE)
The Brazilian Rare Earths share price is down 3% to $1.93. This morning, analysts at Ord Minnett retained their speculative buy rating on this rare earths explorer's shares but cut their price target by 10% to $6.30. Ord Minnett believes that a change of focus at Monte Alto is likely to have pushed back the commencement of production until 2031. This is three years later than its previous estimate of 2028.
Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN)
The Mineral Resources share price is down 7% to $20.65. According to CommSec, iron ore futures fell on Friday after steel rebar futures in China slumped to an eight-year low. The latter was driven by growing concerns about demand in the world's biggest steel industry. This means that the steel-making ingredient fell for a second straight week. Mineral Resources continues to be one of the most shorted shares on the Australian market. So, short sellers will be pleased to learn that this latest decline means its shares are now down 71% over the past 12 months.
Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)
The Pilbara Minerals share price is down over 6% to a multi-year low or $1.16. This follows a weak night of trade for lithium miners on Wall Street on Friday. The likes of Albemarle, SQM, and Lithium Americas tumbled at least 3% into the red during the session. This appears to have been driven by news that lithium carbonate futures hit an all-time low. According to Shanghai Metals Market, the main lithium carbonate contract dropped to 58,460 yuan per tonne (US$8,114.6 per tonne). As a comparison, lithium carbonate was fetching US$32,694 per tonne during 2023. Unfortunately for lithium investors, it has been nothing but down since then.
Syrah Resources Ltd (ASX: SYR)
The Syrah Resources share price is down 13% to 26.5 cents. This is also likely to have been driven by weakness in battery material prices. In other news, late last month Macquarie downgraded Syrah's shares to a neutral rating (from outperform) with a price target of 30 cents. The broker warned that there is an oversupply of synthetic graphite, which is likely to weigh on prices in the short term. Syrah's shares are now down 43% since this time last year.
