In late afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a small gain. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up a few points to 7,215.1 points.
Four ASX shares that are weighing on the index today are listed below. Here's why they are dropping:
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Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE)
The Allkem share price is down 14% to $11.83. There have been a few catalysts for this. This includes a broker downgrade by Credit Suisse, Argentina setting a lithium reference price of US$53 per kilo, and Goldman Sachs reiterating its view that lithium prices will fall heavily in the coming years. This seems to have undone investor optimism that prices will remain higher for longer following the recent Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) digital auction.
Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG)
The Origin share price is down 14% to $5.87. Investors have been selling this energy giant's shares after it withdrew its earnings guidance. Due largely to coal supply challenges, Origin now expects its energy markets earnings to be well short of previous guidance. And with management appearing unsure how long these tough trading conditions will last, it has withdrawn its FY 2023 guidance.
PointsBet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH)
The PointsBet share price is down 12% to $2.61. This is despite the release of an update on its global leadership team which revealed some key appointments. Though, it is worth highlighting that rival DraftKings saw its shares tumble 8% on Wall Street overnight. That was driven by a broker note out of Citi, which revealed that its analysts have slashed their Draftkings valuation by 20%.
Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP)
The Zip share price is down 8.5% to 83.5 cents. This decline comes amid broad weakness in the tech sector today. That weakness has seen the S&P ASX All Technology index trade over 1% lower this afternoon. Today's decline means that Zip's shares are now trading within half a cent of a multi-year low.
