In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a very disappointing decline. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down 2.45% to 6,838.4 points.
Four ASX shares that are falling more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are dropping:
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Lake Resources N.L. (ASX: LKE)
The Lake Resources share price has crashed over 15% to $1.07. Investors have been selling this lithium developer's shares after it revealed that it is facing a dispute with Lilac Solutions. The two parties are disagreeing on the date that certain work needs to have been done for Lilac to earn 25% of the Kachi project. Lilac believes it has until the end of November but Lake says the end of this month.
Lovisa Holdings Ltd (ASX: LOV)
The Lovisa share price is down almost 5% to $23.55. This has been driven by a combination of the market selloff and the jewellery retailer's shares trading ex-dividend this morning. Eligible shareholders can look forward to receiving Lovisa's 37 cents per share final dividend next month on 20 October.
Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1)
The Megaport share price is down 10% to $7.82. Investors have been selling Megaport and other tech shares on Wednesday following a selloff on Wall Street's tech-focused NASDAQ index overnight. This has been driven by higher than expected inflation in the United States, which the market believes will lead to aggressive interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve.
St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM)
The St Barbara share price is down 5% to 88.7 cents. This follows a pullback in the gold price overnight driven by the higher than expected inflation reading. If interest rates continue to rise, it will reduce the appeal of holding gold, which doesn't provide a yield. The S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold index is down 3.8% this afternoon.
