The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has followed the lead of U.S. markets and is sinking lower on Wednesday. In late morning trade the benchmark index is down 1.45% to 5,325.3 points.
Four shares that are falling more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are dropping lower:
The Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price is down 3.5% to $40.29. This decline appears to be down to profit taking after some exceptionally strong gains over the last few weeks. In fact, this week the Afterpay share price hit a record high of $43.68. When the payments company's shares hit that level, it meant they were up ~450% from the 52-week low they hit in March.
The Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price has fallen 3% to $10.23. As with Afterpay, the travel agent's shares look to have come under pressure due to profit taking. Flight Centre's shares were surging higher on Friday and Monday in response to the government's plan to reopen Australia.
The Mesoblast limited (ASX: MSB) share price has returned from its trading halt and is down 4% to $3.30. This morning the cellular medicines developer announced the successful completion of a US$90 million capital raising. The funds were raised at a price of A$3.20 per share, which represents a 7% discount to its last closing price. The proceeds will be used to scale-up manufacturing of its lead product candidate remestemcel-L. This is being trialled as a treatment for COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).
The Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL) share price has fallen almost 6% to $2.15. This is despite the Afterpay rival releasing a very positive presentation this morning ahead of its appearance at the Goldman Sachs virtual conference. Sezzle continues to grow its merchant sales and customer numbers at a solid rate in 2020.
