The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has followed Wall Street's lead and dropped into the red. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is down 0.55% to 7,969 points.
Four ASX shares that are falling more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are sinking:
Lovisa Holdings Ltd (ASX: LOV)
The Lovisa share price is down 6.5% to $30.34. This follows news that the fashion jewellery retailer's future CEO, John Cheston, has been sacked by Smiggle for serious misconduct. This may have sparked concerns that this will threaten his appointment as Lovisa's new leader and that the company will have to look elsewhere now for a new CEO to lead its global expansion. The termination announcement stated: "The Just Group board considers that Mr John Cheston has engaged in serious misconduct and a serious breach of his employment terms and on that basis his employment has been terminated today."
Omni Bridgeway Ltd (ASX: OBL)
The Omni Bridgeway share price is down 12% to 92.2 cents. Investors have been selling this litigation funder's shares despite there being no news out of it. However, it is worth noting that its shares have come under pressure since it released its FY 2024 results and reported a 10% decline in total gross income and revenue to $277 million.
Premier Investments Limited (ASX: PMV)
The Premier Investments share price is down 4.5% to $33.62. This has been driven by the release of a trading update from the Peter Alexander, Just Jeans, and Smiggle owner this morning. Premier Investments revealed that its Premier Retail business expects to report global retail sales of $1.6 billion and EBIT of $341 million for FY 2024. This will be down from $1,643.5 million and $357.9 million, respectively, in FY 2023.
Super Retail Group Ltd (ASX: SUL)
The Super Retail share price is down 7.5% to $16.87. The catalyst for this has been the retail conglomerate's shares going ex-dividend this morning for its upcoming dividend payments. Eligible shareholders can look forward to receiving total fully franked dividends of 87 cents per share next month on 17 October. This comprises a 37 cents per share final dividend and a 50 cents per share special dividend. The good news is that analysts at Citi believe that further special dividends are coming in FY 2025 and FY 2026 thanks to Super Retail's strong cash balance. It is partly for this reason that the broker has a buy rating and $20.00 price target on its shares.
