In early afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to end the week in a disappointing fashion. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down a further 1% to 8,086.9 points.
Four ASX shares that are falling more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are dropping:
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Bellevue Gold Ltd (ASX: BGL)
The Bellevue Gold share price is down 4% to $1.12. Investors have been selling Bellevue Gold and other ASX gold stocks on Friday after the price of the precious metal pulled back overnight. This was driven by the US Federal Reserve indicating that interest rates won't go as low as expected in 2025.
Mesoblast Ltd (ASX: MSB)
The Mesoblast share price is down 18% to $2.50. This appears to have been driven by profit taking after the biotechnology company's shares rocketed 50% higher on Thursday. Investors were fighting to get hold of Mesoblast's shares after the US FDA approved its Ryoncil (remestemcel-L) product as the first mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) therapy in the United States. Management notes that Ryoncil is the only MSC therapy approved in the U.S. for any indication. It is also the only approved therapy for steroid-refractory acute graft versus host disease (SR-aGvHD) in children 2 months and older, including adolescents and teenagers. It is a life-threatening condition with high mortality rates.
Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)
The Pilbara Minerals share price is down almost 3% to $2.07. Investors have been selling this lithium miner's shares this month despite there being no news out of it. The selling has been so severe that the lithium miner's shares have now hit a multi-year low and are now down almost 30% since this time last month. Interestingly, this decline comes despite short interest in the lithium miner falling notably in recent weeks.
Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES)
The Wesfarmers share price is down 3% to $71.02. Investors haven't responded positively to news that the conglomerate has agreed to sell its Coregas business. Wesfarmers is selling the manufacturer and supplier of industrial gases to a subsidiary of Nippon Sanso Holdings Corporation (NSHD) for a total of $770 million. Wesfarmers revealed that it expects to report a pre-tax profit on sale of approximately $230 million to $260 million. If all goes to plan, the company expects the sale of Coregas to NSHD to complete by the middle of 2025.
