The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is having a day to forget. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is off its lows but still down 4.25% to 6,637.3 points.

Four ASX shares that are falling more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are sinking:

BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)

The BHP share price is down 5.5% to $43.72. Investors have been selling BHP and other large cap miners today amid broad market weakness and a pullback in commodity prices. Concerns that the global economy could fall into a recession has sparked fears that demand for commodities could soften.

Block Inc (ASX: SQ2)

The Block share price is down a disappointing 16.5% to $91.42. This follows a similarly severe decline by this payments company’s NYSE listed shares on Monday night on Wall Street. Block isn’t the only tech shares being hammered today. At the time of writing, the S&P/ASX All Technology Index is down over 5%.

Harvey Norman Holdings Limited (ASX: HVN)

The Harvey Norman share price is down 7% to $3.80. As well as the market selloff, this retailer’s shares have come under pressure after being hit by a broker downgrade. This morning Macquarie downgraded Harvey Norman’s shares to a neutral rating from outperform. The broker fears that consumer spending could be impacted by rising inflation.

PointsBet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH)

The PointsBet share price is down 10% to $2.05. This sports betting company’s shares have been caught up in the market selloff. In addition, investors were selling down sports betting shares on Wall Street last night. This saw rival DraftKings tumble a sizeable 16% on the Nasdaq index. The PointsBet share price is now down a disappointing 72% since the start of the year.

The post Why BHP, Block, Harvey Norman, and PointsBet shares are sinking appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

(function() {
function setButtonColorDefaults(param, property, defaultValue) {
if( !param || !param.includes(‘#’)) {
var button = document.getElementsByClassName(“pitch-snippet”)[0].getElementsByClassName(“pitch-button”)[0];
button.style[property] = defaultValue;
}
}

setButtonColorDefaults(“#43B02A”, ‘background’, ‘#5FA85D’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#43B02A”, ‘border-color’, ‘#43A24A’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#fff”, ‘color’, ‘#fff’);
})()

More reading

• Why are ASX 200 tech shares getting hit hardest today?
• ASX 200 midday update: Block and Zip crash amid market selloff
• Own Zip shares? CEO warned co-founder 8 months ago, ‘There are some clouds gathering on the horizon’ after Morgan Stanley meeting
• Why is the Block share price crashing 18% on Tuesday?
• Wall Street tumbles into bear market. What does that mean for ASX 200 shares?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Block, Inc., Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd., and Pointsbet Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Block, Inc. and Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Pointsbet Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/CfLseEa

• Stock Market