The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is cooling off today. After 5 straight days of shares in the green, the ASX 200 is down 0.7% to 6,405 points at the time of writing.
However, one sector, in particular, is bucking this broad-market trend, if a little inconsistently. ASX tech shares spiked in early morning trade this morning. Note the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX). It's up 0.81% at the time of writing, outperforming the ASX 200 handily. But soon after market open this morning, it was as high as 2,740 points – a 2.7% spike from yesterday's close.
Let's dig a little deeper.
When most investors think of 'ASX tech shares', they probably jump to the WAAAX shares – the collective name for some of the ASX's highest-flying tech companies. WAAAX stands for WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC), Altium Limited (ASX: ALU), Appen Ltd (ASX: APX), Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Xero Limited (ASX: XRO). All of these companies have made investors a lot of money in recent years. All 5 are up more than 500% over the past 5 years, with a couple (Afterpay and Appen), up more than 2,000%.
Image source: Getty Images
WAAAX on for ASX tech shares?
So this morning, Xero hit a new all-time high of $130.95 after jumping almost 5%. The catalyst? Xero released a strong half-year update that was evidently well-received by investors. The update included the relevation that Xero managed to grow its revenue by 23% over the period, and subscribers by 19%. Xero shares have since cooled from these highs, and are trading up 0.93% at $123.85 at the time of writing.
Afterpay shares, however, are having a much more consistent day in the green. Afterpay is up 3.94% to $99.82 at the time of writing, after making a new all-time high of its own earlier this week ($105.80).
Appen shares are also having a pretty nice day of it – up 1.99% to $33.89. That stands in contrast to Altium, which is down 0.7% to $37.10. Unlike most ASX tech shares, Altium is still way off it's 52-week high that it recorded in February, just before the coronavirus-induced market crash in March. WiseTech Global shares were also missing out on the fun for most of today. After initially spiking all the way up to $32.79 this morning, WiseTech dropped down 0.34% to $32.04. It has since rallied slightly to $32.32 at the time of writing.
Looking outside the WAAAX sphere though, and we see other ASX tech shares making moves as well. Dubber Corp Ltd (ASX: DUB) shares are still very much in positive territory, up 2.93% from open to $1.58 a share at the time of writing. Dubber was as high as $1.64 ealier in the day, but is still very much in the green.
It's hard to say what's causing these erratic moves, but it might be a case of ASX tech investors getting FOMO with some shares, or just a rising tech tide trying to lift all boats, with varying degrees of success.
