It was another horror show on the ASX today. By the end of this Thursday's trading, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) had shed another 0.61%. That means the index has lost close to 4% over the past week alone. But it was a far sadder story for ASX tech shares today.
Let's start off with the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ). This index was the worst-performing sector on the markets today, taking the plunge by a horrible 2.56%.
Amongst ASX 200 tech shares, notable losers include Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1), which tanked a disastrous 16.33%, Block Inc (ASX: SQ2), down 8.02%, and Life360 Inc (ASX: 360), which fell by 4.11%.
Other notable movers include:
- TechnologyOne Ltd (ASX: TNE), down 2.35% to $14.93
- Xero Limited (ASX: XRO), down 1.98% to $106.30
- WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC), down 1.92% to $58.80
- Weebit Nano Ltd (ASX: WBT), down 1.55% to $3.82
So why on earth was this sector singled out for such heavy punishment today?
Image source: Getty Images
Why were ASX tech shares punished on the share market today?
Well, mostly it wasn't anything to do with the companies themselves. There wasn't much news out of the sector today that could single-handedly explain investors' distaste.
That's with one notable exception. You'll notice that Megaport's nasty 16.33% loss stuck out like a sore thumb.
This massive dump in pricing was sparked by the company's latest quarterly update, which we dove into this morning.
But in terms of the broader ASX tech sector, it's likely that ASX investors took their lead from their US counterparts this Thursday.
Last night on the American markets, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ: .IXIC) cratered by a significant 2.43% down to 12,821.22 points, led by a slump triggered by poorly-received earnings report from Google-owner Alphabet. That's the lowest the index has been at since May and was enough to put it in official correction territory.
A correction is triggered when an index falls 10% from its most recent high. And since the Nasdaq is now down 10.7% from its July highs, consider it corrected.
That alone appeared enough to put the wind up ASX tech investors today, who responded by collectively punishing our own tech sector on the ASX.
No doubt, ASX tech investors will be hoping for a better day for their shares tomorrow. But let's wait and see what happens.
