It's been a wonderful session for ASX shares so far this Thursday. At the time of writing, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: JXO) has lifted by a happy 0.765% to over 8,040 points. But many ASX tech shares are partying even harder than that today.
Take the TechnologyOne Ltd (ASX: TNE) share price. It's currently up a healthy 1.87% at $22.94 a share.
Xero Ltd (ASX: XRO) is doing even better, up 2.24% at $144.32.
Its old WAAAX peer WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) is upping the ante. The Wisetech share price has swelled by 3.15% so far today to $131.18.
Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) is besting even Wisetech though, with Megaport shares having surged 3.6% to $7.78.
ASX tech shares are currently the best-performing corner of the entire market. The S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) has vaulted 1.7% higher at the time of writing.
So why are ASX tech shares leading the ASX 200 so comprehensively this session?
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Why are ASX tech shares partying so hard today?
Well, it seems that some developments in the international tech arena might be to thank for this robust performance on the ASX.
Firstly, global tech giant and north star NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) had an explosive night on the American markets last night. The Nvidia share price rocketed a whopping 8.03% higher to close at US$116.78 a share. That's no mean feat for a US$2.87 trillion company.
This jump in value came after the Nvidia CEO spoke to the 'Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference' this week. Jensen Huang told the conference that its products were so hot that the company could barely keep up with demand:
Demand is so great that delivery of our components, our technology, infrastructure, and software is really emotional for people because it directly affects their revenue. It directly affects their competitiveness.
Another factor in Nvidia's rise could be rumours, as reported by Reuters, that the US government is poised to allow the company to sell its chips to Saudi Arabia. Nvidia's chip sale exports are restricted by the US government due to their geopolitical significance. But entry to the lucrative Saudi market could prove to be a boon for Nvidia if the sales are greenlit.
OpenAI worth $225 billion?
Yet another catalyst that could be influencing ASX tech shares today is a new valuation for the artificial intelligence (AI) pioneer OpenAI. Perhaps most famous for its 'Chat GPT' program, the privately-owned OpenAI is reportedly in talks for a new round of funding.
According to Bloomberg, this funding round is based on a total valuation of US$150 billion ($224.2 billion) for the company. That would be a dramatic increase from the US$86 billion valuation OpenAI commanded only earlier this year.
This funding round could reportedly attract new investors such as Apple and Nvidia, in addition to Microsoft, an existing major investor.
There has been a lot happening on the international tech scene this week. It's hard to know for sure, but it seems that all of these developments are helping to drive positive sentiment for ASX tech shares this Thursday.
