ASX 200 tech shares are dragging the market on Monday

Why are ASX 200 tech shares falling today?

Sebastian Bowen

Author Bio Sebastian Bowen has been a Motley Fool contributor since late 2018. Sebastian found his passion for writing and educating others about shares and all things finance after completing his studies in political, economic and social science and enjoys bringing this passion to life at the Fool. His investment philosophy is a simple one – buying high-quality companies at prices that make sense. When he’s not researching his next investment at all hours of the morning, Sebastian enjoys classic movies and likes to unwind with a good book, newspaper or record. Areas of Expertise Dividend investing ETFs Education Bachelor of Political, Economic, and Social Sciences (Government and International Relations), University of Sydney Social Media X/Twitter Favorite Investment Quote "In the short run, the market is a voting machine, but in the long run, it is a weighing machine." – Benjamin Graham

Published September 13, 2021 2:48 pm AEST

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is having a pretty slow start to the trading week this Monday. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 is up a sluggish 0.04% so far to 7,409 points. Arguably, one ASX sector is holding back the markets today. That would be ASX tech shares.

Even though many ASX shares are rising today, tech shares are proving to be a big drag on the overall market. While the ASX 200 is up today, the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) has gone backwards, down 0.5% at the time of writing to 3,139 points.

So let's go through some of the All Technology Index's major holdings.

The largest ASX tech share is presently Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT). And Afterpay shares are helping to lead the ASX tech losses this Monday with the buy now, pay later (BNPL) company down a nasty 2.4% to $123.43 a share so far.

Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) is the second-largest share in the All Tech Index and it's made up some ground to be down 0.17% so far today at $150.46 a share. Earlier, it was trading for $147.81.

Seek Limited (ASX: SEK) is next up and it too is in the red today, down 0.78% to $31.80 a share.

Faring worse is Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) which has lost a hefty 2.3% and now sits at $9.75 a share.

Appen's fellow WAAAXer Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) is doing a little better, only down 0.47% to $31.56.

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) is travelling similarly though, down 2.04% to $7.01 a share.

But WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC), another WAAAXer, is bucking the trend and is up 0.84% at $49.35 a share.

A man in a business shirt and trousers drags a chain wrapped around a computer as thought it is very heavy to move. — Image source: Getty Images

Why are ASX tech shares falling today?

It's not exactly clear why most ASX tech shares are falling today. One possible explanation could be provided by what happened on the US markets late last week. On Friday night (our time), the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ: .IXIC) took a pretty big hit, falling by 0.87%.

This was sparked by many of the Nasdaq's largest holdings, which are all massive tech giants like Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) and the FAANG stocks, taking a beating. This negative sentiment from America often flows over to the ASX so that could be behind today's weakness in the tech sector.

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