The S&P/ASX 300 (ASX: XKO) is up 1.36% in afternoon trading, but one technology share is soaring higher.
The Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) share price has gained 5.36% at the time of writing and is currently trading at its intraday high of $2.75.
So why is Appen having such a good day?
Tech shares rise
The Appen share price is on the rise today, but it's not the only ASX technology share in the green. The Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) share price is also up 5.6% today while Wisetech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) shares are up 3.09%. Meantime, the Block Inc (ASX: SQ2) share price is surging an impressive 8.57% today.
ASX technology shares are following in the footsteps of their US counterparts. The Nasdaq Composite Index lifted 3.43% in the US overnight. Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) shares rose 2.91%, while the Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) share price jumped 3.92%.
The US market lifted after big names, including Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC), reported better-than-expected results. CNBC noted many technology names including Netflix, Tesla, and IBM are due to report this week.
The S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) is up 3.2% at the time of writing.
Appen updated the market on its outlook for the rest of 2022 last week. The company advised there has been "no improvement" in trading conditions over August and September. Appen CEO Mark Bryan said:
Despite the challenging operating conditions, we remain committed to our long-term strategy including investments in New Markets to diversify revenue and products to improve productivity.
Share price snapshot
The Appen share price has sunk nearly 76% year to date, while it is down 72% in the past year.
For perspective, the ASX 300 has dropped almost 10% in 2022 so far and 9% over the past 12 months.
Appen has a market capitalisation of about $339 million based on the current share price.
