The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) looks set to end its recent winning streak if this Friday's session so far is anything to go by. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 has shed 0.55% and is back down to around 6,810 points. And, as is often the case, ASX tech shares are leading the plunge.
Many ASX tech shares are shedding value significantly this session.
There's Xero Limited (ASX: XRO), nursing a 2.41% loss. Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) is down by 3.15%. Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) has lost 2.29%. BrainChip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN) is taking the cake with a nasty 16.24% slide, although it has a poorly-received quarterly update to blame for that.
So why are ASX tech shares seemingly getting singled out by the markets today?
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Why are ASX tech shares copping such a hammering?
Well, we don't know for sure. But there have been a few developments over the past few days that could explain why ASX tech shares are feeling the pinch.
Overnight on the US markets, tech shares were also drummed. The NASDAQ-100 (NASDAQ: NDX) fell 1.88% last night. Since the NASDAQ is known as the tech-heavy index, its moves can often influence the performance of ASX tech shares in subsequent sessions.
But we also heard from a couple of US tech shares as well. First up was Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL), parent company of Google. On Wednesday, Alphabet reported its latest quarterly numbers.
And they were not pretty. As we went through yesterday, analysts were reportedly expecting earnings per share (EPS) of US$1.26. Instead, Alphabet reported EPS of just US$1.06.
Revenues and margins were also lower than expected. Not exactly a good sign for the global economy, given Alphabet's dominance of the international advertising market. Alphabet stock fell more than 9% on this news.
So that sent shivers through the markets at the time. But then we heard from Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) last night, the north star of tech shares the world over.
Amazon also reported its quarterly earnings overnight (our time). And again, it wasn't a pretty picture. Amazon also missed expectations on revenue and put out a lower-than-expected guidance for the current quarter. Amazon shares lost more than 4% last night, and another 12.7% in after-hours trading.
Not exactly a strong base for our own ASX tech shares to build off today. So this could well be why ASX tech shares are having such a clanger.
