It's proved to be another happy day for ASX investors this Thursday. At the close, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was trading 0.9% higher, putting the index close to 6,900 points once more. But let's talk about what was going on with ASX tech shares.
Out of all the sectors on the ASX, tech shares took the lead today, with the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index A(SX: XIJ) rocketing a pleasing 3.2%.
We saw some stunning moves within this sector.
Take the Life360 Inc (ASX: 360) share price. It closed up a rosy 4.4% to $7.80.
Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) shares were also feeling the love, up 3.11% at $9.94 apiece.
Xero Limited (ASX: XRO), TechnologyOne Ltd (ASX: TNE) and WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) all enjoyed rises of more than 3%, too, as did Altium Limited (ASX: ALU).
So what was going on here with ASX tech shares today that elicited such a positive response from investors?
Why were tech shares leading the ASX 200 today?
Well, it's hard to say for sure – there is no obvious 'smoking gun' catalyst for this surge in positive sentiment for tech stocks today.
However, we can speculate here.
Perhaps the most likely reason for investors pumping up tech stocks this Thursday is what has been going on with tech stocks over in the US markets.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) has now gained a robust 3.7% since last Thursday (US time), including the healthy 1.64% the index rose just last night. The NASDAQ is home to most of the more well-known American tech giants, including Apple, Microsoft, Telsa and Google-owner Alphabet. So how it moves has a big impact on how ASX tech shares tend to fare.
Indeed, digging deeper, we see some massive moves with these sorts of stocks overnight. Tesla stock was up 2.4%, while Amazon rose 2.94%. Apple itself, which is reporting its latest earnings tonight (our time), rose 1.87%.
So it looks as though these moves across the Pacific are likely what ASX tech share investors can thank for today's happy rises.
