Keen Motley Fool readers might have noticed that amid yesterday's stock market route, ASX tech shares were, by far, the worst-performing sector of the market.
As we recorded in our end-of-day wrap yesterday, the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) took the brunt of yesterday's selling pressure, collapsing by 3.94% by the closing bell.
Well, today, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has rebounded strongly, currently up an encouraging 0.55%. And lo and behold, ASX tech shares are helping to lead the charge higher so far this Thursday.
ASX tech shares are currently the second-best performing sector on the market, with the Information Technology Index presently up by an encouraging 1.32%. That's only behind gold shares in terms of winners today.
Breaking this down, we are seeing some great moves from some of the ASX's most prominent tech stocks. Take Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) for instance. Its shares are enjoying a 2.6% lift right now to $13.85 each.
Xero Ltd (ASX: XRO) is up 2.1% to $127.63, while WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) has gained 1.75% up to $91.78 a share.
In other words, we are seeing a strong rebound for ASX tech shares today.
But why? Why has this corner of the market recovered so decisively from yesterday's sell-off?
Image source: Getty Images
Why are ASX tech shares leading the Australian share market higher?
Well, it's hard to say. It could be, at least partially, a result of what happened in the US markets last night. The American Wednesday session saw many US shares limp, as represented by the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI)'s 0.11% drop.
However, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) went the other way, rising by 0.23%. That was assisted by many prominent US tech shares, including Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta Platforms and Tesla, recording hefty gains.
Meta stock in particular was up 1.88% to US$506.74 a share by the closing bell this morning, while Tesla shares rose 1.5% to US$168.38.
These moves in turn may have been helped by comments from the chair of the US Federal Reserve yesterday.
As reported by CNBC, Jerome Powell told investors that the US economy was strong in his view. Although he noted that interest rate cuts were not a done deal for 2024 just yet, Powell stated that the Fed was making "progress" on reducing inflation as it moves "sustainably down toward 2 percent".
Powell's comments, as well as the subsequent performance of some of the US' (and the world's) largest tech shares, is probably enough to give our local ASX tech shares a boost today.
No doubt ASX investors will be breathing a sigh of relief. Let's see how ASX tech shares end up today.
