Why did ASX 200 tech shares tank 12% while utilities stocks rose strongly last week?

ASX 200 tech shares had a shocker last week, falling 12.28%, while utilities stocks led the market sectors with a 4.31% gain.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) fell 1.49% in a turbulent final week of earnings season.

The benchmark index closed the week at 8,172.4 points on Friday.

Only three of the 11 market sectors finished the week in the green.

Let's recap.

Tech shares dive while 'safe haven' utilities rise

ASX tech shares followed Wall Street's lead last week as concerns about weakness in the United States economy weighed on market sentiment.

US consumer confidence data revealed a three-and-a-half-year low last week.

Also, confirmation that the US will start a 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico from 4 March and double its new tariff on China to 20% prompted concerns that inflation may be reignited.

Last week, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) fell by just over 5% over the first four days of trading.

Contributing to this was a 10.5% decline in Nvidia stock after the artificial intelligence (AI) chip maker failed to impress the market with its first-quarter results.

ASX tech shares followed suit, with the sector recording falls every day last week.

On top of this were company-specific factors that dragged the broader ASX tech sector down.

The largest stock in the ASX 200 tech sector, WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC), fell 9.81% to $89.50 on Friday after four independent directors resigned last week.

Wisetech said their departure "followed intractable differences in the Board and differing views around the ongoing role of the Founder and Founding CEO, Richard White".

The directors' resignation took effect after the company released its 1H FY25 results on
Wednesday.

Wisetech reported a 34% rise in underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) to US$112.1 million.

The news saw the ASX 200 tech share briefly spike 8% before closing the session just 1.84% higher.

Other major tech sector companies also experienced significant share price falls last week.

TechnologyOne Ltd (ASX: TNE) shares fell 8.08% to $29.47, and Codan Ltd (ASX: CDA) shares dropped 5.7% to $15.23 despite no price-sensitive news from either tech company last week.

Nextdc Ltd (ASX: NXT) shares dropped 4.1% to finish the week at $13.34 per share. Investors were unenthused about the data centre operator's 1H FY25 report on Monday.

The Xero Ltd (ASX: XRO) share price fell 3.47% to $170.73 on Friday despite no price-sensitive news from the accounting software company.

Meantime, the ASX 200 utilities sector, which is seen as a safe-haven sector due to companies' reliable earnings in all types of economic conditions, rallied last week.

Among the 22 stocks comprising the sector, APA Group (ASX: APA) shares were among the best performers of the week, streaking 11.82% higher to close at $7.38 on Friday.

The APA share price surged on the back of the energy infrastructure company's 1H FY25 report released on Monday.

APA reported a 7.1% increase in revenue to $1.36 billion and a 9.1% lift in underlying pre-tax profit to $1.02 billion.

Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG) shares also rose by 1.34% to $10.94 on Friday despite no price-sensitive news last week.

Meridian Energy Ltd (ASX: MEZ) shares also closed in the green, up 0.38% over the week to $5.30.

New Zealand's largest electricity producer released its 1H FY25 report on Wednesday, revealing a net loss after tax of $121 million compared to an NPAT of $191 million in 1H FY24.

The Meridian Energy share price fell on Wednesday and Thursday, but a surge during late afternoon trading on Friday brought the stock into the green for the week.

ASX 200 market sector snapshot

Here's how the 11 market sectors stacked up last week, according to CommSec data.

Over the five trading days: