It has been a miserable stretch for ASX investors, to say the least, over these past three weeks. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has fallen 9.1% since the start of the month on 2 March, dragged lower by surging energy prices and fears about the global economic fallout from the conflict in the Middle East. But amid all of that selling, there are pockets of the market that have quietly been holding water. One of the most interesting of those pockets are ASX tech stocks.
On the whole, tech stocks have done better than the broader market. Over that same period, the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) has dropped by a milder 5.9%, easily outperforming the ASX 200.
But I want to talk about two popular ASX tech stocks today that are particularity interesting.
The first is software stock TechnologyOne Ltd (ASX: TNE). Incredibly, TechnologyOne shares are above where they were at the beginning of March. Since 2 March, the TechnologyOne share price has gained a rosy 10.9%, as of yesterday's close.
The second is medical imaging company Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX: PME). The Pro Medicus stock price has gained 6.7% since 3 March.
TechnologyOne has not made any significant price-sensitive ASX announcements this month. Pro Medicus has, a $40 million contract announcement on 9 March.
Although that contract could explain dome of this outperformance, investor optimism over both stocks this month has caught my eye. That's because as ASX tech shares that traditionally trade on eye-wateringly high earnings multiples, both TechnologyOne shares and Pro Medicus stock have often been some of the first shares to drop in past sell-offs when markets have switched to 'risk-off mode'.
Other such stocks, such as the ASX banks, have acted as one might have assumed they would. But not TechnologyOne or Pro Medicus.
Image source: Getty Images
Why are these ASX tech stocks an unexpected safe harbour?
So what's different this time?
Well, I think we are seeing a fascinating dynamic playing out here.
Back in February, before the war started, markets were riding high. It seems strange to think, but it was only on 2 March that the ASX 200 was at a new all-time record. However, both Pro Medicus and TechnologyOne were not riding high. In fact, both had endured a horrid start to 2026. Between 1 January and 2 March, Pro Medicus shares took a 43.6% dive. It wasn't so bad for TechnologyOne, but that company had still lost 10.4% of its value over that span.
As you may recall, January and February were both months where the 'SaaSpocalypse' was in full swing. Investors began to fear that artificial intelligence (AI) technology was about to make software that individuals, businesses and governments around the world rely on redundant. Almost every company that draws its money from a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model was abandoned by investors. We saw it over in the US too, with names like Adobe, Salesforce and S&P Global hit hard.
Of course, that all seems like a storm in a teacup now. So much so, apparently, that ASX tech stocks like Pro Medicus and TechnologyOne seem to now be viewed as safe harbours to hide out in amid the geopolitical conflagrations that are now dominating investors' attention.
Strange things happen on the markets.
