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Why Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX:APT) shares sank 8.5% lower today

James Mickleboro | September 6, 2018 | More on: ALU APT APX WTC XRO

It has been a disappointing day of trade so far for the Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX: APT) share price.
At one stage the fintech company’s shares fell as much as 8.5% to $15.32 before rebounding slightly.
In late morning trade Afterpay Touch’s shares are down just over 5% to $15.84.
Why are Afterpay Touch’s shares sinking lower?
With no news out of the company or any related broker notes that I’m aware of, I feel today’s decline is likely to be attributable to profit taking from investors after heavy falls in the U.S. tech sector overnight.
Tech favourites including Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter, and Netflix all sunk lower on Wall Street last night. The latter two shares were among the worst performers on the market with declines of 6% each.
While Twitter shares fell partly due to CEO Jack Dorsey testifying in front of Congress in relation to online election meddling, according to CNBC, concerns that the tech sector could be targeted by regulators also weighed heavily on investor sentiment.
It isn’t just Afterpay Touch that is suffering on the Australian share market. Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) shares are down 4.5%, Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) is lower by almost 5%, WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) has fallen almost 5%, and the Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) share price is around 3.5% lower.
Is this a buying opportunity?
While I think it would be best to wait for the dust to settle first, when it does I feel this could be a buying opportunity for a lot of these tech shares.
All five of the ASX-listed tech shares listed in this article have outstanding long-term growth potential and could be great buy and hold investment options at the right price.
However, they are still by no means cheap even after this pullback, so they may only be suitable for investors with a high tolerance for risk.