The market may be trading notably lower this year because of the pandemic, but that hasn’t held back all shares.

Three ASX tech shares that have been smashing the market in 2020 are listed below. Here’s why they are on fire this year:

The Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price has been a standout performer this year with a sizeable 61.7% gain. Investors have been buying the payments company’s shares after its strong sales and customer growth continued during the pandemic. In addition to this, the arrival of WeChat owner Tencent Holdings as a substantial shareholder gave Afterpay’s shares a major lift. Investors appear optimistic the ~US$500 billion Chinese conglomerate will help the company expand into Asia in the future.

The NEXTDC Ltd (ASX: NXT) share price has been a strong performer with a 38% gain year to date. The catalyst for this has been a series of positive updates by the data centre operator. Those updates have revealed major contract wins and increasing demand for capacity within its world class centres. This appears to have been driven partly by the pandemic accelerating the shift to the cloud through the work from home initiative.

The Pushpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: PPH) share price has been a fantastic performer in 2020 with a whopping 85% gain. Investors have been scrambling to buy the donor management platform provider’s shares after the release of its full year results for FY 2020. Pushpay revealed that demand for its services has been growing very strongly, even during the pandemic. This led to the company reporting a 1,506% increase in full year EBITDAF to US$25.1 million. Pleasingly, management expects its strong growth to continue in FY 2021. It has forecast EBITDAF growth of between 91.2% and 107% this year. But it certainly isn’t resting on its laurels. It is targeting a 50% share of the medium to large church market over the long term. This represents a US$1 billion revenue opportunity, which is materially more than FY 2020’s operating revenue of US$127.5 million.

More reading

• Where should you invest $1,000 in ASX shares?
• These ASX shares were among the best performers in May, surpassing the ASX 200
• The 3 ASX tech stocks that helped this fund manager outperform in May
• 3 investing secrets for success with ASX shares
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of NEXTDC Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended PUSHPAY FPO NZX. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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It was another bumpy day for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) on Tuesday, but it ended on a high. The benchmark index climbed 0.3% to 5,835.1 points.

Will the market be able to build on this on Wednesday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to rise.

It looks set to be another positive day of trade for the ASX 200 on Wednesday. According to the latest SPI futures, the benchmark index is poised to rise 32 points or 0.55% at the open. This follows another strong night of trade on Wall Street. The Dow Jones rose 1.05%, the S&P 500 climbed 0.8%, and the Nasdaq index pushed 0.6% higher.

Australian first quarter GDP.

Late this morning the Australian Bureau of Statistics will release first quarter GDP. According to the economics team at Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC), it expects Australian GDP to have fallen by 0.7% during the quarter. It believes there is a risk that output fell as shutdowns took place during March. The market consensus is for a 0.3% decline for the quarter.

Oil prices jump.

Energy shares such as Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Oil Search Limited (ASX: OSH) could be on the rise today after oil prices jumped higher overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price stormed 4.25% higher to US$36.95 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price pushed 3.6% higher to US$39.70 a barrel. Traders were buying oil ahead of the upcoming OPEC+ meeting.

Gold price drops lower.

It could be another tough day for gold miners including Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) after the gold price dropped lower again. According to CNBC, the spot gold price fell 0.95% to US$1,733.70 an ounce. The price of the precious metal tumbled after Wall Street began betting on a successful economic restart.

BHP and Rio Tinto rated as buys.

The shares of BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) could be on the rise today after Goldman Sachs reaffirmed its buy rating on both mining giants. And in response to higher iron ore forecasts, the broker has lifted its price targets on both companies. Goldman has a $37.80 price target on BHP’s shares and a $101.10 price target on Rio Tinto’s shares.

More reading

• This embattled ASX 200 company could be the next M&A target
• ASX 200 rises 0.3%, Zip rockets higher
• Why Coles and Woolworths shares were flat in May
• 3 long-term impacts of near-zero interest rates
• 3 things ASX investors need to know about the RBA’s rate decision today

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of Westpac Banking. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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