Sydney, February 8, 2026, 17:16 AEDT — The market has closed.
- Xero slipped 0.4% to finish at A$81.76 on Friday, holding slightly above last week’s low.
- Australia’s tech stocks took another hit this week, with investors dumping software shares.
- Rate and inflation cues are lined up on the calendar; Xero’s next company update lands in mid-May.
Xero Ltd closed out Friday at A$81.76, slipping 0.4% as software names came under pressure and left the accounting platform group hovering close to its recent lows ahead of Monday. Shares moved in a range between A$79.25 and A$82.16. Now, the stock sits just above its February 4 low of A$80.82, putting Xero’s market cap at roughly A$13.9 billion.
Local tech stocks have been hit hard. The S&P/ASX 200 Tech Index looked ready to close the week roughly 12% lower and was sitting at depths last reached in December 2023, according to Market Index. That’s just more pain for the sector’s ongoing slide.
The stress has gone well beyond one region. Global markets have been shaken by concerns over artificial intelligence and its impact on software company earnings, though Wall Street managed to recover ground by week’s end. Reuters put the projected 2026 AI outlay for Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta at roughly $600 billion.
Xero’s reassurances to investors haven’t soothed concerns. In a Feb. 3 ASX filing, the company highlighted its AI ambitions, as well as moves to integrate U.S. accounting and payments via Melio, projecting that Melio would hit adjusted-EBITDA breakeven on a run-rate basis sometime in the back half of FY28. Chief executive Sukhinder Singh Cassidy said Xero remains “deeply focused” on chasing the global AI and U.S. accounting-plus-payments market. ASX Announcements
Investors worldwide are picking apart the soaring price tag of the AI surge. “It got too pricey,” said Andrew Wells, chief investment officer at SanJac Alpha, speaking to Reuters about the AI build-out play. This week, the S&P 500 software and services index dropped close to 8%, knocking off about $1 trillion in market value since Jan. 28. Reuters
Tech stocks are splitting into clearer camps. “Investors are differentiating between who enables AI and who may be disrupted by it,” Saxo chief investment strategist Charu Chanana said in a note quoted by Reuters, following this week’s drop in U.S. software stocks like ServiceNow and Salesforce. Reuters
Pressure from rates continues to drag on sector valuations. The Reserve Bank of Australia bumped its cash rate up by 25 basis points to 3.85% on Feb. 3—marking its first hike in two years—as officials flagged stronger-than-expected economic growth and warned inflation would probably linger above target.
Australian traders are set to watch the central bank closely this week, with deputy governor Andrew Hauser stepping into the spotlight for a fireside chat on Feb. 11, then showing up at the Senate economics committee the following day, Feb. 12. The RBA calendar has the details.
Offshore traders are watching the U.S. inflation figure—an important signal for where rates could head next. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the consumer price index for January 2026 lands on Feb. 13 at 8:30 a.m.
There’s a chance Xero’s slide could turn into something bigger than just nerves. Should investors stick with the “AI disruption” margin angle, or if rates refuse to budge, shares might test last week’s low again. A surge in global tech, though, could flip the script quickly.
Xero investors are circling mid-May for the FY26 report, with May 14 marked on market calendars as the big date for fresh details on the company’s U.S. expansion and payments rollout.
