Tech stock investors face a year of stiff competition to buy into quality local companies such as WiseTech and Xero as tight capital markets keep the lid on fresh listings and potential IPO candidate Canva keeps investors guessing if it will float abroad or locally.

In an energetic start to the year, the ASX technology index has leapt 10 per cent higher. But market watchers warn the “ASX premium” may have peaked, leaving tech company price performance at the mercy of US interest rates and the dislocation between sky-high private company valuations and volatile public market investors.