Tech

Amazon and Microsoft actually ended the first quarter higher as most of the market tanked

Key Points
  • Shares of Microsoft and Amazon closed the year's first quarter in the black, while its tech peers dropped due to impacts from COVID-19. 
  • Microsoft stock closed up .00006% in the past three months, while Amazon rose 5.43% in what is the broader markets worst first quarter ever.
  • Companies have warned about the impacts the deadly coroanvirus pandemic will have on operations.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella (L) and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos visit before a meeting of the White House American Technology Council in the State Dining Room of the White House June 19, 2017 in Washington, DC.
Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images

Shares of Microsoft and Amazon closed the year's first quarter in the black, while its tech peers followed the broader market sell-off due to impacts from COVID-19. 

Microsoft stock closed up by a razor-thin .00006% in the past three months, while Amazon rose 5.43% during the market's worst first quarter ever, according to FactSet. The historic market volatility, however, caused their tech peers to close in the red for the past three months. Apple closed down 13.4% while Alphabet fell 13.25% in the past quarter. 

Companies have spent the last quarter warning about the impacts the deadly coronavirus pandemic will have on operations. Microsoft said last month it didn't expect to reach its quarterly revenue target for the business segment that includes Windows because of coronavirus-related interruptions to the supply chain, but also said demand was solid. Microsoft has also benefited from high usage of cloud services.

Amazon meanwhile, has seen a surge in shoppers looking for supplies to get them through the emergency, including hand sanitizer, as well as high demand for Amazon Web Services by companies such as Slack and Zoom, who are meeting high demand while relying in part on Amazon infrastructure.

Investors are continuing to monitor the worsening COVID-19 pandemic. As of Tuesday, there are more than 177,000 confirmed cases and at least 3,440 deaths in the U.S., according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

-With reporting from CNBC's Jesse Pound.

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Stock market bright spots after worst first quarter for S&P 500 ever