Amazon Shares Pass $3,000, Joining Other Tech Stocks Hitting Record Highs

Shares in Amazon broke the $3,000 barrier to finish Monday’s trading session at an all-time record of $3,057.04, leading a wave of tech stocks at record highs.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite itself continues to set records, closing Monday at 10,433.65. It has gone up 14% in 2020 to date, erasing steep losses in February and March.

Apple climbed 3% to $373.85. Alphabet increased 3% to $1,495.70, which was slightly below its all-time mark. Microsoft gained 2% to get to $210.70. It was the first time that Amazon, Apple, Alphabet and Microsoft each had a market value of $1 trillion apiece.

While many economic sectors have faced significant struggles during COVID-19, tech giants by and large have only solidified their positions in society and global economies. While social media firms have gotten entangled in debates about political speech and the threat of regulation, investors have largely kept their rose-colored glasses on, sending Facebook and Snap Inc. shares near all-time highs.

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Stock markets are not the same as the economy, of course. The U.S. and many other countries are in an unprecedented financial bind, with the pandemic and deep uncertainty about consumer spending slowing growth to a standstill, with unemployment rates staying well into double digits.

Netflix shares added another 4% to reach $493.81. They have nearly doubled since last summer, when a quarterly earnings miss and the imminent launches of Disney+ and Apple TV+ spooked some investors. It will report its next quarterly numbers on July 16, offering a window onto streaming during the second quarter, an April-to-June period when much of the world was amping up overall viewing during COVID-19.

Amazon, similarly, has symbolized the ability of certain companies to thrive during the pandemic. The company reported strong earnings for the first quarter, but said it planned to plow any profits from the second quarter into an ambitious suite of coronavirus response measures. In 2020 to date, Amazon shares have risen 61% and their current level is well ahead of Wall Street analysts’ consensus price target of $2,803.75.

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