Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Microsoft shares beat NASDAQ last week; Facebook, Google fall behind

With the US Federal Reserve clamping down on Wall Street’s rally with a faster-than-anticipated revision in rates, S&P 500, Dow Jones, and NASDAQ closed with losses last week. (Image: REUTERS)

With the US Federal Reserve clamping down on Wall Street’s rally with a faster-than-anticipated revision in rates, S&P 500, Dow Jones, and NASDAQ closed with losses last week. The NASDAQ, however, suffered the least when compared to its peers, helped by some big-name tech stocks. Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Microsoft were all in the green on a weekly basis at the closing bell on Friday, while Facebook and Good closed with marginal losses. A recent survey by Bank of America showed that fund managers were again lapping up shares of technology companies despite high valuations. 

Unfazed by Fed?

Apple’s stock rose 2.44% during the week to close at $130.46 apiece. The stock did see some weakness creep in on Tuesday but bounced back strongly from Wednesday. With the previous week’s strong run, the iPhone maker is now positive year-to-date. Apart from Apple, Jeff Bezos’ Amazon was also among the gainers last week. Amazon shares rallied 4.19% to close at $3,486.9 per share. The company will be organising its ‘Prime Day’ this week, which is expected to benefit the company as it lures in customers at attractive deals.

OTT platform Netflix has been a no-show so far this year. However, during the previous week, the stock soared 2.46% to close trading at $500.77 per share. Last week Zacks Research analysts said that a weak content slate and delayed production due to the pandemic is expected to hurt Netflix’s prospects in the second quarter of 2021. They believe rising competition from Apple, Amazon, HBO Max, Disney+ and Peacock is a major headwind for the company.

Microsoft continued to move higher during the week, advancing 0.61% to $259.43 per share. Now Microsoft has jumped 19% since the beginning of this year. 

Facebook, Google fall

On the other hand, Facebook and Google were among the laggards. Facebook’s share price fell 0.48% and closed at $329.66 per share. However, last week’s performance is a small blip on Facebook’s performance year-to-date, zooming 22%. CNBC report Morgan Stanley analysts saying that they remain most positive on Facebook within the large-cap social media names seeing its leading ROI, product innovation, and monetization call options (Reels, Marketplace, Shopping, etc) enabling them to navigate through difficult near-term engagement headwinds. Google was the worst performer during the week, falling 1.15%.