Microsoft Similar to Alphabet, shares of tech giant Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) are down roughly 25% year to date. Inflation surged to 40-year highs, the Fed is raising interest rates in response, Russia and Ukraine are at war, COVID-19 is still causing supply chain disruptions, and oil prices are elevated. The S&P 500 is flirting with bear-market level drops and the Cboe Volatility Index -- Wall Street's fear gauge better known as the VIX -- is up 82% since the start of the year and illustrating investors' distress.