If you want a perfect analogy for the psychology of investors this month, look no further than the performance of Microsoft shares in after hours trade, as the company delivered its December quarter results on Tuesday night (Wednesday AEDT).

The initial reaction to the tech giant’s revenue beat and strong growth in its Azure cloud business was strong. Twitter lit up with hot takes about the company’s impressive resilience and investors, who have stormed back into the unloved US tech sector this month, pushed Microsoft shares up 5 per cent after hours. The New Year rally was still running, baby!