"Everyone started making phone calls again": A Microsoft outage brought traders' work to a standstill

Microsoft experienced one of its most widespread outages in recent memory: for most of the workday on Thursday, Outlook, Teams, and the Copilot AI service were unavailable to some users. Several hours later, the company still had not fully restored access to the software, according to Bloomberg. Microsoft’s stock fell 1% in after-hours trading.

The outage coincided with a volatile week in the markets, during which AI-related stocks and bonds fluctuated sharply. The lack of access to Microsoft programs created difficulties with effective communication and disrupted workflows on trading platforms, delayed corporate reporting, and even affected access to email for Japan’s Ministry of Finance, the agency notes.

“This is a disaster, and I can’t believe the problem still hasn’t been resolved,” said Rita Elkazzi, head of sales and trade execution for UBS Group in Australia and New Zealand. According to her, she had to resort to phone calls and alternative communication channels in the midst of a turbulent week in the markets.

“Everyone has started talking on the phone again, and our WhatsApp chats are busier than usual,” said Eugene Koh, a sales trader at CMC Markets Singapore. “What usually takes a second via email may now require a phone call and several minutes to resolve.”

“It’s incredibly frustrating,” said Kenneth Goh, director of private wealth management at the brokerage firm UOB Kay Hian. He said that amid a volatile trading week, he was unable to receive the market reports he needed to advise his private clients. “If the outage lasts more than 24 hours, we’ll find ourselves in a critical situation.”

Calvin Yeo, a portfolio manager at the hedge fund Blue Edge Advisors, said he was unable to check his email and encountered difficulties accessing brokerage statements and trading platforms that require email authentication.

“Outlook is the appendix of the modern financial world,” he said. “So, aside from the fact that the entire global financial infrastructure has been paralyzed amid Nvidia’s collapse and this week’s wild betting markets—yes, everything is just fine.”

Matthew Haupt, a portfolio manager at Wilson Asset Management, said that traders from the small-cap equity trading team had informed him of a decline in trading volume amid the outage.

Trading operations themselves have not been affected by the outage, but “delays in confirmations are piling up, which is creating settlement problems for back offices,” said Ryutaro Kimura, senior bond strategist at BNP Paribas Asset Management in Tokyo. “Trades are still being executed by phone and fax,” he said.

At the same time, traders in Singapore reported that some banks were unable to complete transactions due to the outage. Several Indian brokerage firms issued warnings about the potential impact on their services. Japan also experienced disruptions in its government IT platform: the Ministry of Finance stated that it was unable to receive emails due to the technical issues.

Workhorse Group, an American manufacturer of trucks and buses, announced that it will postpone the release of its financial results.

Microsoft is still trying to restore access to some of its flagship software products several hours after an outage began that affected Outlook, Teams, and Copilot, according to Bloomberg. This makes the current outage one of the most serious incidents for the company in recent years—past issues rarely lasted longer than a few hours.

According to Downdetector, the outage prompted about 200,000 user complaints.

Microsoft itself reported that it is seeing "positive results" from its efforts to restore the affected infrastructure, although it initially took some time to identify the cause of the problem and test possible solutions.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor