The Financial Post reports in its Wednesday edition that as President Donald Trump's trade war clouds the economic outlook, software stocks have emerged as a favourite place for investors looking for a respite. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post reports that recent results from Microsoft and ServiceNow have strengthened a key bullish argument for the sector. These companies continue to demonstrate strong growth, particularly from artificial intelligence, while experiencing minimal risk from tariffs, which are a major factor contributing to overall market volatility. A reduction in the tariff conflict could lower the risk for tech companies that produce hardware or semiconductors, as evidenced by Monday's stock market rally. However, the performance of software companies highlights the underlying fundamentals of the sector. In the meantime, uncertainty persists, and tariffs are still in place. Software has outperformed the rest of tech this year, contrasting with struggling tech giants in more tangible product categories. Apple, Amazon, Arm Holdings and Qualcomm have all disappointed this season. HSBC analyst Stephen Bersey singled out Microsoft, ServiceNow, Oracle and Salesforce as companies he views as high quality.