Did Optus shares crash after its outage?

Optus is in a world of mess this week. How are its shares performing?

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It certainly hasn't been a good week for telco Optus and its millions of subscribers.

On Wednesday morning, the Optus network suffered an almighty outage, leaving over 10 million customers without service. Users of other mobile virtual network operators, such as Amaysim, which share the Optus network were also impacted.

This left countless businesses without the ability to function, Australians unable to contact emergency services, hospitals disrupted, train services at a standstill, and TikTok users unable to scroll.

With services only coming back online for many late in the evening, and some customers reportedly still suffering from outages today, it's no wonder the Federal Government is launching an investigation into the outage.

But what damage has this done to Optus shares? Have they been sold off by investors since the outage? Let's find out.

Have Optus shares been sold off?

Well, firstly, it is worth noting that there aren't Optus shares to be sold off. That's because Optus is owned by Singapore telecommunications giant Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (SGX: Z74).

Singtel, as it is better known, is Asia's leading communications company with operations and investments in more than 20 countries and territories. It used to be listed on the Australian share market but delisted in 2015.

However, the news did not go unnoticed up in Singapore. Investors were quick to hit the sell button on Wednesday following the Optus outage. This led to Singtel shares falling as much as 5% before closing the day approximately 4.5% lower.

This knocked about S$2 billion (A$2.3 billion) off the company's valuation.

Its shares are recovering a touch today, possibly in relief that the outage didn't go on any longer than it did.

Meanwhile, Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) shares are rising again. Investors appear to believe the reputational damage caused by Optus' outage and data leak could be a boost to Australia's leading telco.

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Telstra Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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