diff --git a/src/vs/base/browser/htmlContentRenderer.ts b/src/vs/base/browser/htmlContentRenderer.ts
index 8b8b964ddcf5846ab5de1e7c5a12f79c4991c5fe..c74a313b467664453d91a894a7ae749c04b54f14 100644
--- a/src/vs/base/browser/htmlContentRenderer.ts
+++ b/src/vs/base/browser/htmlContentRenderer.ts
@@ -157,6 +157,7 @@ export function renderMarkdown(markdown: IMarkdownString, options: RenderOptions
 			if (href) {
 				options.actionHandler.callback(href, event);
 			}
+			event.preventDefault();
 		}));
 	}