The ongoing Brexit negotiations put a smile on the European markets' faces, causing Germany30 and France40 to each gain 0.8%. UK100 was up 0.1%.
On Tuesday, WISH - one of the most expected IPOs of 2020 raised the price of its shares at $24 apiece, exceeding $14 billion in market cap.
At the same time, the American markets cheered the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, making the country's benchmarks close in the green. USA30 added 1.13%, while USA500 gained 1.29%. TECH100 inched up 1.25%. But the same enthusiasm was not present across the Pacific. HongKong45 and Japan225 lost 0.76% and 0.20%, respectively amid tighter COVID-19 restrictions.
Reebok's fate is uncertain as its parent-company Adidas announced that it is considering selling or keeping it as part of the latter's five-year strategy. An official decision will be made public on March 10.
In the US, the stimulus talks hinted at a positive outcome for small businesses and unemployed people. The good news made gold trade 0.64% higher at $1,867.15 per ounce. At the same time, EUR/USD went up 0.26%, closing the Wednesday trading session at 1.2183.
The State Administration for Market Regulation fined Alibaba and two other Chinese companies $76,463 after the companies failed to mention various past acquisitions to authorities. Following the news, Alibaba stock price lost 2.9%.
While in China companies got fined, in the US, Google was sued for anticompetitive behavior, allegedly offering Facebook data and policy exceptions to be one step ahead of the competition. For this, 10 US states filed a class-action suit against the behemoth. After the news hit the wire, Google's stock price lost 0.27%.
Robinhood- the Silicon Valley-based startup was accused by the US Security and Exchange Commission of misleading its clients about the way it makes profit. Robinhood did not admit or denied the charges but agreed to pay a $65 million fine.
The week ended on a positive note for three famous companies. Accenture posted fiscal Q1 2021 earnings that came above the consensus. In the quarter, Accenture had revenues that came in at $11.8 billion, topping by $200 million the estimates. After the report, its stock price added 5%.
In fiscal Q2 2021, FedEx had an EPS of $4.83 on revenues of $20.6 billion, both topping the expectations. Even though it posted better-than-expected results and was optimistic about the future, its stock price lost 3%.
Google received European clearance to acquire Fitbit, and now the $2.1 billion deal is expected to close by the end of 2020. However, the agreement is subject to conditions that will be in force for ten years. After the news, Fitbit stock price added 0.56%.
To find out more about how the most important assets have performed since the beginning of the year, have a look here!
Sources: cnbc.com, investing.com, thestreet.com