STOCK MARKET UPDATES: UK blocks Microsoft Activision deal, First Republic shares sink, Nasdaq leads
Microsoft-Activision $69 billion deal is blocked by the UK, the Nasdaq rallies helped by tech earnings ahead of eBay, Amazon and Meta. First Republic fights for survival and the debt ceiling fight intensifies on Capitol Hill. FOX Business is providing real-time updates on the markets, commodities and all the most active stocks on the move.
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Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., April 14, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
| Symbol | Price | Change | %Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| I:COMP | $11,854.35 | 55.19 | 0.47 |
| MSFT | $295.19 | 19.77 | 7.18 |
| GOOG | $104.30 | -0.32 | -0.30 |
The tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced on Wednesday as strong Microsoft Corp results partially offset concerns over rising interest rates and their effect on the U.S. economy.
Microsoft shares rose more than 7.5% following upbeat quarterly earnings and sales, including of robust artificial intelligence products. The results boosted companies such as cloud computing rival Amazon.com Inc, which was up more than 3%, and data analytics company Datadog, which surged more than 12%. Data cloud giant Snowflake Inc rose more than 9%.
Alphabet Inc reported better-than-expected first-quarter results and a $70-billion share buyback plan, but its shares edged lower.
"It's really Nasdaq's turn to shine because of good results from Alphabet and Microsoft. People are more optimistic about the outlook for technology once again," said Brian Jacobson, senior investment strategist at Allspring Global investments.
Uber drivers are not interstate workers exempt from arbitration, US court rules
| Symbol | Price | Change | %Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| UBER | $29.54 | -0.05 | -0.17 |
Uber Technologies Inc drivers are not exempt from a U.S. law requiring them to bring work-related legal disputes in private arbitration rather than joining class action lawsuits in court, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Wednesday.
A panel of the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that Uber drivers do not qualify for an exemption from the arbitration law for workers involved in interstate commerce because they rarely cross state lines when transporting passengers.
A San Francisco-based appeals court came to the same conclusion in a 2021 case involving Uber, and an appeals court in Boston that year said Lyft Inc drivers were required to arbitrate legal claims against the company.
The Tesla logo is seen on a car in Los Angeles, California, U.S., July 9, 2020. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
| Symbol | Price | Change | %Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| TSLA | $154.40 | -6.27 | -3.90 |
Tesla Inc supervisors at a Florida service center violated U.S. labor law by telling employees not to discuss pay and other working conditions or bring complaints to higher level managers, a U.S. labor board official has ruled.
Managers at the Orlando repair shop illegally silenced workers in 2021 after some of them complained that new hires were being paid more, according to the decision issued Tuesday by National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Administrative Law Judge Michael Rosas.
The judge ordered Tesla to cease and desist from violating workers' rights and to post notice of the violations in the service center and email it to employees.
The ruling is the latest loss for Tesla before the labor board as it also faces lawsuits alleging widespread race and sex discrimination at its assembly plants.
AP Photo/Jae C. Hong
Microsoft's $69 billion deal to purchase Activision was blocked by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority citing anticompetitive concerns. Still, the software-giant is vowing to complete the deal.
“We remain fully committed to this acquisition and will appeal,” President Brad Smith said in a statement reported by the Associated Press. He said the watchdog's decision “rejects a pragmatic path to address competition concerns" and discourages tech innovation and investment in the United Kingdom.“We’re especially disappointed that after lengthy deliberations, this decision appears to reflect a flawed understanding of this market and the way the relevant cloud technology actually works,” Smith said.
Activision shares slumped on the news.
| Symbol | Price | Change | %Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| ATVI | $86.74 | 0.65 | 0.76 |
Google and Microsoft, two of the biggest rivals when it comes to Artificial Intelligence, are pushing ahead on aggressive paths. Here's the latest from each disclosed in Tuesday's earnings updates.
The battle over the debt ceiling heats up on Capitol Hill with a potential vote on Wednesday.
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