Tag: Market Watch

Global M&A Activity Smashes All-Time Records to Top $5 Trillion in 2021

LONDON/HONG KONG—Global merger and acquisition (M&A) activity shattered all-time records in 2021, comfortably erasing the high-water mark that was set nearly 15 years ago, as an abundance of capital and sky-high valuations fuelled frenetic levels of dealmaking. The value of M&A globally topped $5 trillion for the first time ever, with volumes rising 63 percent…


Omicron Worries Spur 2 Percent Slide in European Stocks

European stocks fell more than 2 percent on Monday amid a global sell-off in equities, with investors fretting over the spectre of tighter pandemic curbs hitting the global economy as cases of the Omicron COVID-19 variant surge. The pan-European STOXX 600 was down 2.2 percent, falling to its lowest in more than two weeks. Travel,…


Global Stocks Fall on Virus Concern, Tighter Fed Policy

BEIJING—Global stock markets and Wall Street futures tumbled Monday amid concern about the latest coronavirus variant and tighter Federal Reserve policy. London and Frankfurt opened sharply lower. Shanghai, Tokyo, and Hong Kong also fell at the start of a trading week that will be shortened by Christmas. Benchmark U.S. oil fell by more than $3…


Adidas Launches New Share Buyback

BERLIN—Adidas plans to buy back up to 4 billion euros ($4.54 billion) of its shares by 2025 and will also return the majority of the cash proceeds from the sale of Reebok, it said on Thursday. The German sportswear company said it will cancel most of the shares repurchased during the program, which would reduce…


Wall Street Ends Down After Mostly Negative Week

Wall Street finished lower on Friday, weighed down by Big Tech as investors worried about the Omicron coronavirus variant and digested the Federal Reserve’s decision to end its pandemic-era stimulus faster. All three main U.S. stock indexes ended with a decline for the week after the Fed on Wednesday signaled three quarter-percentage-point interest rate hikes…


Stocks Slide, Safe Havens Gain as Omicron Worries Weigh

NEW YORK—Global stock benchmarks and oil prices fell on Friday while safe havens such as the dollar and Treasury bonds rose as investors wrestled with a hawkish turn from major central banks in the fight against inflation and rising numbers of Omicron cases. Asian shares closed near lows for the year and broad-based European stock…


Wall Street Falls After Slide in Big Tech Stocks

Wall Street’s main indexes fell on Friday as big technology-related shares tumbled, reeling from the Federal Reserve’s decision to end its pandemic-era stimulus faster. An announcement from the Fed this week signaling three quarter-percentage-point interest rate hikes by the end of 2022 to combat surging inflation put pressure on heavyweight tech stocks. Growth stocks including…


Wall Street Opens Lower as Tech Stocks Slide

Wall Street’s main indexes opened lower on Friday as big technology stocks tumbled, reeling from the Federal Reserve’s decision to end its pandemic-era stimulus faster, which pushed investors towards cyclical parts of the market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 97.53 points, or 0.27 percent, at the open to 35,800.11. The S&P 500 opened lower…


World Shares Mixed After Tech-Led Retreat on Wall Street

BANGKOK—World shares fell on Friday after technology companies led Wall Street benchmarks lower as investors weighed the implications of higher interest rates, surging coronavirus cases, and tensions between Beijing and Washington. Benchmarks declined in Paris, London, Frankfurt, and Tokyo but rose in Shanghai. U.S. shares dropped a day after the Federal Reserve said it’s preparing…


Dollar Pressured, Asia Shares Slip as Global Inflation, Omicron Fears Sap Confidence

HONG KONG—Asian stock markets and the U.S. dollar struggled for traction on Friday after a rush of central bank meetings underlined the growing threat posed by a spike in global inflation, while fears about the Omicron variant of COVID-19 added to a cautious mood. The dollar index was trading at 95.999, off nearly 1 percent…