Stocks continue their climb

Stocks ended higher in thin trade Friday, getting a lift from positive news on a coronavirus treatment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained around 369 points, or 1.4 percent, to 26,075 while the S&P 500 rose around 33 points, or 1 percent, 3,185. The tech heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed nearly 70 points, or 0.7 percent, to close at another record high of 10,617.

European shares rose on Friday after upbeat industrial output data from Italy and France raised hopes of an economic recovery. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index climbed 0.6 percent whilst the German DAX gained 0.8 percent. Both the UK’s FTSE 100 and French CAC 40 rose 0.7 percent.

Maltese markets meanwhile slipped lower with the MSE Equity Total Return Index closing down 0.2 percent at 8,169.676 points. GO Plc led the losses with shares down 2.94 percent at €3.30 followed by Lombard Bank Malta Plc which lost 2.86 percent to €2.04. Malta International Plc led the gains with shares up 1.77 percent to €5.75.

Alibaba co-founder cashes out

Co-founder of Alibaba Group, Jack Ma, has cut his stake in the company over the past year to 4.8% from 6.4%, cashing out around $9.6 billion at its current share price, the firm’s annual filing released on Friday showed. Alibaba did not disclose the average selling price of his divestment. Its share price has risen around 40% since Ma reported his 6.4% holding in the company a year ago.

The divestment comes as Ma retired as the Chinese e-commerce company’s executive chairman in September and pulled back from formal business roles to focus on philanthropy. The stock’s stellar performance has been helped by forecast-beating earnings growth, even as China’s economy sharply slows, as more people shop online for essentials due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Alibaba Executive Vice Chairman Joseph Tsai also reduced his stake in the company over the same period, from 2.3% to 1.6%. The offloaded shares were worth $4.1 billion as of Friday.

This article was issued by Peter Petrov, Trader at Calamatta Cuschieri. For more information visit, www.cc.com.mt. The information, view and opinions provided in this article are being provided solely for educational and informational purposes and should not be construed as investment advice, advice concerning particular investments or investment decisions, or tax or legal advice. Calamatta Cuschieri Investment Services Ltd has not verified and consequently neither warrants the accuracy nor the veracity of any information, views or opinions appearing on this website.