MARKET REPORT: Google Owner Value Reaches $2,000,000,000,000
Google’s owner saw its value rise above $2 trillion for the first time yesterday.
Alphabet shares rose more than 10 percent after it outlined plans to pay its first dividend and launched a £56 billion share buyback.
The company also said sales rose 15 percent to £65 billion in the first three months of the year.
That was higher than the £63 billion analysts had estimated.
When shares rose above 10 percent, it added almost £160 billion to Alphabet’s value, leaving it worth around $2.1 trillion, or £1.7 trillion.
On a roll: Alphabet shares rose more than 10 percent after it outlined plans to pay its first dividend and launched a £56 billion share buyback
It is the fourth listed company to reach this milestone, after technology giants Apple and Microsoft and oil giant Saudi Aramco.
Social media platform Snap joined the rally, rising nearly 30 percent after posting a solid set of first-quarter results.
Revenue rose 21 percent to £960 million, alongside a 10 percent increase in the number of daily active users to 422 million. The tech company added that its technology was first used during the Super Bowl event in February.
Snap founder Evan Spiegel, married to Australian model Miranda Kerr, saw the value of his stake rise by £105 million.
Back in London, the FTSE 100 continued its record run, reaching an intraday high of 8146.79. The blue chip index ended the session up 0.8 percent, or 60.97 points, at 8,139.83 – a record close.
That took the gain for the week to 3.1 percent – the best weekly performance since September last year. Russ Mould, investment director at broker AJ Bell, praised a ‘fantastic’ week for the FTSE 100.
He said: ‘We’ve had record highs, even more takeover activity, and everyone is talking about UK shares in a positive way, which hasn’t been seen for some time. The breadth of sectors moving higher suggests that investor sentiment continues to improve.”
The FTSE 250 added 1.1 percent, or 222.18 points, to 19824.16.
Engineering firm Senior said sales rose 7 percent in the first quarter to the end of March.
This included a 12 percent increase in sales for the aerospace business.
The update came a day after the company said it would be paid £104 million to work with Spirit AeroSystems for another five years to supply parts for Boeing aircraft. The shares added 0.4 percent, or 0.6p, to 164.4p. Loungers, the restaurant, bar and café operator, achieved record turnover last year when it opened the largest number of new locations.
The company’s turnover rose 24.7 per cent to £353.5m in the 12 months to April 21, while profits should beat market expectations as rising costs eased.
Loungers opened a record number of 36 locations last year, bringing the total to almost 260. Shares rose 2.2 percent, or 5p, to 236p.
Green energy company ITM Power has partnered with Hygen to become the preferred supplier for specialist electrolysers used in hydrogen projects in the UK and Europe.
Dennis Schulz, CEO of the London-listed company, said the partnership should play a “leading role in advancing the green hydrogen economy.”
ITG shares rose 2.2 per cent, or 1.1p, to 51.1p.