Tech giants’ stock gains dwarf NZX
Shares in the United States’ top five tech stocks jumped by US$184 billion
(NZ$267b) overnight on Friday, an amount which is more than double the combined value of all of the stocks on the NZX.
Retail and computing giant Amazon was the star performer. Its shares leapt by US$128 – or 13 per cent – overnight to a record high of US$1100, adding US$61b to its market value.
Microsoft’s value jumped US$40b as its shares rose more than 6 per cent.
Fellow US tech giants Facebook, Alphabet and Apple also made large gains, rising in value by a combined
US$83b.
In comparison, the entire value of all the stocks listed on the main board of the NZX totals just under NZ$130b.
The most common ‘‘C class’’ shares in Google-owner Alphabet topped US$1000 for the first time in normal trading hours, rising US$46 – or 4.8 per cent – to
US$1019, valuing the company at
US$709b.
Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet shares had risen in after-hours trading on Thursday, US time, after they posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results after the market closed.
But trading overnight on Friday, New Zealand time, saw them consolidate those gains.
Amazon’s steep rise comes as it prepares to open its first warehouse in Australia, in Melbourne. The facility will be medium-sized by its global standards, covering 24,000 square metres.
Retail NZ spokesman Greg Harford said this month that he was hopeful the new government would move quickly to force Amazon and other foreign e-commerce companies to levy GST on all products they shipped to New Zealanders.