Most global markets closed in the green on Wednesday after news that e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) intended to restructure (its) business to “unlock shareholder value.” “Positive news involving China's technology sector and easing concerns about the recent banking turmoil boosted risk sentiment globally… Chinese tech giant Alibaba's break-up plans fuelled hope for a revival in the country's tech sector, which had been hurt by Beijing's crackdown over the previous two years,” reported Trading Economics. Advances in the tech sector helped the Hang Seng close up by 2.06% and the Nikkei by 1.33%.
Improvements in consumer morale in Germany, with data showing an increase in confidence for a sixth consecutive month, boosted European markets with the STOXX 600 closing 1.20% in the green.
Wall Street continued to ride the positive mood in equity markets after Alibaba said it intends to “split its business into six separate units, each with its own leadership and a potential public listing,” Trading Economics added. Risk appetite also improved after “Michael Barr, the Federal Reserve's vice chairman for supervision, said that SVB's troubles were due to poor risk management, suggesting it could be an isolated case.”
In commodities, an ounce of gold traded at $1 968.06, while a barrel of Brent crude traded at $78.46 at 20h30 local time.
