Google market value gains $230 billion-plus in flat four days as …
Google’s parent company, Alphabet, led a monumental week for the tech sector, with its shares jumping more than 10% after a federal judge issued a remedy in its historic antitrust case that stopped short of the most severe penalties. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled on September 2 against the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) call for forced divestiture of key assets like the Chrome browser and the Android operating system. The decision sent a wave of relief through investors, propelling Alphabet’s stock up 8% in extended trading on Tuesday and over 10% for the week. The positive momentum helped push the combined market capitalization of the eight US trillion-dollar tech companies to $21 trillion, gaining a collective $420 billion in market cap this week alone. Of this, Google alone gained $230 billion-plus.
Judge Mehta, who found Google guilty of maintaining an illegal monopoly in internet search last year, stated in his decision that the plaintiffs “overreached” in seeking to break up these core businesses.
