Alibaba IPO the biggest of 2019 as U.S. Attorney subpoenas big pharma

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Alibaba’s secondary listing / IPO : the biggest of 2019

In Hong Kong on Tuesday, Alibaba launched its secondary listing / IPO to enormous fanfare and money. In fact, its IPO is the largest of 2019 so far, beating Uber. Shares gained 6.6% on the e-retailing giant’s first day of trading and accounted for 10.5% of the main board turnover on the Hong Kong exchange. All told, market value hit a staggering HK$4 trillion (US$513 billion). In New York, Alibaba jumped 2.23%.

In fact, the New York indices inched to new highs, driven by an upbeat prognosis of the American economy by the U.S. Fed’s Jerome Powell, and reports that U.S. and Chinese negotiators agreed to talks over a phase one trade deal. Riding the optimism was Disney ($151.64) which climbed 1.30% to reach a new high. Microsoft ($152.03) and JPMorgan ($131.67) also hit fresh highs.

The can’t be said for six big pharma companies, including Teva and Johnson & Johnson. The U.S. Attorney launched a criminal probe into these six for shipping massive quantities of painkillers and allegedly feeding the opioid crisis that has claimed over 200,000 victims so far. The Attorney’s office is expected to subpoenas more pharma companies. On Tuesday, Teva plunged nearly 8% while JNJ cratered immediately after the news broke, but recovered to close flat. So did the TSX.

🌐 Alibaba Group Holding +2.23%
👸 Walt Disney +1.30%
🧴 Teva Pharmaceutical -8%