Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard was recently rejected by the British regulator, who claimed that the merger could harm competition in the UK gaming market.
The takeover is expected to result in a severe weakening of competition, higher costs, fewer choices, and a halt in the pace of innovation in the industry, according to a news release from the Competition and Markets Authority. Microsoft and Activision Blizzard received letters from the regulator explaining potential solutions to the issues. Businesses have until February 22 to reply.
Rima Alaily, corporate vice president and deputy general counsel at Microsoft, promised that the company would provide practical solutions that were simple to execute and took into account not only the interests of the two firms but also those of all customers.
Given this, Activision Blizzard's premarket share price decreased by 4.6%.
Premarket
Uber. Following the release of the company's fourth-quarter earnings, which exceeded analysts' expectations, shares of the cab ordering app increased by more than 7%. Uber earned 29 cents per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of 18 cents, according to Refinitiv. In comparison to the prior year, Uber's revenue during the quarter climbed by 49%.
In response to dismal quarterly earnings, shares of fast-food restaurant company Chipotle dropped more than 5%. According to Chipotle, customers cut back on their dining-out expenses in the fourth quarter.
After Digg unveiled a new artificial intelligence webpage for Microsoft's Bing search engine, the company's stock increased by 1.6%.
Lumen Technologies, a provider of cloud network data, saw a 17% decline in share price following the publication of a report that revealed a $3.1 billion loss for the fourth quarter. A year ago, adjusted earnings per share were 51 cents; this year, they were 43 cents.
Security firm Fortinet's stock increased 11% as it outperformed analysts' expectations by five cents per share in the final quarter of 2022.
Regarding the S&P 500's technical picture, it is evident that there is still a demand for riskier assets. The index could increase further, but consolidation over $4,150 is required for this. The control of $4,180, which will enable the bullish trend to continue, will be no less of a priority for the bulls. The trading instrument will strengthen at $4,208 just after that, at which point we can anticipate a more confident upward movement. The level of $4,229 is a little higher and will be challenging to surpass. Buyers only need to declare themselves in the area of $4,116 in the event of a downward movement and lack of demand. When it breaks down, the trading instrument will be immediately pushed to $4,090 and open the way to $4064.
