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Amazon Prevails as World Stock Markets Struggle

NEW YORK, N.Y. – International stock markets struggled as the world was battered by reports of more cases of the coronavirus. But one bright spot to the day was Amazon’s spectacular earnings report. The company’s fourth quarter earnings easily surpassed the expectations of analysts.

According to the ecommerce giant’s earnings report, the company’s revenue went up by 20.8% to reach $87.4 billion. It was an impressive acceleration when compared to the previous year and exceeded analysts’ projections by $1.35 billion. Amazon’s $6.47 earnings per share was far beyond the estimated $3.96 a share.

Experts say Amazon’s dynamic investments in its one-day shipping program starting in the second quarter of last year are paying off. Its year-over-year (YoY) growth is expected to accelerate further.

The one-day shipping program is apparently successful in bringing about the calculated network effect. It was designed to entice more Prime subscriptions, which gives its subscription services line a huge advantage. This also lures in more third-party sellers to the company.

Amazon’s stock skyrocketed after the report was released and saw its triumphant return to the exclusive $1 trillion club.

The day also saw stocks from three other companies flashing buy signals on their earnings. Edwards Lifesciences, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, and Western Digital all rallied and saw their stocks gaining.

Unfortunately, the rest of the world markets struggled to find their footing as the week drew to a close.

The MSCI’s broadest index of world shares was fat while Asia-Pacific shares outside of Japan continued to fall. The benchmark went down 0.4% and appears headed to its worst loss in months.

The Asian stock market ended the week with losses. The Nikkei 225 inched up by 1% but saw a weekly loss of 2.6%. The Hang Seng index went down 0.3% and fell 9% in two weeks. Meanwhile, the Kospi of South Korea saw a 5.6% loss, its worst week in more than a year.

The European market was up by 0.3% as the day started, but it had a minimal impact on what has been a costly week for markets.

Dow Jones and S&P futures also took a hammering early on Friday as the Wuhan virus continued to spread. Dow futures dropped 0.45% against fair value while the S&P 500 futures slid down 0.2%. Nasdaq futures rallied and inched up 0.5%.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the virus a global emergency on Thursday. WHO’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the biggest problem was the virus reaching countries with poor health systems.

The director did praise China’s response and continued efforts to contain the disease, and his comments appeared to appease some markets.

Amazon Prevails as World Stock Markets Struggle