By Scott Murdoch and Kane Wu (Reuters) -SenseTime Group shares rose 1.6% from their initial public offering (IPO) price as they debuted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Thursday. The Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) start-up raised $740 million in its IPO and priced its shares at HK$3.85 ($0.4937) each, at the bottom of…

  By Wayne Cole SYDNEY (Reuters) – Asian share markets got off to a listless start on Thursday as the spread of Omicron clouded what is the last trading day of the year for many exchanges around the globe, while oil was close to finishing 2021 with gains of more than 50%. With coronavirus cases…

  SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s SK Hynix Inc said on Thursday it completed the first phase of its acquisition of Intel Corp’s NAND flash memory chip business, after it received regulatory approvals from eight countries including China. In exchange, SK Hynix will pay $7 billion out of the deal’s total $9 billion price tag,…

(Reuters) -China’s ride-hailing firm Didi Global on Wednesday reported a 1.7% decline in third-quarter revenue, as its domestic business took a hit from a regulatory crackdown. Daniel Zhang, the chief executive officer of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding, who had served as a director on Didi’s board since 2018 has resigned, the company said….

  By Echo Wang (Reuters) – The Dow and S&P 500 closed at all-time highs on Wednesday on a boost from retailers including Walgreens and Nike, as investors shrugged off concerns on the spreading Omicron variant. The Dow has now risen six straight trading days, marking the longest streak of gains since a seven-session run…

  By Stephanie Kelly NEW YORK (Reuters) -Oil prices rose on Wednesday, after government data showed U.S. crude and fuel inventories fell last week, offsetting concerns that rising coronavirus cases might reduce demand. Brent crude rose 29 cents to settle at $79.23 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 58 cents to settle…

  (Reuters) -South Korea’s Samsung Group is in talks to buy U.S. drugmaker Biogen Inc, Korea Economic Daily reported https://www.kedglobal.com/newsView/ked202112290011?lang=us on Wednesday, citing investment banking sources. The report said Biogen approached Samsung to buy its shares, which could be valued at more than $42 billion. The drugmaker is valued at $34.67 billion, according to Refinitiv…

By John McCrank NEW YORK (Reuters) -The dollar edged lower in thin holiday trading on Wednesday, while the safe-haven yen touched a one-month low as investors looked beyond a surge in Omicron cases and favored riskier currencies. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six global peers, was down 0.206% at 95.932, having turned…

  By Echo Wang (Reuters) – The Dow edged towards an all-time high in afternoon trading on Wednesday, on a boost from retailers including Walgreens and Nike and investors shrugged off concerns of the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 coronavirus. The Dow has now risen six straight trading days, marking the longest streak of gains…

  By Katanga Johnson and Abhinav Ramnarayan WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Major global stock indexes were mixed on Wednesday as uncertainty over the surge in Omicron variant infections tempered optimism that harsh new curbs on business and travel may not be needed. After a weak session in Asian stock markets, European stock markets traded mixed. The Dow…