Alphabet shares rebound on Wednesday, Google to introduce censored search engine version in China

According to a Wednesday report by The Intercept, citing internal company documents and sources with knowledge of the matter, Alphabets Google intends to launch a censored version of its search engine in China, known under the code name of “Dragonfly”, which is aimed at blocking particular search terms as well as websites.

Alphabet shares closed higher for the fifth time in the past eight trading sessions on NASDAQ on Wednesday. The stock edged up 0.23% ($2.75) to $1,220.01, after touching an intraday high at $1,233.47, or a price level not seen since July 30th ($1,234.92).

Shares of Alphabet Inc have risen 16.59% so far in 2018 compared with a 5.23% gain for the underlying index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2017, Alphabet’s stock surged 35.58%, thus, it again outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 19.42% return.

Having been underway since early 2017, the final version of the project may be launched within the upcoming 6 to 9 months, as it is not yet approved by Chinese regulatory authorities, the news website reported.

Search terms related to religion, democracy, human rights or peaceful protests are very likely to be on the black list in the search engine application, The Intercept also stated in the report.

Although its main search platform and its video platform YouTube are blocked in China, Google noted that it had launched numerous mobile applications in the Asian country and had been cooperating with domestic developers in order to maintain certain presence in the region. For example, in January, Google invested in Chinese live-stream mobile game platform, Chushou.

According to CNN Money, the 41 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Alphabet Inc’s stock price, have a median target of $1,285.00, with a high estimate of $1,410.00 and a low estimate of $1,050.00. The median estimate represents a 5.33% upside compared to the closing price of $1,220.01 on August 1st.

The same media also reported that 37 out of 44 surveyed investment analysts had rated Alphabet Inc’s stock as “Buy”, while 4 – as “Hold”.

Daily and Weekly Pivot Levels

With the help of the Camarilla calculation method, todays levels of importance for the Alphabet stock are presented as follows:

R1 – $1,222.14
R2 – $1,224.27
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $1,226.41
R4 (Long Breakout) – $1,232.80
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $1,240.27
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $1,243.46

S1 – $1,217.88
S2 – $1,215.75
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $1,213.61
S4 (Short Breakout) – $1,207.22
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $1,199.75
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $1,196.56

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for Alphabet Inc (GOOG) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $1,231.13
R1 – $1,281.26
R2 – $1,324.02
R3 – $1,374.15
R4 – $1,424.28

S1 – $1,188.37
S2 – $1,138.24
S3 – $1,095.48
S4 – $1,052.72