Alphabet shares soared Wednesday after a federal judge spared its subsidiary Google from a forced breakup in its landmark antitrust battle — fueling a Wall Street rally that outraged critics blasted as a get-out-of-jail-free card for Silicon Valley’s most powerful player.

Barry Lynn, executive director of the anti-monopoly think tank Open Markets Institute, blasted the ruling, saying it “lets Google and every other monopolist know that even the most egregious violation of law will be met with a slap on the wrist.”

The stock popped 8% in early-morning trading , adding tens of billions in market value within hours. 5

Apple also gained nearly 4% as investors breathed a sigh of relief that the ruling preserves a $20 billion stream of Google payments to make its search engine the

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