Markets end mixed | Calamatta Cuschieri

US markets advanced on Wednesday but still booked the worst end to a month since March as hopes for another round of fiscal stimulus faded ahead of November’s election. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 329.04 points, or 1.2 percent, to 27,781.70, while the S&P 500 index added 27.53 points, or 0.8 percent, to 3,363. The Nasdaq Composite meanwhile rose 82.26 points, or 0.7 percent, to end the session at 11,167.51.

European markets ended nearly flat after a choppy session saw the region’s bourses reverse earlier gains as worries over surging coronavirus cases and uncertainty ahead of the US presidential elections outweighed hopes on fresh stimulus. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index ended the day 0.1 percent lower.

Maltese markets also closed lower with the MSE Equity Total Return Index retreating 0.52 percent to 7,253.809 points. Lombard Bank Plc led the losses with shares down 5 percent at €1.90, followed by International Hotel Investments Plc which fell 3.14 percent to €0.494. Rs2 Software Plc led the gains with shares up 0.92 percent at €2.20 on a single trade of 20 shares.

Tokyo suspends trading due to technical fault

The Tokyo Stock Exchange suspended share trading for the full day on Thursday as a glitch in its electronic trading system caused the worst outage ever suffered by the world’s third-largest stock market. It comes as Tokyo is hoping to attract more banks and fund managers from Hong Kong, amid businesses’ concerns over a new security law imposed by China.

The shutdown frustrated investors looking to buy back shares after the first U.S. presidential debate, and could tarnish the exchange’s credibility just as new Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga makes digitalisation a top priority.

The exchange blamed the outage on a hardware problem at its “Arrowhead” trading system, and a subsequent failure to switch over to a backup device. It was the first full-day suspension on the bourse since all-electronic trading began in 1999. Smaller, regional bourses in Nagoya, Fukuoka and Sapporo were also forced to suspend trade because they use the TSE’s system.

 

This article was issued by Peter Petrov, Trader at Calamatta Cuschieri. For more information visit, www.cc.com.mt. The information, view and opinions provided in this article are being provided solely for educational and informational purposes and should not be construed as investment advice, advice concerning particular investments or investment decisions, or tax or legal advice. Calamatta Cuschieri Investment Services Ltd has not verified and consequently neither warrants the accuracy nor the veracity of any information, views or opinions appearing on this website.