European markets rise higher | Calamatta Cuschieri

European markets

European markets were up during Tuesday’s trading session as the FTSE 100, CAC 40 and the DAX were up 0.5%, 0.59% and 0.42% respectively. Markets seem to be optimistic with news coming out of France that Emmanuel Macron should win the French presidential election with a comfortable margin ahead of Marine Le Pen. German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi to discuss matters on the Ukrainian conflict, human rights and the Syrian civil war. Merkel has made it clear that sanctions will not be lifted on the Russian Federation due to the fact that the European Union has not seen sufficient progress made on these pressing issues. She went on to say that for sanctions to be lifted, a cease fire and the restoration of peace with Ukraine would have to be accomplished between the two countries.

Angela Merkel has made it clear that sanctions will not be lifted on the Russian Federation due to the fact that the European Union has not seen sufficient progress

American markets

The S&P 500 started trading negatively at the beginning of Tuesday’s trading session as gold surged by 0.01% to $1,253.40 an ounce and oil fell by 0.43% at $51.20 per barrel. The negative sentiment coming out of the States may be due to Trump’s statement on him potentially meeting the North Korean leader Kim Jung Un in the hope of mending relations and putting an end to the threat posed by the dictatorship. Another explanation to the sudden drop in the American stock market could be Trump’s comments on breaking up the big Wall Street Banks by implementing a modern day version of the 1933 Glass-Stegall Act. Investors on the American side of the Atlantic will also be watching out for the comments following the Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday.

AMD falls despite reporting expected results

Advanced Micro Devices Inc., AMD, saw its shares plunge more than 19% during Tuesday’s trading session after the chip maker announcing earnings that were in line with what analysts had predicted. The company reported a net loss of $73 million during the first quarter and sales of $984 million. The chip maker is launching a new set of chips, Ryzen, and expects sales figures to rise by 17% in the second quarter compared to the first quarter with revenue figures to reach $1.15 billion. AMD’s shares have more than tripled in the last year as they rose by 283.7% while the market in general increased by a little bit more than 15%.

Pfizer profits beat first quarter estimates

Pfizer Inc saw its shares tumble during Tuesday even though its profits figures for the first quarter beat estimates

Pfizer Inc., the global biopharmaceutical company that develops and manufactures healthcare products, saw its shares tumble during Tuesday even though its profits figures for the first quarter beat estimates. Earning for last quarter rose to $3.12bn from $3.04 billion. The latest results come amid Pfizer completing the sale of Hospira Infusion Systems to ICU Medical in February. Pfizer shares have increased to 6.5% over the last three months.

Disclaimer:

This article was issued by Simon Gauci Borda, Trader at Calamatta Cuschieri. For more information visit, www.cc.com.mt. The information, view and opinions provided in this article is 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.