Higher? Seems so! | Calamatta Cuschieri

U.S. stocks mostly climbed to record highs as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. led a rally in consumer shares and energy producers climbed along with oil prices. Politics remained the dominant theme in Europe as Spanish stocks declined and the euro rose before a pivotal meeting of Catalan’s regional parliament. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 46 points, or 0.2%, to 22,807. The S&P 500 added 3 points, or 0.1%, to 2,548. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 5 points to 6,574.

U.K. stocks also rose Tuesday, with banks continuing to be among biggest gainers after a broker upgrade, outperforming the wider European market that was weighed by tensions between Catalonia and Madrid. The FTSE 100 index picked up 0.4% to end at 7,538.27, marking its highest close in two months. Top performers were Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC and Lloyds Banking Group PLC.

Domino’s share price jumps

Domino's Pizza shares surged 8.9% after the company delivered a strong rise in sales, despite an "uncertain consumer environment" after the FTSE 250 firm reported like-for-like sales growth in the UK of 8.1% in the third quarter of the year, with online sales up 17.4%, helped by the opening of new stores and by quirky additions to its menu – like chocolate-covered pizzas.

In July, Domino’s recorded a 9% increase in profit for the six months to the end of June, helped by the opening of 40 new stores and “innovations” including a chocolate-covered pizza. At the time, the firm said it was speeding up its growth programme and the group recently announced a plan to open 90 new stores in the UK this year.

Big plans for Walmart

Wal-Mart Stores Inc, locked in a battle for market share with ecommerce group Amazon.com Inc, has been doubling down on its online business and leveraging its 4,700-plus stores trying to create a more hassle-free experience for online shoppers. The firm on Tuesday forecast that its U.S. online sales would soar about 40 percent in the fiscal year ending January 2019, sending its stock up 4.7 percent to the highest in more than two years.

The company did not break out U.S. e-commerce sales last year, but reported growth of about 62 percent for the first half of this year. “We are going to lean into places like technology, e-commerce, international stores ... we feel like we are going in the right direction with that,” said Wal-Mart Chief Financial Officer Brett Biggs.

Disclaimer

This article was issued by Peter Petrov, Junior 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.