Mixed markets | Calamatta Cuschieri

US markets ended a volatile session slightly higher Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 erasing early losses to turn positive in afternoon trading as strong corporate earnings appeared to overshadow an ongoing rise in bond yields. The Dow rose 59.7 points, or 0.3%, to 24,083.83, supported in part by Boeing which rallied on better than expected results and the S&P 500 rose 4.8 points, or 0.2%, to 2,639.39.

European indexes moved lower in the wake of a selloff on Wall Street where equities were spooked by rising bond yields and mixed earnings reports. Germany’s DAX 30 was the worst performing among the major national indexes. It fell 1% to close at 12,422.30, suffering its biggest daily loss in a month while the FTSE 100 index fell 0.6% to end at 7,379.32, falling from an 11-week closing high hit on Tuesday.

Sky bid war

US cable TV giant Comcast has made a formal £22bn bid for Sky that values the UK broadcaster at £12.50 a share in a move which threatens Rupert Murdoch's attempts to take full control of the pay-TV group after the media mogul's 21st Century Fox has already agreed to buy the 61% of Sky it does not already own - an offer worth about £19bn. Sky said it was withdrawing its recommendation for the Fox bid following Comcast's move.

Comcast - the biggest US cable TV firm that also owns the NBC network and Universal Pictures - said its bid offered a premium of about 16% to Fox's £10.75 a share offer. The gloves are officially off. The big winners here are the Sky shareholders who can now sit back and watch these two slug it out in a bidding war. Sky shares closed 3.4% higher at £13.59 - more than £1 above Comcast's offer, suggesting a bidding war for control of Sky could erupt.

Airbus – Dassault joint venture

Rivals Airbus and Dassault Aviation have struck a deal to develop and produce Europe's next generation of fighter aircraft, saying the deal would secure European sovereignty and technological leadership in military aviation. Franco-German Airbus is part of the consortium behind Eurofighter, while France's Dassault makes the Rafale jet.

The French and German governments have yet to set out their exact requirements for the programme, which will also include the manufacture of drones and communications technology. And the two companies have yet to decide which of them would take the lead role in the huge project. The two companies said their European Future Combat Air System (FCAS) would replace the existing planes by 2040.

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.