Markets overview | Calamatta Cuschieri

Day’s Recap

European stock markets closed mixed on Tuesday, as market watchers focused on developments relating to deadly Gaza protests. Turkey stated it's to recall ambassadors to the United States and Israel for consultations. Meanwhile, the European Union is reportedly looking into bypassing sanctions which the US could impose on foreign companies doing business in Iran. Investors are also digesting earnings reports released earlier, including ThyssenKrupp, Commerzbank, RWE, Credit Agricole and Allianz.

The FTSE 100 was 0.16% higher at the end of the session. House-building company Taylor Wimpey led the gains on higher demand reports, rising 3.64%. The DAX lost 0.06% at the closing bell, with Thyssenkrupp and Merck being the biggest losers, dropping 6.45% and 6.28%, respectively. Meanwhile, the main French index CAC 40 finished the trading day 0.23% in the green. IT services corporation Atos and Kering were the best performers, increasing 1.97% and 1.77%, respectively.

Currency corner

The U.S. dollar rose to the best levels of the day on Tuesday, nearing last week’s four-and-a-half month highs after a slightly stronger than expected U.S. retail sales report. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, at one point was up 0.58% to 93.09, re-approaching last Wednesday’s highs of 93.26, the most since December 19.

The dollar climbed to three-month highs against the yen, with USD/JPY up 0.51% to 110.21. The euro fell to near one-week lows, with EUR/USD dropping 0.68% to 1.1846.

Earlier Tuesday, a report confirmed that growth in the euro area economy slowed slightly in the first quarter, underlining the European Central Bank’s caution about scaling back stimulus.

Crude oil

Crude prices traded in the green, increasing around 1% as investment incentives were boosted by new sanctions against Iran by the United States. Washington's move against the OPEC nation is likely to greatly affect Iranian oil exports, reducing the world supply of crude and hiking oil prices.

Meanwhile, the demand in the crude market remained strong while OPEC reported that the market oversupply that persisted for three years from 2014 until last year was mostly eliminated thanks to the output cut deal. The organization and other major oil producers led by Russia agreed to implement production caps of up to 1.8 million barrels per day from January 2017 until the end of 2018 in order to battle the global supply overhang.

Disclaimer:

This article was issued by Rodrick Duca, 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.