Investors with cold feet | Calamatta Cuschieri

U.S. stocks started the week lower on Monday, with the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average down for a fourth straight session as the ongoing turmoil in Turkey dampened investors’ appetite for riskier assets. The Dow shed 125.44 points, or 0.5%, to 25,187.70 with the S&P 500 slipping 11.35 points, or 0.4%, to 2,821.93 as U.S. investors continued to closely monitor developments in Turkey.

European markets also ended the session with losses as Turkey’s perilous financial condition weighed on sentiment this side of the Atlantic. The Stoxx Europe 600 dropped 0.3% to finish at 384.91, weighed by a big hit to Bayer AG shares after a U.S. court ruling against the company’s Monsanto unit. Germany’s DAX 30 shed 0.5% to close at 12,358.74, while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 lost 0.3% to 7,642.45.

Turkey troubles

Market focus has been largely attuned to Turkey's financial woes, with the country's currency taking another slide to all-time lows of 7.2400 early Monday. The lira briefly recovered some of its recent losses over the weekend, after Ankara's finance minister said the country had drafted an action plan to ease investor concerns and the banking watchdog announced it had limited swap transactions.

However, the lira tumbled again amid broader investor concerns over Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's increasing control over the economy and the country's worsening relationship with the U.S. The lira has since pared some of its losses to trade at around 6.900 against the dollar just after European markets closed.

Turkey's troubles have sent jitters across markets worldwide, with Asian equities closing lower Monday while in the States, stocks were mixed around Europe's close. In Europe, the main sector feeling the brunt of Turkey's troubles was the banking sphere, which fell 1.18 percent.

Impala looks to block Sony bid

Independent music labels group Impala has called on EU antitrust regulators to block Sony Corp’s bid to become the world’s largest music publisher with its $2.3 billion offer for control of EMI, saying the combination would have too much market power. The Japanese conglomerate, which currently owns a 30 percent stake in EMI, wants to buy Mubalada Investment Co’s 60 percent stake.

Sony announced the deal in May, the boldest strategy move by its new CEO Kenichiro Yoshida, which would give it rights to 2.1 million songs from artists such as Drake, Sam Smith, Pharrell Williams and Sia. The deal would give Sony leverage to negotiate online rights for both its recording and publishing catalogs, promote its global repertoire both on radio and in playlists, and be better able to attract songwriters with better terms.

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 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.