The week ahead | Calamatta Cuschieri

European stocks finished the week on a positive note Friday. The Stoxx Europe 600 closed 0.2% higher, at 377.10. Germany’s DAX 30 rose 0.6% to 12,124.33, while France’s CAC 40 rose 0.5%, to 5,352.57. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 UKX, was up 0.3%, to 7,304.04.

U.S. stocks finished mostly flat on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial ended the session up about 9 points, at 26,155. The S&P 500 index rose less than a point at 2,905, notching its fifth straight positive day, narrowly notching its longest win streak in about seven months. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite gave up less than 0.1% to close at 8,010. All three of the main benchmarks sunk after a report said Trump intended on imposing tariffs on China. 

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are scheduled to hold a third summit this week in Pyongyang.

The first inter-Korean summit of 2018, a sunny spectacle in late April, reduced war fears on the peninsula. The second, an emergency one in May, helped ensure a historic meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump came off.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un crossed his country's militarized border with South Korea on Friday for the first inter-Korean summit in more than 10 years.

Following two meetings between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, the North and South released a joint statement that the North had agreed to work towards ridding the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons, with a long-term goal of "declaring an end to the Korean War." Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that Japan welcomed the summit between the leaders of North and South Korea as a positive step and that he expected Pyongyang to take concrete steps towards acting on its promises.

U.S. President Donald Trump is likely to announce new tariffs on about $200 billion on Chinese imports.

The world's two largest economies have already imposed tariffs on $50 billion worth of each other's goods. That could escalate: The U.S. is considering additional tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods and President Donald Trump said he was ready to hit China with another $267 billion in tariffs.

Beijing has warned that it would retaliate. One potential area of concern for market watchers is that Beijing could retaliate against the tariff threats from the Trump administration by allowing its currency to continually depreciate against the dollar. The yuan has been a sore point for a number of U.S. administrations, which have blasted Beijing for allowing the currency to weaken to help exports.

Disclaimer: This article was issued by Nadiia Grech, 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.