Groupe PSA, SNAP, APPLE and Samsung | Calamatta Cuschieri

Market overview

European equities closed mixed as company earnings moved markets.  Deutsche Bank and Barclays reported their quarterly results earlier in the day, with Groupe PSA's reporting afterwards.

Meanwhile, tensions surrounding the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi continue to linger. United States President Donald Trump called the official Saudi explanation of Khashoggi's death "the worst cover-up ever," while both Washington and London announced visas will be revoked for those involved in the journalist's death.

The DAX lost 0.73% as Covestro dropped 4.80%. In Paris, the CAC 40 fell 0.31% with STMicroelectronics plummeting 10.10%. The FTSE 100 ended the day 0.11% in the green; BT Group jumped 3.81%.

Groupe PSA Earnings

French car manufacturing giant Groupe PSA announced its revenue for the third quarter of 2018 stood at €15.4 billion, marking a 7.6% increase on an annual basis. Year to date, the company said its revenue amounted to €54 billion, up 29.1% year over year.

Peugeot Citroen DS Automotive division's revenue reached a figure of €8.5 billion, relatively unchanged compared to the same time period last year. Opel's revenue stood at €3.9 billion, up 39.2% on an annual basis. The auto industry giant sold a total of 843,000 cars with sales growing in Europe, but declining outside of Europe due to the company's withdrawal from Iran in May 2018.

Snap hires former Amazon executive

Snap Inc. hired former Amazon chief of advertising sales Jeremi Gorman to join the company as its new chief business officer. Additionally, Snap named Jared Grusd, former chief executive officer of Huffington Post, as its new chief strategy officer.

"Helping our partners build their businesses is a core element of Snap's product value and I'm deeply proud of the great work you have all done to make sure our advertisers' return on investment is unrivaled among our peers," Snap Chief Executive Officer Evan Spiegel said.

Spiegel said Gorman will be in charge of Snap's global solutions, online sales, customer operations, and business marketing operations. Grusd, on the other hand, will supervise content, global strategy corporate development, and partnership.

Apple, Samsung fined in software updates scandal in Italy

American tech giant Apple Inc. and South Korean Samsung Electronics Co Ltd were fined in Italy over a software updates scandal. The Italian regulatory body issued a fine of €5 million each to both companies over accusations the tech firms slowed down the performance of their mobile devices through software updates.

Meanwhile, Apple was additionally fined for another €5 million since it failed to provide its clients with the information on mobile battery care and replacement. The Italian regulator added that the companies' moves "had caused serious dysfunctions and reduced performance significantly, thereby accelerating the process of replacing them."

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 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.