The U.S.-Mexican talks | Calamatta Cuschieri

The Maltese market closed in the red on Friday, with MSE Equity Total Return Index ending the session 0.456% lower, to 9,768.332 points. Best performer was GO plc, as it added 1.82% to close at 4.48, followed by Malta Properties Company which rose 1.59% to 0.64. Biggest faller was MIDI plc, it shed 3.33% to 0.58. Followed by HSBC Bank Malta plc and Malita Investment plc which fell 2.94% and 2.38% to close at 1.65 and 0.82 respectively. Negative results also showed Mapfre Middlesea plc and FimBank plc. Both slid 1.77% and 1.64% to 2.22 and 0.6 respectively.  Bank of Valletta plc, MaltaPost plc, PG plc and Trident Estates plc were active but closed unchanged.

European stocks tanked on Friday, with auto-makers hit especially hard, after U.S. President Donald Trump widened the scope of his trade wars by threatening to impose new tariffs on Mexican imports. The pan-Europe STOXX 600 fell 0.8% on the day to close out May with a 5.7% slide, its worst monthly loss since January 2016.  Germany’s trade-sensitive DAX fell 1.5% to an about five-month closing low. French stocks slid 0.8%, matching their London peers.

U.S. Stocks closed sharply lower Friday, with the market logging its worst May since 2010. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.4%, to 24,815.04. The S&P 500 index fell 1.3%, to 2,752.06 and the Nasdaq Composite shed 1.5%, to 7,453.15.

Mexico begins immigration talks in Washington

Fighting to stave off punitive tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, a senior Mexican delegation was set to begin high level talks on Monday in Washington, where it will be pushed to do more to hold back Central American migrants.

Trump says he will apply tariffs of 5% on all Mexican goods on June 10, and increase the rate in coming months to 25% if Mexico does not substantially halt illegal immigration across the U.S.-Mexican border, which is at a decade high this year.

Global equities tumbled after Trump’s unexpected threat last week against the United States biggest trade partner, as investors feared his aggressive trade diplomacy could tip the United States and other major economies into recession.

With just a week until the first tariffs bite, the delegation led by Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard may have a hard time convincing U.S. officials that Mexico is doing enough on immigration to avoid punishment, despite having signaled in recent days it was prepared to further tighten security.

The U.S.-Mexican talks begin on Monday with a meeting between Mexican Economy Secretary Graciela Marquez and U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. On Wednesday, Ebrard meets U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Trump on Sunday called Mexico an “abuser” of the United States and said he wanted action, not talk. Mexico has signaled it would retaliate to the tariffs, with targets likely to include farm products on Trump supporting states.
 

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