Boris Johnson elected Conservative Party leader | Calamatta Cuschieri

The Maltese market closed in the red on Tuesday, with MSE Equity Total Return Index ending the session 0.073% lower, to 9,805.677 points. Best and only one positive performer was Malta International Airport plc by adding 4.17% to 7.50. Biggest fall was seen from Simonds Farsons Cisk plc which slid 3.85% to close at 10.00, followed by International Hotel Investments plc and GO plc. It shed 1.83% and 1.30% to close at 0.805 and 4.54 respectively.

European shares closed in the green on Tuesday, as solid corporate earnings and a strong session on Asian markets provided impetus. The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended the day up 0.98% at 391.64. In Frankfurt, the DAX was up 1.64% at 12,490.74, while the CAC 40 in Paris added 0.92% to 5,618.16. Italy’s FTSE MIB was 1.01% firmer at 21,954.66, while back in London, the FTSE 100 ended the day 0.56% stronger at 7,556.86.

U.S. stocks ended higher following reports that U.S. officials will head to China for in-person meetings to discuss trade, helping equities add to gains after better-than-expected earnings results in the morning. The S&P 500 rose 0.68%, as of market close. The Dow advanced 0.65%, as shares of Coca-Cola and United Technologies climbed after the companies topped Wall Street’s quarterly earnings expectations. The Nasdaq rose 0.58%, to close at 8,251.40.

Boris Johnson was on Tuesday elected leader of the Conservative Party and as a result will become prime minister, replacing Theresa May

Johnson won 92,153 votes to the 46,656 polled by his rival Jeremy Hunt. There were 159,320 people eligible to vote. Turnout was 87.4% with 509 rejected ballot papers.

The new party leader formally take over in Downing Street today. Theresa May will face her final parliamentary prime minister’s question time before tendering her resignation to the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

Johnson will then make the same journey to have his appointment confirmed and ask permission to form a government.

In a performance that belied the gravity of the situation in front of him with the Brexit crisis still unresolved and Cabinet ministers resigning rather than work with him, Johnson repeated his campaign slogan of: “Deliver Brexit, unite the country and defeat Jeremy Corbyn.”

Within minutes of Johnson's coronation, deputy European Commission President Frans Timmermans said “a no-deal Brexit, would be a tragedy - for all sides, not just for the United Kingdom”.

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.