Markets climb higher | Calamatta Cuschieri

Maltese market closed in green on Tuesday, with MSE total index ending the session 0.214% higher to 9,839.749 points. Best performer was International Hotel Investments plc by adding 3.66% to close at 0.85, followed by Bank of Valletta plc which rose 0.91% to close at 1.11. Biggest fall of 6.67% was seen from Santumas Shareholdings plc, closing at 1.40. Followed by 2.82% shed of Midi plc and 1.35% slid of Malta International Airport plc, which closed at 0.69 and 7.3 respectively.

European stocks finished slightly higher on Tuesday as disappointing corporate updates from the likes of Pandora and Siemens Gamesa overshadowed growing optimism over a US-China trade deal. By the end of trading, the Stoxx 600 was 0.20% higher at 404.23, with Germany's Dax roughly unchanged and trading up by 0.09% to 13,148.50 and the French CAC 40 ahead by 0.39% to 5,846.89. Meanwhile, London's FTSE 100 was 0.25% higher at 7,388.08.

U.S. stocks closed mostly higher Tuesday, with the Dow and Nasdaq ending the day at record highs, as investors welcomed better-than-expected data on the service sector and grew optimistic for a U.S.-China trade deal, a day after all three major equity benchmarks closed at records. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%, at 27,492.63, surpassing its previous record, set on Monday. The Nasdaq Composite Index edged 0.1% higher to reach 8,434.68. The S&P 500 index, meanwhile, edged 0.1% lower to end the day, at 3,074.67.

Xerox Considers Takeover Offer for HP:

Xerox Holdings is considering a cash-stock offer for the $27 billion PC giant HP Inc., a deal that could combine two of the biggest American names in office hardware.

Xerox’s board met Tuesday to deliberate a deal that could result in $2 billion of annual cost savings. While there’s no guarantee the company will follow through, any offer would value HP at a premium to its market value. Representatives for the companies weren’t immediately available for comment after regular business hours.

Xerox, which a day before agreed to jettison a slice of a venture with Japan’s Fujifilm Holdings Corp. for $2.3 billion, may be angling to take over the world’s largest maker of personal computers after China’s Lenovo Group Ltd. Any deal would buttress its share of the printing and copying market, which has been hard-hit by the global move toward cloud computing and other internet services.

It’s unclear how Xerox - a name synonymous with the copying industry -- intends to finance the acquisition of a company several times its market value. Xerox has already secured an informal funding commitment from a major bank, on top of proceeds from the sale of its stake in Fuji Xerox.

HP itself, once an icon of American technological innovation, is struggling in a plateauing PC market with the advent of smartphones. The company, which appointed a new chief executive officer just last month, aims to slash as much as 16% of its workforce as part of a restructuring meant to cut costs and boost sales growth amid its first change in top leadership in four years.
 

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.