Market summary

Maltese market closed in red on Thursday, with MSE total index ending the session 0.369% lower to 9,734.771 points. Best performer was Malta Properties Company plc, it climb 3.01% to close at 0.68, followed by 1.67% surge of Malita Investments plc with closing price at 0.915. Biggest fall, of 3.85% was seen from Medserv plc, it closed at 1.31. Followed by HSBC Bank Malta plc and Plaza Centres plc, which fell 1.55% and 0.97% to close at 1.27 and 1.02 respectively.

European stocks finished in the red on Thursday, following mixed messages on Sino-US trade even as lawmakers on Capitol Hill passed a bill on Hong Kong that could prove a stumbling block for negotiations. The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended the day down 0.33% at 402.49, while Germany's DAX fell 0.16% to 13,137.70 and the CAC 40 in Paris slipped 0.22% to 5,881.21. Back in London, the FTSE 100 was off 0.33% at 7,238.55 and the FTSE 250 lost 0.51% to close at 20,369.86.

U.S. stocks closed modestly lower on Thursday after investors digested mixed headlines on the progress of trade negotiations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%, to 27,766.29. The S&P 500 retreated 0.2%, to 3,103.54. The Nasdaq Composite index gave up 0.2%, to 8,506.21.

House Democrats and the Trump administration did not come to a deal on moving forward with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement during a meeting Thursday.

Lawmakers and the White House have worked for weeks to resolve Democratic concerns about enforcement tools for labor and environmental standards under the deal, known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Leaving a meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal said the sides made progress but did not strike a final agreement, his office confirmed.

Trump has pushed to ratify the deal by the end of the year. Replacing NAFTA, which he railed against as a job killer, has been one of the president’s top economic and political priorities ahead of the 2020 election.

The Trump administration needs to submit ratifying legislation to Congress for the House to move forward with approving the agreement. Once the White House submits text, it starts a 90-day window to approve USMCA.

Mexico has ratified the agreement, while Canada has not.

Labor groups and Democrats have worried the agreement will not go far enough to boost wages in Mexico and stop U.S. companies from moving jobs south.

This article was issued by Nadiia Grech, Junior Trader at Calamatta Cuschieri. For more information visit, https://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.