Today’s article gives an overview of the Maltese, European and U.S. markets on Tuesday, together with latest news in the car world.

The Maltese market closed in the green on Tuesday, with MSE Equity Total Return Index ending the session 0.059% higher, to 9,771.954 points. Best performer was Santumas Shareholdings plc, it jumped 19.01% to 1.69, followed by Bank of Valletta plc and Malita Investments plc, which added 4.48% and 4.27% to close at 1.40 and 0.855 respectively. RS2 Software plc also closed in green with 2.94% increase to 1.40, while BMIT Technologies plc rose 2.86% to 0.54. Biggest fall was seen from Simonds Farsons Cisk plc. It shed 12.38% to close at 9.20, followed by HSBC Bank Malta plc which closed 0.61% lower to 1.64. Malta International Airport plc and Tigne Mall plc were active but closed unchanged.

European shares rose on Tuesday to distance themselves further from a 3.5 month low hit during the previous session, aided by auto stocks which gained on broker recommendations. The STOXX 600 rose 0.7%, with Germany’s DAX adding 1.5%, while the FTSE 100 gained 0.4%.

U.S. Stocks closed sharply higher Tuesday, notching their best one-day percentage gains since January, after remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell were seen by some investors as opening the door to a possible rate cut. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.1%, to end at 25,332.18, while the S&P 500 closed 2.1% higher, to 2,803.27. The Nasdaq Composite Index rallied 2.7%, to 7,527.12.

Jaguar Land Rover and BMW to work together on electric cars

BMW and Jaguar Land Rover on Wednesday said they will jointly develop electric motors, transmissions and power electronics, unveiling yet another industry alliance designed to lower the costs of developing electric cars.

Both carmakers are under pressure to roll out zero-emission vehicles to meet stringent anti-pollution rules, but have struggled to maintain profit margins faced with the rising costs of making electric, connected and autonomous cars.

“Together, we have the opportunity to cater more effectively for customer needs by shortening development time and bringing vehicles and state-of-the-art technologies more rapidly to market,” said BMW board member Klaus Froehlich.

BMW and Jaguar Land Rover said they will save costs through shared development, production planning and joint purchasing of electric car components. Both companies will produce electric drivetrains in their own manufacturing facilities, BMW said.

BMW was in talks with Daimler about making electric car components but was separately also in discussions with Jaguar Land Rover, a company it once owned, about an alliance on transmissions.

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.