President Trump threatens higher tariffs on Chinese goods

Market summary:

Maltese market closed in red on Tuesday, with MSE total index ending the session 0.618% lower to 9,812.514 points. There wasn’t any good performer among equity market. Biggest fall, of 5.80% was seen from MIDI plc with closing price of 0.65. Followed by Fimbank plc with 1.57% drop to 0.625 and GO plc, which slid 1.41% to 4.20. Less than 1% fall was also seen from Bank of Valletta plc, RS2 Software plc and BMIT Technologies plc.

European stocks ended on a mixed note on Tuesday, as Chinese trade war gloom appeared to overshadow good news for Huawei. By the end of the trading day, the Stoxx 600 was 0.12% lower at 405.50, as Germany's Dax rose by 0.11% to 13,221.12 and the French CAC 40 slipped by 0.35% to 5,909.05. Meanwhile, London's FTSE 100 was up by 0.22% at 7,323.80.

U.S. stocks closed mostly lower Tuesday, with the Dow and S&P 500 retreating from records, on disappointing earnings results and doubts about a U.S. – China trade deal. The Nasdaq, however, notched a record finish on the strength of technology shares and gained 0.2%, to a record 8,570.66, its third consecutive record close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4%, to close at 27,934.02 while the S&P 500 index shed 0.1% to end the session at 3,120.18.

Trump threatens higher tariffs if China doesn’t make a trade deal

President Donald Trump threatened higher tariffs on Chinese goods if that country does not make a deal on trade.

The comments came during a meeting with the president’s Cabinet on Tuesday. The U.S. and China, the world’s two largest economies, have been locked in an apparent stalemate in trade negotiations that have lasted nearly two years.

“If we don’t make a deal with China, I’ll just raise the tariffs even higher,” Trump said in the meeting.

Financial markets, which have proven reactive to developments in the ongoing trade war, largely shrugged off Trump’s latest warning.

The U.S. and China agreed to a “phase one” trade deal in October, but Beijing and Washington have since sent mixed signals about how the countries will move forward.

The U.S. has imposed tariffs on about $500 billion in Chinese goods. China has retaliated with tariffs on about $110 billion in American products.

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.