London Stock Exchange set to close Refinitiv deal

Market summary

The Maltese market closed in the red on Tuesday, with the MSE total index ending the session 0.007% lower to 8,241.218 points. The best performer was Harvest Technology plc, by adding 0.68% to close at 1.48, followed by 0.65% increase of Simonds Farsons Cisk plc with a closing price of 7.70. The biggest fall was seen from Trident Estates plc, which slid 1.33% to close at 1.48, followed by 0.21% drop of Bank of Valletta to close at 0.948.

European shares finished lower on Tuesday, despite upbeat earnings reports and positive remarks on US stimulus measures by US Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen. Losses also came despite still flat or falling numbers of Covid-19 infections throughout Western Europe, outside of Spain. The pan-European Stoxx 600 dipped 0.19% to 407.92, while the UK’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.11% to 6,712.95, and Germany’s DAX was down 0.24% at 13,815.06.

U.S. stocks climbed as Janet Yellenendorsed higher coronavirus relief spending and some of the country’s biggest banks beat expectations for fourth-quarter earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4%, to 30930.52. The S&P 500 advanced 0.8%, to 3798.91. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.5%, to 13197.18. The gains marked an upbeat start to the week, following a long holiday weekend with markets closed on Monday, after all three indexes fell last week.

London Stock Exchange set to close Refinitiv deal on Jan. 29

London Stock Exchange said on Tuesday that it should complete its $27 billion acquisition of Refinitiv on Jan. 29, as it bulks up into a major financial data provider to compete with Bloomberg.

The company said it expected all outstanding regulatory approvals for the deal to come “shortly”, enabling it to close the all-share deal in coming days. The deal was approved by the European Union on Jan. 13.

The market for financial information has exploded with the advent of computer-driven trading, triggering a flurry of takeovers as companies seek to create one-stop shops to serve clients and get an edge over traditional rivals in supplying data, dubbed the “new oil”.

The European Commission, which oversees competition policy in the 27-nation EU, said last week its antitrust investigation found a number of concerns about the Refinitiv deal but that they would be addressed by “remedies”, which include the sale of LSE’s Borsa Italiana, which runs the Milan stock exchange.

Pan-European bourse Euronext has already agreed to buy Borsa Italiana for 4.3 billion euros ($5.2 billion), subject to the Refinitiv takeover getting the green light.

This article was issued by Nadiia Grech, 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.