Boeing announces fixes for its 737 Max aircraft | Calamatta Cuschieri

Today’s article gives an overview of the Maltese, European and U.S. markets on Wednesday, and the latest Max aircraft news

The Maltese market closed in the red on Wednesday, with MSE Equity Total Return Index ending the session 0.373% lower, to 9,478.845 points. Best performer was Grand Harbour Marina plc, adding 8.03% to close at 0.74, followed by HSBC Bank Malta plc, gaining 1.85% to close at 1.65. The biggest faller was Bank of Valletta plc. It slid 3.45% to close at 1.40. Malita Investment fell 1.15% to close 0.86. Followed by BMIT Technologies plc and Mapfre Middlesea plc, which were down 0.96% and 0.85% to close at 0.515 and 2.34 respectively. GO plc, MIDI plc and Main Street Complex plc were active but closed unchanged.

European shares fell on Wednesday, handing back early gains as bond yields continued to flag recessionary fears and investors awaited indicative votes on a series of alternate Brexit options in parliament. The pan-region STOXX 600 index fell 0.4%. London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.5%.

U.S. stocks on Wednesday bounced off session lows but finished in the red as sentiment remained sensitive to mounting signs of slowing global growth, reflected in falling bond yields on the heels of increasingly dovish central banks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.1%, to 25,625.59, while the S&P 500 index fell 0.5%, to 2,805.37 with health care and energy sectors among the worst performers. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.6%, to 7,643.38.

Boeing has issued changes to controversial control systems linked to two fatal crashes of its 737 Max planes in the past five months

It is still not certain when the planes, which were grounded worldwide this month, will be allowed to fly. Investigators have not yet determined the cause of the accidents. As part of the upgrade, Boeing will install as standard a warning system, which was previously an optional safety feature. Neither of the planes, operated by Lion Air in Indonesia and Ethiopian Airlines that were involved in the fatal crashes carried the alert systems, which are designed to warn pilots when sensors produce contradictory readings. Boeing said that airlines would no longer be charged extra for that safety system to be installed.

The plane maker has also issued an upgrade to the software that has been linked to the crashes. The Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), designed to keep the plane from stalling, reacts to sensors that detect whether the jet is climbing at too steep an angle. But an investigation of the Lion Air flight last year suggested the system malfunctioned, and forced the plane's nose down more than 20 times before it crashed into the sea killing all 189 passengers and crew. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says there are similarities between that crash and the Ethiopian accident on 10 March. Boeing has redesigned the software so that it will disable MCAS if it receives conflicting data from its sensors.

 

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.