Markets update & Tesco CEO Dave Lewis to step down next summer | Calamatta Cuschieri

European stocks were hammered on Tuesday, reversing early gains, as weak Eurozone manufacturing data offset gains by Apple suppliers

Market summary

Maltese market closed in red on Tuesday, with MSE total index ending the session 0.54% lower to 9,955.869 points. Best performer was Trident Estates plc, by adding 7.53% to close at 2.00, followed by Malita Investments plc and Midi plc which jumped 1.70% and 1.52% to close at 0.895 and 0.67 respectively. Biggest fall, of 5.81% was seen from International Hotel Investment plc with closing price of 0.81. Followed by Malta Properties Company plc with 4.20% drop to 0.685 and GO plc, which slid 0.91% to 4.34.

European stocks were hammered on Tuesday, reversing early gains, as weak Eurozone manufacturing data offset gains by Apple suppliers. By the end of trading, the Stoxx 600 was 1.31% lower at 387.99, as the German Dax dropped by 1.32% to 12,263.83 and France's CAC 40 retreated by 1.41% to 5,597.00. Meanwhile, London's FTSE 100 was down by 0.65% at 7,360.32.

US stocks closed also lower on Tuesday after the ISM manufacturing index for September came in at its weakest level in a decade. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.28% at 26,573.04, while the S&P 500 was 1.23% weaker at 2,940.25 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.13% at 7,908.68.

Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis to step down in 2020

Tesco boss Dave Lewis will step down next summer after completing the turnaround of Britain's biggest retailer and hand the baton to Ken Murphy, a former executive at Walgreens Boots Alliance.

Celebrating its 100th anniversary, Tesco, which has a 27.4per cent share of Britain's grocery market, is in the final stages of a recovery plan that Lewis instigated after a 2014 accounting scandal capped a dramatic downturn in its fortunes.

The group has met the majority of its turnaround goals, including a key margin target of earning between 3.5 pence and 4 pence of operating profit for every pound customers spend.

Lewis has overhauled Tesco's relationship with suppliers, lowered prices versus competitors, simplified product ranges and improved store standards since taking charge. Jobs have also been cut, including 4,500 announced in August.

The 54-year-old has also pursued growth by buying wholesaler Booker, forming a global purchasing alliance with Carrefour and launching a new discount format called Jack’s.

The announcement of Lewis's departure came as Tesco reported a better-than-expected first-half operating profit before one of items of 1.41 billion pounds, a rise of 25.4%.

 

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.