Further gains in big caps

The equity frenzy continued during the final session of the week at the Malta Stock Exchange, with investors ploughing more funds into the larger capitalised companies.

A few shares more than 10,000 were exchanged in Bank of Valletta between Lm5.30,1 and Lm5.35 with the price closing towards the higher end of the range.

The same monetary gain of five cents was registered by HSBC Bank Malta shares which closed the week at Lm5.86. Activity was muted with just 1,500 shares being exchanged across three transactions. HSBC gained more than 6 per cent during the past week.

A single transaction for 35,000 FIMBank shares was executed at the $1.501 level which is yet another record high. A single deal was also struck in Malta International Airport, where 115 shares were exchanged at Lm1.37.

Maltacom shares continued to gain, spurred by a slow change in sentiment among investors. During yesterday's session, activity amounted to 19,413 shares which changed hands within a two cents range, across 14 transactions. The price closed at a four week high of Lm1.44.

Plaza Centres and Simonds Farsons Cisk shares ended the day in negative territory, as investors offloaded shares to channel funds into more volatile equities. Across two trades, a total of 2,300 shares of Plaza Centres were sold down to the Lm0.59,1 level, while Farsons declined minimally on marginally lower volume.

Real Estate stock continue to gain in Japan

European stocks turned lower by midday yesterday as financial markets continued to count the cost of high oil prices and as investors nervously awaited US monthly employment data. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.3 per cent at 1,182.44, while Frankfurt's Xetra Dax fell 0.2 per cent to 4,830.87. In Paris, the CAC-40 was 0.5 per cent lower at 4,402.13 and London's FTSE 100 was flat at 5,327.4.

In the US on Thursday, stocks fell as weary investors continued to assess the dual impact of Hurricane Katrina and near-record energy prices. But yesterday Wall Street expressed relief as the prices of gasoline futures and crude futures were declining thanks to some Gulf of Mexico fuel pipelines restarting operations after Hurricane Katrina's devastation. In pre-market trading, the S&P 500 futures were up 2.2 points to 1,224, 1.6 points above fair value - indicating a mildly positive opening. The Nasdaq futures were up 3 points to 1,582, 2.85 points above fair value, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 17 points to 10,479.

Japanese shares closed higher yesterday, as gains in real estate and retailing sectors compensated for fears over the continued strength of oil prices and a decline in financial services stocks. Real estate stocks continued to gain from improving sentiment this week, following data showing the highest rise in housing starts in more than seven years and other strong industry-wide construction statistics.