The local equity market continued to register gains during yesterday's trading session at the Malta Stock Exchange on speculation that the recent rally will persist.
Maltacom was the day's most actively traded equity with a grand total of 69,369 shares being exchanged across 44 transactions. The equity closed a cent higher at Lm1.93.
The financial sector continued to provide strength and impetus to the market. Global Financial Services Group shares gained 5c or four per cent to close back up at the Lm1.28 level.
Initial activity in Bank of Valletta shares saw a fairly large number of shares being sold soon after the opening bell rung out. However, the ensuing activity was characterised by purchased orders which helped the price close 9c better at Lm7.35.
HSBC Bank Malta's turnover amounted to 8,621 shares which were matched across just three trades leaving further demand to build up on the bid side. The equity closed the session at a fresh record high of Lm7.51,3.
Lombard Bank leaped forward by 10c or 1.3 per cent as 1,000 shares were exchanged across 3 transactions at the Lm7.60 level. Separately, the company announced that the board of directors will recommend a two-for-one share split for shareholders' consideration at the next general meeting.
The day's biggest gainer was International Hotel Investments, where 6,000 shares were purchased across three transactions pushing the price 4.5 per cent higher in the process to close at €0.899.
Elsewhere, Malta International Airport continued to do well gaining 2c on relatively low volume.
Domestic sectors weaken in Tokyo market
After reaching a 45-month closing high on Wednesday, European equity markets edged modestly lower yesterday after Wall Street's attempt at a year-end rally fizzled out. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 fell just 0.2 per cent to 1,275.7 while the German Xetra Dax lost 0.2 per cent at 5,389.1 and the French CAC 40 eased 0.1 per cent at 4,747.0.
London's main equities market threatened the 5,600 level yesterday, the last full trading day before the Christmas break. The FTSE 100 was up 0.1 per cent to 5,595.1, a fresh four-year high. Strength in the housebuilding sector sent the mid-cap FTSE 250 0.5 per cent higher to 8,707.9, yet another all-time high. Hilton Group was a leading gainer after it confirmed it had been approached about the sale of its Ladbrokes gambling division.
Domestic sectors lost some of their recent gains yesterday, but their fall was counterbalanced by bargain hunting among exporters. The tech-heavy Nikkei 225 finished 0.1 per cent lower at 15,941.37. The Topix rose 0.1 per cent to 1,637.89.
Real estate paused for breath, after two days of exceptionally large rises on excitement about the prospect of higher property prices. But there was some repositioning within the sector. Mitsui Fudosan, Japan's biggest property company, rose 1.7 per cent to Y2,340 - after severely underperforming the sector average this week. However Mitsubishi Estate, its biggest rival, declined 1.7 per cent to Y2,350.