Yesterday trading activity at the Malta Stock Exchange was characterised by cautious buying activity in the top banking equities which lent a hand to the MSE index which closed in positive territory.
HSBC Bank Malta was the day's top gainer, as the largest locally listed company climbed 5c or 0.6 per cent to reclaim the Lm7.80 level. All the 3,740 shares which were exchanged across 16 transactions were executed at this level.
Bank of Valletta moved higher initially but gave way under selling pressure midway through the session. However, a few purchases towards the end of the day guaranteed a 3c gain to the price which closed at Lm7.28. Contrary to this, Lombard Bank declined by 20c or 2.3 per cent as 200 shares were purchased across a single transaction at the lowered offer price of Lm8.70.
Maltacom shares put aside last week's weakness as the equity pushed higher by 1c to close again at the Lm1.85 level, its highest price in the new year. The day's turnover consisted of 21,655 shares which were exchanged across 17 trades.
Plaza Centres traded in large amounts as a grand total of 207,500 shares were exchanged across six trades, pushing the price higher by 0.3 per cent in the process to the Lm0.70,1 level.
A single transaction in Simonds Farsons Cisk saw the price plummet by almost seven per cent down to Lm0.81.
CNOOC to buy $2b stake in Nigerian oil field
CNOOC, the Chinese oil and gas company, is planning to pay $2 billion for a 45 per cent stake in an oil and gas field off the Nigerian coast, its biggest overseas acquisition to date, people close to the deal said. The offer would mark the largest overseas investment by the Chinese oil and gas company. CNOOC made clear its global ambition with its bold yet unsuccessful $18.5 billion takeover bid for US-based Unocal last year.
Wall Street looked set to pause for breath yesterday after the leading indices kicked off the New Year last week by hitting fresh four-and-a-half-year highs. US stock futures were narrowly mixed half an hour before the market open as investors opted to stay on the sideline ahead of the start of the corporate earning season, which starts yesterday.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down five points, suggesting a sluggish start in early trading. Contracts on the S&P 500 were 0.65 point below trade value although those on the Nasdaq 100 were 0.46 above fair value.
European equity markets extended four-and-a-half-year highs yesterday as oil stocks rallied on the back of gains for crude prices, and carmakers gained on full-year sales growth. By midday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.4 per cent, while Frankfurt's Xetra Dax added 0.2 per cent. In Paris, the CAC 40 was 0.3 per cent higher and London's FTSE 100 climbed 0.3 per cent.
London equities markets moved further ahead yesterday, inching above Friday's four-and-a-half-year highs as renewed bid talk helped extend its new year rally. The FTSE 100 gained 17.2 points or 0.2 per cent and the mid-cap FTSE 250 rose 13.5 points.