MSE index threads water

Yesterday's trading session at the Malta Stock Exchange saw the index lose 0.3 per cent of its value and drop to 5,431 points.

Maltacom plummeted 8c or 3.6 per cent with activity firmly in control of sellers who offloaded shares following the strong gains experienced mid-week. A total of 17,140 shares were exchanged during the session with the price closing at the Lm2.10,5 level.

Trading in Malta International Airport was characterised by institutional activity as a single chunk of 528,067 shares were exchanged at Lm1.60. Subsequent dealings helped the price rally to Lm1.62 before selling set in and forced the price to close with just a penny's gain at Lm1.60.

Bank of Valletta remained well supported at the Lm3.90 level with a grand total of 51,005 shares being exchanged across 74 trades. The equity ended the final session of the week with a 2c gain at Lm3.92.

HBSC Bank Malta registered its fourth consecutive session of declines as investors continue to deem the current valuation as pricing in over optimistic full year results. They are due to be published shortly in the coming weeks. The equity never touched the Lm9 level and closed the session at Lm8.99,6.

On the contrary, Lombard Bank ended higher by the slimmest of margins as 476 shares were exchanged across a single transaction at Lm8.75,1. The day's top gainer was Plaza Centres which climbed back up to the Lm0.70 level as 13,000 shares were purchased across seven transactions.

London shares flat ahead of US data

London equities were flat yesterday as investors paused for breath at the end of a hectic week and amid caution ahead of US employment data due later in the session.

Wall Street looked set to open moderately higher after payrolls data for January showed a surprising drop in the unemployment rate.The US unemployment rate fell to a five-year low of 4.7 per cent last month as 193,000 jobs were added to non-farm payrolls, said the Labour Department.

Although the job creation number was slightly lower than expected, upwards revisions to November's and December's numbers and the fall in the unemployment rate gave an upbeat snapshot of the jobs climate and suggested that the economy started the new year on a fairly good footing. With less than an hour before the market opened, US stock futures were up. Contracts on the S&P 500 traded 3.1 points higher, above fair value while Nasdaq futures gained 5.5 points, also above fair value.

European equities moved modestly higher yesterday, as earnings and sales updates from a number of companies buoyed sentiment, helping offset lower oil stocks as crude prices fell.

By midday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 0.2 per cent, while Frankfurt's Xetra Dax added 0.5 per cent. In Paris, the CAC 40 gained 0.2 per cent and London's FTSE 100 climbed 0.1 per cent.

Quarterly earnings results and other corporate news dominated the Japanese market yesterday with share prices otherwise directionless for the most part. The Nikkei 225 edged down 0.3 per cent while the Topix closed down 0.2 per cent.

The financial news was compiled by Valletta Fund Management (tel. 8007 2344) and BOV Stockbrokers Ltd (2122 1732).