Equities continued to climb during yesterday's volatile trading session at the Malta Stock Exchange, with demand accumulated over the past few days being satisfied in full.

HSBC Bank Malta was by far the most heavily traded equity of the day with a grand total of 262,452 shares, carrying a market consideration of Lm2,990,589, being exchanged across 1,045 trades. The equity traded between a high of Lm11.63,7 and a low of Lm10.50, and closed the session 12c4 or 1.1 per cent higher at Lm11. The equity will start trading ex-div as from today's session.

Trading in Bank of Valletta amounted to 171,333 shares which were exchanged across 252 trades, with executions being struck within a 60c or a 12 per cent trade range. The equity closed 6c3 higher at the Lm4.90 level. Lombard Bank rallied 45c or 4.7 per cent as 1,129 shares were purchased across three trades pushing the price to a historical high of Lm10.01. Similarly FIMBank jumped 6.1 per cent to close at a historical high of $2.448 as investors reacted positively to the company's full year results.

A particularly high turnover of shares was registered in Global Financial Services Group. This activity helped the price gain 3c to close at Lm1.36.

Maltacom was the day's biggest loser as the equity plummeted 12c or 5.6 per cent on 27,960 shares which were exchanged across 31 trades. The equity settled at the Lm2 level after dipping slightly below this psychologically important level.

Eon counterbid spurs European gains

Takeover speculation in the utilities sector electrified European equity markets as a battle for control of Endesa appeared likely after Eon launched a counterbid to the offer already tabled by Gas Natural. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 extended its early gains with a rise of 0.7 per cent to 1,355.64 while the German Xetra Dax added 0.8 per cent at 5,838.60 and the French CAC 40 gained 0.8 per cent at 5,019.02.

London equities advanced yesterday as investors hoped for further bid activity in the energy sector as news of a counterbid for Endesa, Spain's largest utility, took centre stage. In the wider market, the FTSE 100 climbed 0.3 per cent, to 5,882.3, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 traded 0.3 per cent, firmer to 9,481.0. In London, Cadbury Schweppes rose 2.4 per cent to 574p after full-year profits as the chocolate and carbonated drinks maker beat analysts' forecasts.

US markets remained closed on Monday for the President's Day public holiday, leaving traders free to concentrate on a series of important news releases from blue-chip companies.

Japan's Nikkei 225 stock index leapt three per cent yesterday, its fastest rise in three weeks. The market was pushed up by huge rises in domestic stocks, such as real estate and construction, that had dropped sharply in recent days. The Nikkei closed at 15,894.94 while the Topix rose 2.5 per cent to 1,612.56. Among other domestic sectors, retailers were up 4.5 per cent, with construction rising 4.9 per cent.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.