Financial News
Local equities correct further
The closing session of the week at the Malta Stock Exchange brought with it further declines for equities as the market continued to correct itself from the all-time highs reached on Tuesday.
HSBC Bank Malta was the day's most liquid and actively traded equity. The day's turnover consisted of 72,144 shares which were exchanged across 226 trades. Initially selling pressure saw the equity touch an intra-session low of Lm9.55,5. Then few buyers came to the fray and the equity trimmed its losses to close at Lm9.80.
Sellers also flooded the Bank of Valletta offer side and the equity quickly fell to its lowest permissible level of Lm4.34,5. The day's activity consisted of 40,369 shares which were exchanged across 83 trades. Middlesea Insurance leaped 11c to close at a six-year high of Lm4.75, while Global Financial Services Group shares jumped 2c1 as 350 shares were purchased soon after the opening bell rung out at Lm1.39,1.
Maltacom declined 2c or one per cent as 43,345 shares were struck across 41 trades. The equity initially gained slightly to touch the Lm2 level but then declined down to Lm1.95. In the end, some last minute buying activity saw the equity close at Lm1.97.
A similar monetary loss was sustained by Malta International Airport, as 6,450 shares were sold across 13 transactions down to the Lm1.48 level, while Simonds Farsons Cisk declined slightly to close the day at Lm0.89,5.
Utilities lead Europe higher
The FTSE Eurotop 300 rose 0.1 per cent at 1,356.75 while the German Xetra Dax added 0.1 per cent at 5,863.2 and the French CAC 40 gained 0.1 per cent at 5,044.59. Bid speculation in the utilities sector has provided a key theme for investors all week following Eon's bid for Endesa, up 1.1 per cent at €28.38. In the latest development, Gaz de France, up 2.1 per cent at €29.20, and Suez, three per cent higher at €33, are reported as considering an alliance to fend off an approach for Suez by Italy's Enel, down one per cent to €7.10.
London equities moved higher on Friday after stronger-than-expected earnings from Lloyds TSB and WPP. The FTSE 100 rose 0.3 per cent higher to 5,853.4. The mid-cap FTSE 250 was off 4.3 points at 9,462.8. Lloyds TSB gained 4.6 per cent to 566p after reporting a rise in annual profits to £3.82 billion. This overshadowed its forecast of further deterioration in the retail credit environment in the first half of 2006.
Overnight in New York, leading indices lost ground as bond yields rose and investors worried about inflation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average eased back from four-year highs to close 0.6 per cent lower at 11,069.22.
Rises in domestic stocks counterbalanced falls in exporters yesterday, helping Tokyo indices to recover ground after earlier losses. The Nikkei 225 finished less than 0.1 per cent higher at 16,101.91. The Topix rose 0.4 per cent to 1,647.74, helped by strength in banking and steel stocks.