Financial News
Global shares regain IPO level
The local equity market managed to contain its losses during the mid-week session following the significant negative sentiment which characterised Tuesday's session.
Against this backdrop, shares of Global Financial Services Group closed the day above its March 2001 adjusted IPO price of Lm2.10 after a long time. The equity jumped to Lm2.12 level in the dying minutes of the session after commencing trading at Lm1.98.
Shares of Bank of Valletta continued to drift lower for the third consecutive session closing this time down by 2.3 per cent to Lm4.44,9. At the end of the session a total of 1,100 shares were best bid at the Lm4.42 level while 788 shares were being offered at the day's closing price. Also in negative territory ended shares of Lombard which gave up another 10c to close the session at Lm11.30 on turnover of 500 shares.
Meanwhile, shares of the other major bank, HSBC Bank Malta remained supportive around the Lm11 level. In effect the day's trading was undertaken within a very tight range between Lm10.99,9 and Lm11.00,1.
Maltacom shares remained inactive for the second day in a row as a very aggressive offer side found no willing buyers for their shares. Meanwhile, the board of directors of the company is expected to meet today to approve the financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2005.
In the rest of the day's activity, Malta International Airport shares ended significantly in negative territory, down by 4c to the Lm1.50 level. Elsewhere shares of Middlesea Insurance closed the session unchanged at the Lm5 level.
On the fixed income market activity was mainly concentrated in government stock which moved marginally lower.
Japan's Topix hits new 14-year intraday high
The Topix reached a new 14-year intraday high yesterday, but then changed direction on profit-taking - ending the day lower. At the close of trading the Topix was down 0.2 per cent at 1,746.05.
The Nikkei 225 was 0.3 per cent lower at 17,243.98, after hitting its highest point since July 2000. Real estate led the declines, dropping 2.6 per cent after almost two weeks of daily rises. The sector has benefited from a recent positive national land price survey.
European stock markets turned lower by mid-morning as weakness in financial stocks countered early enthusiasm, while profit-taking continued following the strong first quarter. By mid-morning, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.2 per cent to 1,371.73, while Frankfurt's Xetra Dax fell 0.1 per cent to 6,006.43. In Paris, the CAC 40 shed 0.2 per cent to 5,194.9, while London's FTSE 100 slipped 0.2 per cent to 5,991.1.
A broker upgrade gave mining shares a boost in London yesterday, but the wider market was broadly flat as a host of stocks traded without the right to their next dividend payments. Rio Tinto rose three per cent to £31.35 and BHP Billiton gained 1.8 per cent to £11.42 after Merrill Lynch urged investors to buy the shares. The broker raised its price target on Rio Tinto to £39.50 and on BHP to £14.00, arguing the pair's discount to the wider market was unwarranted.