Financial News

Investors cautiously purchased equities during yesterday's trading session at the Malta Stock Exchange although volumes remained relatively contained.

HSBC Bank Malta provided most of the lift as the equity rallied 2.9 per cent to close the session at Lm2.47. The equity immediately opened higher at the Lm2.45 level and quickly progressed to touch Lm2.47,5. However, at this point, supply came to the market and the price quickly declined down to the Lm2.40 level, where it held on until the final minutes of the session when fresh demand helped the price rally back up.

Lombard Bank gained a penny to close at Lm4.76, as barely 68 shares were exchanged across two transactions.

Bank of Valletta had a see-saw session with the equity drifting lower to the Lm4.12 level before crawling back up to Lm4.16. However this level did not hold up for too long and further selling forced the price to close 0.1 per cent lower at Lm4.14,5.

Two investors swapped 500 shares of Middlesea Insurance at the Lm5.17,5 level which represents a 2c4 or 0.5 per cent discount to Friday's closing level.

Elsewhere, Malta International Airport commenced the week on a positive footing as 1,235 shares were purchased across two transactions. The equity gained a full percentage point to trade at Lm1.44 leaving a further 265 shares unfilled at this level against supply of 800 shares offered at Lm1.48.

Maltacom shares continued to gain ground on sustained buying activity. During the session 9,380 shares were exchanged across 13 trades, thereby pushing the price 0.5 per cent higher to close at Lm1.95.

European stocks follow Asia sharply lower

Indian shares recovered some ground yesterday after heavy losses triggered a one-hour trading suspension in the morning. The region's leading indices all suffered sharp losses. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell 3.1 per cent its biggest one-day decline in two years. The Nikkei 225 closed down 1.84 per cent .

While Asian equities gave up early gains, European stock markets slid to four-month lows as commodities sold off sharply. By midday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down one per cent, while Frankfurt's Xetra Dax shed 0.8 per cent. The CAC 40 in Paris fell 0.9 per cent. Banks provided the biggest weight on the downside as investors became sellers on concerns that recent equity market losses could hit future profits.

The London market was hit by a fresh wave of selling as investors took fright at overnight losses in Asian markets and weak metals prices. Mining stocks did most of the early damage. By early afternoon, the FTSE 100 was down 0.9 per cent, at 5,611.4, having earlier slumped to 5,538.9. Wall Street finished the week lower as mixed economic data painted a confusing picture for investors worried about the possibility of interest rate rises.

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