Financial News
Index down on HSBC
The Malta Stock Exchange index was back in negative territory yesterday, reversing most of the gains registered in the previous session, as a fall in its major component - HSBC Bank Malta - more than offset gains in the rest of the market.
The equity commenced trading 1c higher at Lm2.17 but was soon back in negative territory as selling pressure pushed it back to Wednesday's close of Lm2.10. Activity was for an aggregate 18,970 shares which changed hands across 32 deals.
By contrast, shares in the other major bank - Bank of Valletta - were up 5c or 1.3 per cent, to Lm3.95. The equity managed to trim its losses by the end of the week after having touched an intra-day low of Lm3.81 in the mid-week session.
Also in the banking sector, Lombard Bank shares maintained their positive momentum, climbing for the third straight session. The equity gained 10c to close the week at Lm5.35.
Low-volume activity in Maltacom shares was enough to pull the equity from Thursday's one-and-a-half-month low of Lm1.84. The share price was up 1.1 per cent on the day to close the week at Lm1.86.
The rest of the equity market closed in negative territory and included International Hotel Investments and Malta International Airport. The former lost in excess of four per cent to €0.90 while MIA gave up 1c to Lm1.40.
European bourses shrug off US growth worries
Europe's bourses confounded expectations of a weaker opening yesterday and climbed, helped by strength in oil stocks, shrugging off worries over a possible half point interest rate rise in the US next week. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 0.3 per cent with the Xetra Dax in Frankfurt 0.3 per cent ahead. The CAC-40 in Paris was 0.5 per cent up.
London equities made progress yesterday as a broker upgrade boosted heavyweight oil stocks and on renewed hopes for fresh M&A activity. In the wider market, the FTSE 100 rose 0.3 per cent higher at 5,704.0, while the FTSE 250 slipped 0.1 per cent to 9,181.6. Japanese shares fell slightly yesterday as fears of a continued tightening in monetary policy in the US returned to haunt Asian markets. The Nikkei 225 closed down 0.1 per cent to 15,124.04 while the broader Topix index ended down 0.2 per cent to 1,545.57.
Wall Street was poised to open higher yesterday, boosted by deals in the energy sector and strong results from Oracle. An hour before the opening bell, S&P 500 futures were up 3.78 points above fair value, while Nasdaq Composite futures were up 4.92 points above fair value.
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