Financial News

Local equities commenced the week on a negative note, amid volumes remained relatively low with many traders shunning the local market.

Bank of Valletta suffered the biggest decline, as 9,828 shares were sold across 21 transactions. The equity commenced trading at the Lm4 level where it held for most of the session, before supply hit the bid side, forcing the price down to Lm3.94. Last minute buying activity trimmed the day's losses to 5c or 1.25 per cent with the equity closing the day at Lm3.95.

Elsewhere, HSBC Bank Malta attracted trades for 16,378 shares which were swapped across 24 trades. All activity was executed at the Lm2.20 level, while Lombard Bank and FIMBank too closed the day unchanged, at Lm5.75 and $1.92 respectively.

Middlesea Insurance lost a penny to close the session at Lm2.59. The day's activity consisted in 8,380 shares which were exchanged across four transactions. Activity in Middlesea Insurance has increased slightly following last week's one-for-one share split.

Maltacom declined by the slimmest of margins as two investors swapped 520 shares at the Lm1.89,8 level. A further 980 shares remained outstanding on the offer side at this level whie demand is for 2,000 shares at Lm1.87.

The day's only gainer was Malta International Airport which bounced higher by 3c or 2.1 per cent as investors purchased 2,000 shares over three transactions, up to the Lm1.43 level.

The MSE index closed the day 0.3 per cent lower at 5,412 points.

Bourses maintain positive territory

The London market drifted higher in quiet trading yesterday with heavyweight oil and banking stocks leading the way. Extending its winning streak to a fourth day, the FTSE 100 was ahead 0.4 per cent. The FTSE 250 rose 0.6 per cent.

Europe's bourses held on to positive territory as strength in commodity and Asian equity markets buoyed sentiment. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 0.1 per cent with the Xetra Dax in Frankfurt adding 0.2 per cent and the CAC-40 in Paris flat at 4,964.22.

The end of the Bank of Japan's six-year interest rate policy appears imminent after its Tankan survey of economic sentiment showed a sharp upswing in businesses' spending plans and growing corporate confidence. The stock market rose moderately yesterday. The Nikkei ended the day 0.4 per cent higher. The yen reacted more vigorously, rising to a three-week high against the dollar.

US stocks looked set to open higher ahead of today's Fourth of July holiday. With stock and bond markets closing early, light trading was expected. General Motors and UPS gained, but Wal-Mart sank on lower earnings forecasts.

An hour before the opening bell, S&P 500 futures were up 4.85 points above fair value, while Nasdaq Composite futures were up 5.06 points above fair value.

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