Financial News
Activity gets even thinner
Shares in mid-cap GlobalCapital hit a new record high yesterday for the second day running, in a session which was otherwise characterised by very thin trading. The Malta Stock Exchange Index edged up 0.15 per cent, to close the day at 5,449.647 points.
Index heavyweight, HSBC Bank Malta continued to encounter sheer resistance at the Lm2.20 which was also the day's closing price. A total 63,736 shares changed hands during the session spread over 39 deals, with the price advancing by 1c.
The day's top gains were registered in the shares of GlobalCapital which advanced by a further 2c or almost one per cent, to a new record price of Lm2.17. Activity consisted of just two deals for an aggregate 250 shares.
Low volume activity was also evident in Maltacom which ended down by 0c5 to Lm1.98,5. The day's activity was for a mere 1,122 shares which were spread across three deals.
Also in the red ended shares of Middlesea Insurance which fell to Lm2.54 on two deals for an aggregate 800 shares.
No price fluctuations were registered in the other two equities trading during the day which included Lombard Bank and Malta International Airport.
In the fixed income section of the market, trading was confined to government stocks which in general ended lower. The 4.8 per cent MGS 2016B registered the lion's share of the day's activity with an aggregate 124,000 nominal transacted across eight deals.
Bourses start week lower as oils slip
European bourses were weaker yesterday as easing crude prices hit the oil sector, while Wall Street's negative end to last week also weighed on sentiment. By midday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 had fallen 0.4 per cent with the Xetra Dax in Frankfurt down 0.6 per cent. The CAC-40 in Paris was 0.5 per cent down.
The London market drifted lower, pressured by falling oil stocks and Wall Street's sharp decline on Friday night. The FTSE 100 index and the FTSE 250 fell 0.3 per cent respectively mirroring Friday's losses on Wall Street and weakness in the heavyweight oil sector as crude price fell below $74 a barrel.
Tokyo shares recovered from earlier losses and closed higher led by strong performances in the machinery and banking sectors.
The Nikkei 225 closed up 1.6 per cent, while the broader Topix rose 1.3 per cent.
US stocks looked set to open higher as earnings season warms up this week. Walt Disney and Alcoa were higher, but General Motors sank as tensions grew over a possible tie up with Nissan and Renault. An hour before the opening bell, S&P 500 futures were 6.5 points above fair value, while Nasdaq Composite futures were 7.75 points above fair value.
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