HSBC Bank Malta single-handedly kept the MSE index above water during yesterday's trading session, as the rest of the equity market sold off on relatively low volume.
After three consecutive sessions of declines, HSBC Bank Malta returned back in favour, as investors scrambled to purchase shares on the last session with the attached right to receive a 5c3 gross interim dividend. The equity quickly climbed 8c or 3.7 per cent to Lm2.23 as 39,930 shares were exchanged across 47 transactions.
Elsewhere, the rest of the market was a sea of negativity with declines across the whole board. Bank of Valletta fell again below the Lm4 psychological level. The day's activity consisted in 11,906 shares which were exchanged across 10 transactions, squeezing the price by 5c2 or 1.3 per cent to Lm3.99,8.
Lombard Bank remained close to its record high, even though profit taking activity saw 0c9 or 0.1 per cent being scraped off its previous price to close at Lm5.99.
Buyers had the upper hand in Middlesea Insurance, managing to pull the price lower by 5c or 1.9 per cent to Lm2.53. Similarly, Maltacom declined 2c9 or 1.5 per cent as 7,200 shares were sold across six transactions at Lm1.95.
Malta International Airport declined back to Lm1.45 as merely 1,200 shares were struck across two transactions, while a single transaction in GlobalCapital saw 4c or 1.7 per cent being shaved off its previous session's close.
A similar monetary decline, which equates to a 13.3 percentage drop, was registered by Datatrak Holdings as 1,000 shares were sold across two transactions at the Lm0.26 level.
London equities lifted by mining sector
European equities turned higher yesterday, as broadly pleasing results from the likes of Allied Irish Banks and KPN offset weakness caused by Deutsche Bank and Ryanair. By mid-morning, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.2 per cent and the CAC 40 in Paris added 0.1 per cent. Frankfurt's Xetra Dax, under pressure from disappointing Deutsche Bank results, fell fractionally to 5,681.02.
London equities continued their upward march as mining stocks rose. After some profit taking in the previous session, the FTSE 100 was up 0.3 per cent helped by upbeat production numbers from Kazakhmys. The mid-cap FTSE 250 was up 0.5 per cent, with media and retail stocks providing support.
Japanese stocks were mixed as gains by companies with strong results were counterbalanced by weak performances among exporters. The Nikkei 225 dipped 0.1 per cent and the broader Topix index closed down 0.3 per cent.
Wall Street finished lower on Monday as investors grew nervous about the continued tension in the Middle East and disappointing corporate earnings. At the close, the S&P 500 was down 0.2 per cent, while the Nasdaq Composite was 0.1 per cent lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.3 per cent.
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