Financial News

Local equities nudged lower during yesterday's session at the Malta Stock Exchange, dragged down by low volume selling activity.

HSBC Bank Malta was the day's most actively traded equity with 8,981 shares exchanged across 14 transactions. The equity commenced trading at the Lm2.14,9 level and progressively declined by 2c9 or 1.4 per cent to close the session at a two weeks low of Lm2.12.

Two investors swapped 1,300 shares of FIMBank at the $1.84 level, which represents a 0.5 per cent discount to its previous closing level.

Lombard Bank was the day's top gainer as the equity recovered 16c or 3.5 per cent to close the day at Lm4.68.

The equity traded for the first time in the past five sessions when 2,101 shares were purchased across three transactions within the first 10 minutes of trading. The equity lost a quarter of its value last month, as investors reacted negatively to the company's purchase of a strategic shareholding in Maltapost plc.

Trading in Bank of Valletta shares was executed at and around the Lm3.65,1 level. The day's turnover amounted to 5,565 shares, carrying a market consideration of Lm20,314, which were exchanged across 11 transactions.

Elsewhere in the market, Maltacom shares lost a penny on thin trading following comments made in the local press by its chief executive officer David Kay who remarked that the company needed more time to catch up before it would be fully able to cope with competition.

A single deal of merely 45 shares of Middlesea Insurance was exchanged at the Lm2.49,4 level while 627 shares of Simonds Farsons Cisk changed hands without affecting their previous closing price of 74c.

Bourses driven higher by oil sector

A fresh bout of takeover activity sent the FTSE higher yesterday. The FTSE 100 was up 0.7 per cent in late morning trade, boosted by strength in the oil stocks as well as in the utilities. The mid-cap FTSE 250 jumped 85.9 points to 9,755.1, an increase of 0.8 per cent.

European bourses climbed as crude edged higher after a seven-day losing streak boosting the oil sector.

Oil reversed seven days of falls to climb above $64 a barrel. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 0.5 per cent with the Xetra Dax in Frankfurt up 0.3 per cent and the CAC-40 in Paris 0.2 per cent better.

US markets were set to open higher, as investors digested retail sales figures for August and were cheered by better-than-expected results from investment bank Bear Stearns. An hour before markets opened, S&P 500 futures were 0.54 points above fair value, while Nasdaq Composite futures were 0.98 points above fair value.

Japanese stocks rose strongly responding to overnight gains on Wall Street. The rise in US shares increased confidence about demand from the world's largest economy, boosting Japan's export-focused stocks. The Nikkei 225 rose 1.3 per cent and the broader Topix was up one per cent.

BOV and VFM are licensed by the MFSA to conduct investment services business.

Valletta Fund Management (tel. 8007 2344) and Bank of Valletta plc (Tel 2131 2020).