Financial News
Agreement sees Maltacom higher
Gains by telecom operator Maltacom single-handedly helped the MSE index close in positive territory for the third consecutive session. Overall activity continued to improve on investor expectations that the market may be bottoming out after a six-month slump.
Investors reacted positively to news that Maltacom signed an interconnection agreement with Melita Cable plc which will allow customers of the two separate networks to link up with each other. Convinced that the company was certain of its core capabilities and geared up for the competition, investors purchased as much as 6,655 shares across six transactions, pushing the price up by 5c or 3.1 per cent to close at Lm1.65.
On the contrary, weakness continued to persist in Middlesea Insurance shares which dropped below the Lm2 level for the first time since January. The day's activity was characterised by 4,768 shares which were sold across seven transactions squeezing the price lower by 7c or 3.4 per cent to Lm1.97. The equity has shed more than Lm13,125,000 in market capitalisation, which equates to a fifth of its value, since the company issued its interim results on September 22, 2006.
Elsewhere in the market, the larger companies consolidated their current levels. A total of 10,428 shares of HSBC Bank Malta were struck across 16 deals at the Lm2.07 level while Bank of Valletta wobbled slightly but still closed unchanged at Lm3.95 as 4,687 shares changed hands. Similarly FIMBank maintained its $1.75 level as 6,900 shares were swapped across five deals.
Activity in Malta International Airport remained robust with a grand total of 12,230 shares changing hands across six transactions at Lm1.37, while Plaza Centres and International Hotel Investments traded steadily at 67c and €0.97 respectively.
Japan shares negative on North Korea
European equities were lower yesterday, as profit-taking followed the previous session's run-up to fresh five-year highs and banks giving back some recent gains. By midday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 fell 0.3 per cent, Frankfurt's Xetra Dax slipped 0.4 per cent and the CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.4 per cent.
Weakness in the heavyweight mining sector dragged the FTSE lower. Kazakh mining group Kazakhmys, off 1.7 per cent was among the blue-chip fallers. The FTSE 100 index was down 0.2 per cent by midday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 fell 0.1 per cent.
The Japanese stock market fell amid continuing fears about North Korea and its nuclear test carried out on Monday. However, the Nikkei 225 closed down only 0.5 per cent while the broader Topix fell 0.8 per cent. But the Mothers market of smaller growth stocks plunged another 4.6 per cent adding to Tuesday's heavy loss.
US markets were poised to open lower as an earnings disappointment from Alcoa; and a warning on second quarter profits from Legg Mason, made investors despondent at the start of earnings season. An hour before markets opened, S&P 500 futures were 3.61 points below fair value, while Nasdaq Composite futures were 7.69 points below fair value.
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Valletta Fund Management (tel. 8007 2344) and Bank of Valletta plc (tel. 2131 2020).