Financial news

Local equities had a mixed session yesterday at the Malta Stock Exchange, although declines in heavier weighted companies dragged the index 0.38 per cent lower to close at 5,082 points.

Low volume selling activity in Maltacom floored the price by 6c4 or as much as 3.8 per cent down to the Lm1.63,5 level, while International Hotel Investments declined one per cent as 29,922 shares were exchanged at the €0.96 level.

Lombard Bank registering the highest gain among banking sector equities as 3,668 shares were exchanged across three transactions pushing the price higher by 0.6 per cent to Lm4.68. Bank of Valletta registered its sixth consecutive session of gains, climbing by a further penny to close at the Lm3.99 level.

Renewed buying activity in GlobalCapital helped the equity gain 4c or 1.9 per cent to close the first session of the week at the Lm2.10 level, while sellers continued to plague Middlesea Insurance which declined by a further 0c5 or 0.3 per cent as 5,500 shares were struck across three deals.

Suncrest Hotels traded again after 11 weeks of silence. Buyers were firmly in control, purchasing a total of 1,400 shares at a 13.8 per cent discount, which equates to a 4c drop in price, which closed at 25c.

The day's top gainer was Datatrak Holdings, quoted on the Alternative Investments Market which rose by a staggering 15.4 per cent as 4,000 shares were purchased at the 30c level.

FTSE 100 in London hits fresh five-year high

European shares were higher yesterday, as energy stocks were boosted by rising oil prices, while merger speculation continued to drive sentiment. By midday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.3 per cent, Frankfurt's Xetra Dax rose 0.2 per cent and the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.1 per cent.

London equities moved to a fresh five-year high with Lloyds TSB again among the leading gainers. The bank was the focus of media attention over the weekend amid speculation that it had rejected an approach for its Scottish Widows life assurance arm. In the wider market, the FTSE 100 reached another five-year high, up 21 points to 6,178.3, its highest level since June 2001. The mid-cap FTSE 250 was off its all-time peak, down 14.9 points at 10,384.1.

The Nikkei 225 stock average finished trading at a five-month closing high, propelled by bargain hunting and a weak yen. The benchmark average rose 0.9 per cent to 16,692.76, with the broader Topix up 1.1 per cent to 1,646.05.

Wall Street ended the week higher with the Dow Jones Industrial Average at another all-time closing high as investors welcomed a largely strong batch of company earnings but remained uncertain about the prospects for economic growth.

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