Gains in banking sector equities helped the MSE Index register a 1.4 per cent jump during yesterday's trading session to close off the day at 5,150 points.

HSBC Bank Malta was the day's top gainer, as fresh demand coupled with a sudden lack of supply, helped the price rally 6c or almost three per cent to top out at the Lm2.08 level. The day's activity consisted in exactly 27,000 shares which were exchanged across 19 transactions.

Investors purchased as much as 20,840 shares of Bank of Valletta prior to the group's full year results which are due to be reported following today's close. The equity traded within a whisker of the Lm4 level, although the final trade of the session was executed at Lm3.99 which represents a 2c1 or 0.5 per cent gain to its previous closing price.

International Hotel Investments, who reported their interim results after Wednesday's close, gained 2.1 per cent as 9,171 shares were purchased up to the €0.97 level. Investors were cheered by a seven per cent increase in the group's turnover for the six-month period to June 30, 2006 which was reported at €27.95 million. The company managed to reduce the loss after tax for the period by almost 30 per cent to €3.5 million.

Further buying activity in Plaza Centres saw investors collecting 10,000 shares off the offer side at a 0.15 per cent premium to its pervious close, thereby pushing the equity up to 68c.

Elsewhere in the market, 5,950 shares of Medserv were struck across four deals at their IPO price of Lm1.30, while Maltacom closed unchanged at Lm1.60 as newspaper reports revealed that the new local fixed line operator Sky Telecom Ltd will be buying services wholesale from Maltacom, and selling them to retail subscribers. (Reuters)

Shell pushes FTSE to new highs

Yesterday, European equity markets were higher driven by strong earnings and higher oil and metals stocks as commodity prices rallied. In early trade, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.4 per cent, Frankfurt's Xetra Dax added 0.4 per cent and the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.5 per cent.

Better-than-expected earnings from Royal Dutch Shell pushed the FTSE 100 to a fresh five-year high. The oil group made a third-quarter profit of $6.9 billion, on a current cost of supply basis, beating analysts' expectations and sending its shares 3.2 per cent higher to £19.03. In late morning trade, the FTSE 100 was up 0.4 per cent, at 6,237.9, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 rose 0.5 per cent, to 10,475.7.

Wall Street moved fractionally higher overnight after the Federal Reserve kept US interest rates on hold, but was less hawkish about the threat of inflation than expected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished at another closing high, up 0.1 per cent to 12,134.68, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.5 per cent to 2,356.59.

Strong corporate earnings and raised profit forecasts helped push the Japanese stock market higher. The Nikkei 225 and the broader Topix closed 0.7 per cent higher respectively.

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).