The MSE index closed modestly higher during yesterday's trading session, advancing by 0.21 per cent to regain the 5,000 level as equities recovered some of the previous day's losses.
HSBC was the day's most actively traded equity with 18,118 shares, carrying a market consideration of Lm36,570 exchanged across 20 transactions. The share price was up 1c or 0.5 per cent to close the day at Lm2.02. At the end of the session, 8,994 shares were best bid at Lm2.01 against supply of 200 shares at Lm2.01.
Trading in Bank of Valletta shares ended flat at the Lm3.70 level for the third consecutive day. The equity started trading ex-div as from the start of Monday's session. Activity consisted of 6,791 shares which were exchanged across 15 deals. At the end of the day, best demand was for 1,488 shares at Lm3.70 while supply was for 1,000 shares at the Lm3.71 level.
Middlesea Insurance shares lost 0.9 per cent or 2c as 1,537 shares were exchanged across two transactions at the Lm2.20. At the end of the session, an additional 463 shares remained offered at the day's closing price.
International Hotel Investments shares regained their euro adjusted IPO price of €0.01, as 24,070 shares were struck across five transactions
Elsewhere in the market activity in Maltacom shares and Lombard Bank Malta, shares did not alter their previous closing prices of Lm1.55 and Lm4.83, respectively. Trading was relatively low, with just 6,900 and 1,000 shares being exchanged over the two equities.
European markets at five-year highs
European equity markets pushed to fresh five-year highs yesterday, led by oil stocks and banks after a strong showing on Wall Street overnight. By midday, the FTSE Eurofirst rose 0.3 per cent, Frankfurt's Xetra Dax added 0.2 per cent, the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.5 per cent and London's FTSE 100 climbed 0.2 per cent.
London's FTSE 100 moved higher as Marks & Spencer's interim earnings impressed investors and boosted retailers. The FTSE 100 moved 0.1 per cent higher, a gain of only eight points but enough to take it to renewed five-year highs. The mid-cap FTSE 250 recovered from small opening losses to post gains of 0.2 per cent.
Overnight in New York, US indices were sharply higher and helped European equities to session highs by the end of the business day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up one per cent, helped by a flurry of M&A activity.
Gains in some blue-chip export-focused stocks following an overnight US rally helped Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average close slightly higher. The benchmark average rose 0.2 per cent.
The broader Topix was unchanged at 1,616.68, with the upward pressure from exporters countered by declines in banking shares, which have a strong weighting in the Topix.
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