Financial news

The MSE index broke a losing streak yesterday as gains in Maltacom, International Hotel Investments and Lombard Bank helped it close 0.36 per cent higher at 4,947 points.

International Hotel Investments was the day's most liquid equity with a grand total of 70,000 shares being exchanged across 15 transactions. The equity gained two per cent to close the day at the €1.02 level. Investors cheered the news, issued by the company after the close of Friday's session, that it had entered into a memorandum of understanding with each of Corinthia Palace Hotel Co Ltd and Istithmar Hotels FZE of Dubai.

Under the agreement, Istithmar will be allotted 110,000,000 new shares at €1, which should eventually equate to 23.45 per cent of the company's capitalisation, while the company will acquire ownership of hotels in Tripoli and Prague from Corinthia, in return for new shares. Furthermore, the company is also seeking approval to issue five million ordinary, bonus shares to registered shareholders of the company as at June 30 besides committing itself to seek a simultaneous listing on a foreign stock exchange.

Maltacom reclaimed the Lm1.50 level as merely 2,500 shares were purchased across two transactions, leaving at the end of the session 1,350 shares best bid at Lm1.49 against supply of 3,000 shares at Lm1.51.

Lombard Bank was the day's top gainer as buyers snapped up shares just 2c shy of the Lm5 level. A total of 3,290 shares were purchased across five transactions, helping the equity gain 3.75 per cent to close the session at Lm4.98.

Bank of Valletta was the day's only decliner as 15,300 shares were swapped across seven deals. The equity closed 0.1 per cent lower, at Lm3.63,4, leaving a further 2,920 shares on offer at this level against demand for 2,455 shares at Lm3.61. Elsewhere in the market, activity in HSBC Bank Malta, Middlesea Insurance and Simonds Farsons Cisk, did not affect their previous closing prices of Lm2.01, Lm2.10 and 80c respectively.

Negative start to week across stock markets

European stock markets fell yesterday as a number of heavily-weighted sectors, including media stocks, banks, oil producers and carmakers all fell, extending the losses felt late last week. By midday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.4 per cent, Frankfurt's Xetra Dax fell 0.3 per cent and the CAC 40 in Paris shed 0.5 per cent.

London equities were lower as falling media stocks outweighed news of a long-awaited bid for the London Stock Exchange.

Nasdaq announced early yesterday that it had made a bid for the LSE, valuing its entire issued ordinary share capital at around £2.7 billion. In the wider market, the FTSE 100 lost 0.4 per cent and the FTSE 250 was broadly flat at 10,705.1. The Japanese stock market fell sharply, hit by concerns about the US economy and fears about forthcoming banking results. The Nikkei 225 dropped 2.3 per cent while the Topix declined 2.5 per cent to 1,533.94, its lowest close since July.

Last week was a good one for big and small cap stocks as the earnings season began winding down and several blockbuster deals and new listings ignited bursts of activity. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the small cap Russell 2000 set record highs while the S&P500 ultimately closed above the 1,400 threshold for the first time since November 2000.

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