Financial news

Trading activity in local equities was relatively flat during the opening session of the week at the Malta Stock Exchange apart from the shares of Lombard Bank plc and Malta International Airport shares which lost 2c over the previous session. This resulted in a minimal decline to the MSE Index which closed the session at 4902.901 points, a decline of 0.059 per cent.

Bank of Valletta shares were the most actively traded, with 16,025 shares being exchanged across 17 deals, with a market consideration of Lm57,661. At the end of the session 1,500 shares were best bid at Lm3.59,2 against a supply of 500 shares offered at today's closing price of Lm3.60.

Selling activity in HSBC shares did not have any effect on the closing price of the equity which remained at its opening level of Lm1.99. The day's turnover amounted to 14,775 shares which were exchanged across 17 transactions. At the end of the session there was an unfilled supply of 1,625 shares at Lm1.99 level.

Lombard Bank plc shares shed 0.39 per cent or 2c as two investors exchanged just 68 shares at the Lm5.10 level. A lack of demand for the shares has brought a widening of the bid-offer spread to Lm5.10 and Lm5.20 respectively. Similarly, Malta International Airport shares lost 1.46 per cent or 2c to close the day at Lm1.35. A total of 4,700 shares were exchanged during the session across three transactions.

Elsewhere in the market, activity in Datatrak Holdings and International Hotel Investments shares did not alter their previous closing prices of 26c and €1 respectively, although the former did trade slightly below the 26c level.

European markets start the week flat

European equity markets were flat by midday yesterday as losses for banks offset gains for utilities, while expectations of a lower open on Wall Street weighed. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was unchanged at 1,421.35, Frankfurt's Xetra Dax was flat at 6,241.74 and the CAC 40 in Paris was 0.1 per cent higher at 5,256.42.

Food companies gained in London after Premier Foods agreed to buy RHM for £1.2 billion. Shares in RHM, which makes Mr Kipling cakes and Hovis bread, leapt 30.6 per cent to 355p on the news, which will create Britain's biggest food producer.

Premier Foods gained 3.4 per cent to 278?p. In the wider market, the FTSE 100 rose 0.1 per cent, at 6,029.7. The mid-cap FTSE 250 jumped 0.4 per cent, to 10,740.0.

Japan's large and mid-cap stock indices were broadly unchanged with falls in tech stocks counterbalanced by sharp rises in consumer finance companies.

The Nikkei 225 fell 0.1 per cent to 16,303.59, while the broader Topix rose 0.2 per cent to 1,607.74. Friday's fall in the US Nasdaq index hit Japanese tech stocks yesterday.

Nasdaq was 0.8 per cent lower on the day, and 1.9 per cent down on the week. Japan's electrical machinery sector declined 0.6 per cent yesterday.

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)