Financial news
Weakness in mid-caps
The local equity market ended practically flat during today's trading at the Malta Stock Exchange. However, negative closing in Simonds Farsons Cisk shares and Global Capital shares pushed the MSE index lower by 0.119 per cent to close the session at 4,900.418 points.
Global Capital was the day's biggest loser in monetary terms, as 760 shares were exchanged across two transactions, forcing the equity to lose 10 cents or 4.76 per cent to close the day at the Lm2.00 level. The bid-offer spread at the end of the session was relatively wide, with 240 shares demanding a price of Lm1.98 against 1,070 shares best supplied at Lm2.06.
HSBC Bank Malta Ltd remained the most actively traded equity with 20,367 shares being exchanged across 30 transactions. The equity traded at the Lm1.99 level for the fourth consecutive session on continuous supply from the market at this level. At the end of the session 900 shares were best bid at Lm1.98 against a supply of 4,000 shares at Lm2.
Two investors swapped 3,000 shares in Simonds Farsons Cisk shares at the 79c level which represents a 1c or 1.25 per cent reduction to its previous closing price. Minimal losses were also registered in Bank of Valletta shares and International Hotel Investment shares where the share prices lost 0c1 to close the session at Lm3.59,9 and €0.99,9 respectively.
Elsewhere in the market trades executed in Plaza Centres shares, Lombard Bank Malta shares and Maltacom shares did not have any effect on their previous closing prices of 68c, Lm5.10 and Lm1.50 respectively. Trading volumes in these equities was quite low.
FTSE positive following news from RBS
European equities turned flat yesterday as gains for banks on the back of strong Anglo Irish Bank results were countered by falling oil and telecoms stocks. By midday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.1 per cent, Frankfurt's Xetra Dax was fractionally lower at 6,371.78 and the CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.1 per cent.
Gains for the heavyweight banking sector in the wake of an upbeat trading statement from Royal Bank of Scotland saw the FTSE 100 move higher. RBS shares climbed 3.7 per cent after the UK's second biggest bank by market capitalisation said 2006 profits should be slightly ahead of expectations due to strong organic growth and a good performance from its corporate markets division.
That news cheered the rest of the banking sector. Helped by those gains the FTSE 100 added 0.3 per cent as did the FTSE 250.
Japan's Nikkei 225 quietly crept up to its highest close in a month, benefiting from rises in a broad range of domestically focused companies. The benchmark stock average rose 0.7 per cent and the Topix advanced one per cent.
Modest gains overnight in New York followed data showing the services sector was still expanding, while inflationary pressures looked to be weakening.
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