Financial news

Local equities declined for the third consecutive day during yesterday's trading session at the Malta Stock Exchange although the larger banking shares stabilised.

Lombard Bank was the day's biggest decliner as 650 shares were sold across two transactions, squeezing the price lower by 25c or 4.6 per cent.

HSBC Bank Malta closed the session in positive territory for the first time in nine sessions. Activity remained relatively high with 83,430 shares, carrying a market consideration of Lm153,876, exchanged across 68 transactions. The equity commenced trading at the Lm1.84 level but resilient buying activity held up well against the selling pressure and by the end of the session, bullish investors helped the equity stop the decline and claw back by 1c to Lm1.85. HSBC Bank Malta will be reporting their full year results by mid-February.

Trading in Bank of Valetta consisted of 2,113 shares which were exchanged across eight transactions. Although the price wobbled slightly, it still managed to close the day unchanged at Lm3.60.

Maltacom succumbed by 3c5 or 2.4 per cent on low volume selling activity which saw a mere 545 shares changing hands across three transactions.

The price slipped back to its recent low of Lm1.45.

Malta International Airport registered its third consecutive gain, climbing by a further 0c5 or 0.4 per cent to Lm1.38 on a total turnover of 4,867 shares, while elsewhere in the market a single sale of 1,241 shares brought a 0.5 per cent decline to International Hotel Investments price which closed the week at €0.995.

Oil and gas stocks make heavy losses

European equities retreated yesterday as weakening commodity markets weighed on resource stocks and a profit warning from US telecoms equipment maker Motorola hit Europe's technology sector.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 fell 0.3 per cent to 1,494.81, Frankfurt's Xetra Dax fell 0.4 per cent to 6,645.49, the CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.3 per cent to 5,560.13.

In London utility stocks fell further as the FTSE opened to the downside with oil and gas stocks also making heavy losses. The FTSE 100 fell 16.8 points, or 0.3 per cent, to trade at 6,270.2 in mid-morning trade while the mid-cap FTSE 250 lost 34.2 points, 0.3 per cent, to 11,211.9.

Profit taking dominated activity on a quiet day of trading in Tokyo, which has not quite shrugged off the sluggishness of the long New Year's holiday and is coming up to another long weekend.

The market closed down for the first time in six days, with the Nikkei average losing 1.51 per cent, or 262.08, to finish at 17,091.51 and the broad-based Topix index falling 1.4 per cent to 1,675.33.

Valletta Fund Management (tel. 8007 2344) and Bank of Valletta plc (Tel 2131 2020). BOV and VFM are licensed by the MFSA to conduct investment services business.