The Malta Stock Exchange index made it three in a row as to consecutive gains with strong buying activity seeing equity prices higher across the board. Negative sentiment has suppressed prices for the past few months and this brief respite has given investors something to shout about.
The banking sector equities were the most liquid and provided most of the lift to the index. HSBC Bank Malta reclaimed with relative ease the Lm2.10 level as 46,951 shares, carrying a market consideration of 97,631, were exchanged across 54 transactions. The equity commenced trading at Lm2.07 and progressed higher during the session, gaining a total of 3c or the equivalent of 1.5 per cent.
Bank of Valletta shares jumped 6c or 1.7 per cent as 4,250 shares were purchased across 12 transactions. The equity closed the session at Lm3.67, leaving a further supply of 1,343 shares on the offer side, while the best bid stood for 80 shares at Lm3.62.
Buying activity in Lombard Bank saw investors picking up 2,480 shares across three transactions and thereby helping the price gain 5c or 0.9 per cent to close the mid-week session at the Lm5.30 level.
The day's top gainer was Maltacom which rallied by 3c5 or 2.4 per cent as 4,950 shares were purchased across seven transactions. After an initial trade, investors left it till late to execute their orders and the equity subsequently rose quickly touching an intra-day high of Lm1.49 before dropping back a tad to close at Lm1.48,5.
Shares of GlobalCapital had a particularly volatile session, with the equity initially dropping 7c to Lm2.10 before the remaining shares of a larger order were purchased, clearing supply up to the Lm2.19,9 level.
European markets lower
European equity markets retreated by mid-morning, weighed down by weakness in the industrials, telecoms and information technology sectors, and following overnight declines on Wall Street and across Asian markets. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 lost one per cent, while Germany's Xetra Dax fell 1.1 per cent, and in France, the CAC 40 shed one per cent.
The FTSE lost ground following overnight falls in Asian markets as energy and financial stocks weighted on the indices. By midday, the FTSE 100 was down 0.5 per cent while the mid-cap FTSE 250 dropped 0.4 per cent.
The Japanese stock market fell sharply, dragged down by weakness in both export and domestically focused shares. Share prices have been under pressure after a surge at the end of last year. As a result, falls in the price of oil and some other commodity prices sent resource stocks down but provided no relief to heavy users. The Nikkei 225 moved down 1.7 per cent as did the Topix.
US stock-index futures declined on speculation a government report will show company inventories are rising and a Federal Reserve official may indicate the central bank isn't ready to cut interest rates. Technology shares yesterday in the US offset the worst start for energy companies since 1990, which have retreated along with oil prices.