Financial News
Investors scramble for HSBC shares
Local equities commenced the opening session of the new week on a positive note, helping the MSE Index gain 0.44 per cent to close yesterday's trading session at 4,915 points.
The day's top gainer was HSBC Bank Malta which moved higher by 2c or one per cent to claim the Lm1.98 level for the first time in two and a half months. Demand was robust throughout the session with 18,500 shares changing hands across 15 transactions. With the bank's interim results due out in a few weeks, time, investors seem to have their sights firmly set on the Lm2 mark, however the market must first crunch through a number of offers, the first being for 1,341 shares supplied at the Lm1.98 level.
Bank of Valletta reclaimed the Lm3.60 level as buying activity spilled over in the form of 4,540 shares which changed hands across eight transactions. As a result the equity, after initially dipping to the Lm3.59 level, closed the day 0c5 or 0.14 per cent higher.
The same monetary gain of 0c5 was registered in Malta International Airport. Activity was relatively muted with 1,000 shares being exchanged across two transactions, pushing the price to the Lm1.33,5 level.
Elsewhere, two investors swapped 270 shares of Maltacom at the Lm1.41 level, which represents a 0c9 or 0.64 per cent premium to its previous closing price.
The day's only loser was Middlesea Insurance which succumbed by 2c9 or 1.7 per cent to Lm1.70,1 as 3,674 shares were sold across seven transactions. In spite of this decline, the price seems to be well supported around this level with an unsatisfied bid for 2,492 shares remaining outstanding at Lm1.70,1 against supply of 582 shares at Lm1.72.
Asian stocks fall
European stocks rose for a third day, led by ABN Amro Holding NV after Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc sweetened its €71.1 billion offer for the Dutch lender, seeking to trump Barclays Plc. ABN Amro jumped the most in three months.
Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index gained 0.2 per cent. National benchmarks climbed in 12 of the 17 western European markets that were open. France's CAC 40 added 0.1 per cent. Germany's DAX advanced 0.3 per cent. The Stoxx 50 added 0.4 per cent, while the Euro Stoxx 50, a measure for the euro region, climbed 0.3 per cent. UK stocks rose also. Lonmin Plc limited gains after the mining company said it will delay the sale of as much as 90,000 ounces of platinum.
US stock-index futures rose before five members of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index including Charles Schwab Corp., the biggest discount brokerage, and toymaker Mattel Inc. report earnings.
Asian stocks fell, dragging a regional benchmark from a record, as a slide in technology shares countered gains in energy-related companies. Samsung Electronics Co., which ended last week at a 15-month high, plunged the most in three years after memory chip prices fell.
The financial news was compiled by 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.