Financial news
Higher activity on market
Investors returned with a certain vigour following the one day break in trading on the Malta Stock Exchange with as much as eight different companies seeing deals being struck in their shares. When the dust settled a mixed picture emerged with the MSE Index being dragged slightly into negative territory by gentle declines in the heavyweights.
HSBC Bank Malta shed almost a penny on low volume trading activity, where less than 2,900 shares were transacted across six transactions squeezing the price down to Lm1.92. Trading activity in Bank of Valletta was more robust with 8,865 shares, carrying a market consideration of Lm31,868 being struck across 15 trades. The equity, nevertheless, ended the day to the downside, shedding four-tenths of a cent to terminate at Lm3.59,6.
International Hotel Investments, the third largest listed company, also fell prey to selling activity. The decline, however, could have been worse as the equity briefly touched the €1.02 level before closing higher at €1.04. Plaza Centres surged ahead and was the day's top gainer as their recent set of interim results increased investor's appetite for shares of the operator of a prime retail space in the heart of Sliema. Activity consisted of 4,765 shares which were purchased across five transactions, thereby pushing the price higher by 1c or 1.5 per cent to 70c.
The same monetary amount was gained by Malta International Airport, which settled at the Lm1.38 level. As many as 9,250 shares were exchanged during the session, for a total market consideration of Lm12,754.
Simonds Farsons Cisk completed the complement of shares on the rise as the local brewer and bottler moved higher by the slimmest of margins, finishing the session at Lm1,01. Elsewhere in the market, FIMBank and Maltacom closed the day unchanged at $1.94 and Lm1.44 respectively, with both equities recovering slim initial losses.
Markets drop
Yesterday, shares in London were back in the red by midday as an earlier rally fizzled out ahead of what was expected to be another rocky session on Wall Street. Bank stocks, which have been heavily sold off since the turmoil in the credit markets began in June, staged a recovery as investors took the view that lenders had been oversold. The FTSE 100, which on Thursday closed at its lowest level since September 2006, fell 0.6 per cent to 5,825.40. The blue-chip index is down nearly three per cent this week. European equity markets endured a dizzying morning of volatility as opening losses were recovered strongly, before slipping back into negative territory. By midday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.3 per cent, Frankfurt's Xetra Dax was off 0.4 per cent, and the CAC 40 in Paris shed 0.2 per cent.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei share index fell at its fastest pace since the September 2001 terrorist attacks, as a morning slide in share prices turned into an afternoon rout. The Nikkei 225 slumped 5.4 per cent to 15,273.68, depressed by slides of 10 per cent and more in some export-focused sectors.
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.