Financial news
Farsons climbs to two-year high
During yesterday's trading session at the Malta Stock Exchange, equities portrayed a mixed picture while the Index closed practically flat on a day which was conspicuous for the lack of trades executed in HSBC Bank Malta, its largest component. In such absence, Bank of Valletta was the day's most liquid and actively traded equity with 9,828 shares, carrying a market consideration of Lm35,578, changing hands across eight transactions. The equity swung within a narrow range to close the session lower by a single penny at Lm3.62.
International Hotel Investments, the third largest listed company in terms of market capitalisation, closed lower by the slimmest of margins as a mere 1,145 shares were swapped across two transactions at the €1.099 level. On even lower volume, Maltacom shares climbed back six-tenths of a cent to terminate at Lm1.38,1.
Simonds Farsons Cisk was the day's top performer with investors purchasing 2,500 shares across two transactions thereby pushing the price higher by 1c or almost a percentage point to Lm1.03, its highest level since May 2005.
Malta International Airport registered the same monetary gain, which equates to a 0.7 per cent increase as 7,000 shares were purchased across two transactions helping the price reclaim Lm1.40.
Elsewhere in the market, two investors swapped 2,000 shares of FIMBank without affecting its previous closing price of $1.94.
Grand Harbour Marina failed to trade for the second consecutive session since the company reported its interim results for the six months ended June 30 which showed a pre-tax loss of Lm208,542 against a pre-tax profit of Lm659,302 during the same period last year. Although pontoon fees and revenues from ancillary services grew by 20 per cent, no berthing spaces for super-yachts were sold during the period which drastically affected their top line figure. The MSE Index closed the day at 4,870 points.
Asian stocks negative after four positive sessions
European bank stocks rose, led by Deutsche Bank AG after chief executive officer Josef Ackermann said there are signs that markets are beginning to stabilise. UBS AG and Credit Suisse Group, Switzerland's biggest banks, also climbed. National benchmarks gained in nine of the 18 western European markets. Germany's DAX Index added 0.1 per cent, while France's CAC 40 slipped 0.3 per cent.
In London, despite strong news in the commodity sector, the FTSE 100 slipped back into negative territory right before noon, dropping 0.1 per cent to 6,307.3. Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 was up 0.4 per cent at 11,404.5.
The Japanese stock market lost ground, hurt by some bad news on the corporate front and fears some sectors have become overvalued. Low trading volumes at times exaggerated the effect of individual buying and selling, creating a nervous market. The Nikkei 225 fell 0.6 per cent to end the day at 16,420.47. The broader Topix was down 0.5 per cent at 1,596.74. US stock-index futures declined before reports that may show economic growth is slowing, fuelling concern the fallout from subprime-mortgage defaults is spreading.
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.