Financial news

Trading for the mid-week session at the Malta Stock Exchange remained positive as the Index continued its upward trend to gain a further 1.6 per cent to close 2,903 points, its highest reading since February. Activity was more voluminous than the previous sessions as investors struck an aggregate 64 deals spread across four listings.

Bank of Valletta, the largest bank in asset terms was the best performer for the day as the equity continued its positive run, rising by a further 14c or 5.7 per cent to close at €2.59. The company was also the session's most liquid and actively traded component when investors swapped 32,480 shares over 31 deals for a market consideration of €83,056. Bank of Valletta is expected to announce its interim results next week.

HSBC Bank Malta, the largest listed equity, was also a gainer for the day as it added a further 5c to previous gains and ended the session at €2.55. Activity in the financial services group was spread over 27 deals for a market value of €58,469.

Lombard Bank Malta was the sole non-mover for the day, when investors transacted a total of 3,283 shares across five deals to close at €2.50.

On the contrary, Go was the only equity to close in negative territory, albeit by just 0c6 or 0.4 per cent, dropping down to the €1.54 level. At the end of the session, a further 2,500 shares remained outstanding on the offer side at the day's closing price, while demand for 2,000 shares were best bid at €1.50.

In the fixed interest sector of the market, activity was spread over four government stocks and five corporate stocks. The highest turnover in the corporate debt issues was the eight per cent Bank of Valletta 2010 when 100,000 nominal sold across four transactions, dropping the price down to $101.

Weekly UK economic review

Most of the noteworthy economic data issued in the United Kingdom was cramped over the last day of the week under review, as market participants eagerly awaited the Bank of England minutes, unemployment figures and, most of all, the budget statement from the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer.

The weekly economic schedule started off with some inflationary figures for the month of March, where as expected the year-on-year rate dropped to 2.9 per cent from the previous rise to 3.2 per cent.

Meanwhile, all nine members of the BOE's Monetary Policy Committee voted to keep interest rates at a record low of 0.5 per cent at the last meeting held two weeks ago, while they also agreed to push ahead with the £75 billion asset purchase plan. The MPC also commented that the economy is likely to have contracted at a similar pace in the first three months of this year to that registered at the end of last year. "Overall risks to the domestic economy remained weighted to the downside."

The downside risk to the economy was more than confirmed by Alistair Darling's forecast in the budget statement, where the Chancellor of the Exchequer is expecting the worst UK recession since the World War II. The UK government is expecting the economy to shrink by approximately 3.5 per cent this year, more than twice the estimate issued last November.

This article has been prepared by Bank of Valletta p.l.c. (the Bank), which is licensed to conduct investment services business by the MFSA, for your general information only. This information is not a solicitation or offer by the Bank to acquire or sell securities. Nor does it constitute any form of advice by the Bank. Appropriate advice should be obtained before making any such decision. Past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance and the value of your investments may fall or rise.