Financial news

Trading activity during the mid-week session on the Malta Stock Exchange resulted in yet another positive outing for the Index which climbed by almost two per cent to end slightly above the 3,200 level.

HSBC Bank Malta outperformed all other equities during the session as the bank's shares rose by 9c or 3.2 per cent to terminate at €2.89. The financial services company also registered the highest number of deals as investors swapped a total of 37,870 shares over 24 deals for a market consideration of €109,830.

On the contrary, Bank of Valletta shares declined in value during yesterday's session as the equity dropped by 4c9 or 1.5 per cent to terminate at €3.301. The equity was trading at a higher intra-day value of €3.41 when selling pressure suppressed the price to its current standing.

International Hotel Investments was on the list of gainers as the equity increased by 5c5 or 6.7 per cent to close at €0.875. Investors in the hotel property and management company exchanged an aggregate of 1,750 shares over a single transaction.

Plaza Centres ended the day in the red as the listing dropped by half a cent to terminate at €1.635. Trading activity in the company's shares resulted when two investors transacted 1,200 shares.

Despite not being active for yesterday's trading session, Simonds Farsons Cisk published its financial statements for the six-month period ending on July 31. The group registered a pre-tax profit of €2 million compared to €1.57 million registered for the same period last year. Despite, a decrease in the group's turnover, the reduction in the costs of certain raw materials and the attainment of the targeted production efficiencies were key factors in the achievement of improved profit margins.

Weekly eurozone economic review

The economic headlines in the eurozone countries over the past week focused primarily on the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) figures, as well as consumer and economic confidence data. These indicators continue to suggest a gradual improvement in the euro-area economic conditions.

Eurozone composite PMI, which gauges the health of the manufacturing and services sector combined, has registered a smaller gain during September as it rose to a reading of 50.8 against market consensus of a 51.3 increase. The weakness of this result came from the manufacturing component which remained below the 50 level but still rose from August's 48.2 reading to 49. The services index broke the 50 expansion threshold for the first time since May 2008, rising to 50.6, suggesting that there will be further improvement in business conditions in the sector.

Meanwhile, a monthly survey by the European Commission showed economic sentiment in the 16 countries using the euro rose to 80.6 points in August from 76.0 in July, the fifth straight improvement from a trough of 64.6 in March. The improvement was largely fuelled by more optimism in the services sector and industry, while the mood among consumers improved only marginally.

Eurozone consumer prices fell this month by an annual 0.3 per cent in September, which was more than the 0.2 per cent drop anticipated by economists polled by Reuters. This reinforces expectations that the European Central Bank will not raise interest rates in the near future despite a nascent economic recovery.

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.