Financial news

Trading activity for yesterday's session on the Malta Stock Exchange extended the positive results registered during Monday's session as the Index rose further, increasing by 1.8 per cent to terminate at 3,278.01 points.

Bank of Valletta headed the list of gainers for the second consecutive day as the price rose by 25c4 or 6.9 per cent to close at a new 2009 high of €3.925. The bank was also the day's most liquid and actively traded equity as investors swapped 37,512 shares across 43 deals.

HSBC Bank Malta also registered gains to its share price during the session as it rose by 5c6 or 1.9 per cent to terminate at €2.950. The financial services company was trading even higher at €2.99, however, the price was pushed back down to its present position. Turnover in the bank consisted of 18,818 shares swapped across 18 deals.

Also in the banking sector, Lombard Bank Malta registered no movement in price as the equity closed unchanged at €2.55. A volume of 4,478 shares was transacted over four deals for a market value of €11,418.

Likewise, both Maltapost and Middlesea Insurance were non-movers during the day as they closed unaltered at €0.65 and €1.30 respectively.

The day's only laggard was International Hotel Investments as the equity dropped by 2c or 2.4 per cent to terminate at €0.80.

On the contrary, Go's shares rose by 2c which equates to a 1.2 per cent increase to end the session at €1.65. Trading activity in the quadruple play communications' company consisted of 4,000 shares exchanged over three deals.

Weekly US economic review

The economic data emanating from the United States over the past week was firmly focused on the third quarter Gross Domestic Product figures. Other notable releases last week were personal consumption expenditure and consumer confidence.

The US economy expanded in the third quarter, after four consecutive quarterly contractions. Overall activity grew 3.5 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter annualised basis, above the 3.2 per cent expected by economists. Consumer spending contributed 2.4 percentage points to overall growth, though a significant part of this increase was due to a boost in spending on durable goods, partly as a result of the government's cash for clunkers programme. Other components of the economy that contributed to growth was the housing sector, as construction increased for the first quarter since 2005, and reduced inventory de-stocking. Meanwhile, for the month of September, consumer spending fell for the first time in five months, as it dropped by 0.5 per cent after registering a 1.4 per cent increase in August. Contributing to this drop is the fact that wages registered the smallest 12-month gain since 1982, which suggests that consumer spending will remain under some pressure. The Reuters/University of Michigan final index of consumer sentiment also decreased to a reading of 70.6 in October from a reading of 73.5 a month earlier.

New home sales dropped to an annual rate of 402,000 in September from a downwardly-revised 417,000 the previous month. There was a decline in inventories for the month with the number of unsold homes at the lowest level since August 1982, while the house price index rose for the fourth successive month.

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.