Financial News

The first session of the week on the Malta Stock Exchange ended on a positive note, with the local share index gaining a further 0.23 per cent to close the day at the 3,428.884 level.

The session's best performer was Crimsonwing, when its share price increased by 2c0 or 5.41 per cent to end the session at €0.39.

Trading in Simonds Farsons Cisk shares kicked off at €1.649, but later went up so that the share price closed the session at €1.70. This equates to an increase of 7c0 or 4.29 per cent over its previous price.

Further gains were registered in Go's share price as it climbed by a further 2c0 or 0.99 per cent.

In the banking sector, the only equity to end the session in positive territory was Bank of Valletta. Even here the gain registered was of 2c0 which signifies a 0.53 per cent gain. The price closed the day at the €3.80 level.

HSBC Bank Malta and Lombard Bank registered no movements in their closing prices, thus closing Monday's session at €3.25 and €2.87 respectively. Similarly, outside the banking sector, no changes were registered in Medserv's closing price which terminated at €4.10.

On the contrary, GlobalCapital was the session's worst performer when its share price shed 3c9 or 3.42 per cent to end the day at the €1.10 level. Similarly, Middlesea Isurance share price also ended in the red when it lost 1c0 or 1.59 per cent to close yesterday's session at €0.62.

The week ahead- Economic indicators for week starting December 14

In the United States, attention will be focused on the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on Wednesday whereby it is expected that the Federal Reserve (Fed) keeps interest rates unchanged between 0 and 0.25 per cent. Meanwhile, today we will also have the publication of the Producer Price Index for the month of November, which is expected to show a rebound from the 0.3 per cent reading in October, together with the Industrial Production figures, also for November. These are also expected to show an increase on the previous month's figure. Of interest as well will be the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data, where inflation is expected to have risen to 0.4 per cent in November for an annual figure of 1.8 per cent, up from the -0.2 per cent registered in October. The US economic calendar will also feature releases regarding the housing market, namely Housing Starts, Building Permits and Mortgage Application numbers, together with the Index of US Leading Indicators for November.

Similar to the US, the United Kingdom's calendar will also feature the CPI figures for November which are also expected to have accelerated for the second consecutive month.

Later on in the week, we shall be presented with the labour market report, with the publication of the ILO unemployment rate for the three months to October being the main attraction.

Another important release in the UK, among others, will be the Retail Sales figures for November which are ex-pected to show a gain over October's readings.

After the publication of the Industrial Production figures yesterday, the eurozone's economic calendar, similar to the other two economic regions, will also feature inflation data for the month of November. Finally, another important release here will be the Purchasing Managers Indices (PMIs) for both the services and manufacturing sectors, which are considered a good indicator of economic performance in the region.

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.