Financial news

The mid-week session on the Malta Stock Exchange brought to an end a six-day rally as the index dropped by a negligible 0.09 per cent to close at 3,437.64 points.

In fact, the only negative performer was Bank of Valletta as its share price dropped by 2c or 0.5 per cent to close at €3.78. Turnover in the bank consisted of 4,700 shares swapped across two deals for a market consideration of €17,766.

On the contrary, Lombard Bank Malta rose to a new ten and a half-month high as it gained 2c or 0.7 per cent to end the session at the €2.89 level. Trading activity in the bank's shares resulted when investors transacted a total of 7,000 shares across three deals.

Elsewhere in the banking sector, HSBC Bank Malta registered for the third consecutive day no movement in its share price, closing unchanged at €3.25. The bank was, nevertheless, the most actively traded listing during the session as 10,540 shares were exchanged over 10 deals for a monetary value of €34,254.

Likewise, FIMBank shares ended the session unchanged at $1.16, when two investors negotiated 1,720 shares.

Outside of the banking sector, Go shares also terminated the session without incurring any change in price, as it closed unaltered at a 13-month high of €2.06. Investors in the quadruple play telecommunications' company swapped 3,200 shares across two deals.

Similarly, Simonds Farsons Cisk was a non-mover during the day as the equity close unchanged at the €1.70 level.

Weekly eurozone economic review

In the eurozone, the dominant services sector grew at its fastest pace in over two years during early December, while the manufacturing sector grew at a rate not seen since March 2008.

The Purchasing Managers' Index for services rose to a reading of 53.7 in December, while the manufacturing PMI rose to 51.6 during the same period.

Meanwhile, a drop in output of consumer goods pulled down industrial production in October, indicating weak private demand and a fragile recovery ahead. In fact, industrial output in the 16-country euro currency area fell 0.6 per cent month-on-month, bringing the annual pace of decline to 11.1 per cent.

Separately, Eurostat said that employment in the eurozone shrank by 0.5 per cent in the period between July and September, resulting in a 2.1 per cent annual decline. This means that the number of people with jobs dropped by 712,000 in the third quarter to a total of 144.8 million.

Eurozone inflation in November was smaller than previously estimated, according to revised data and core inflation was unchanged from October. Consumer Price Inflation in the euro-area rose 0.1 per cent for an annual 0.5 per cent gain.

Meanwhile, in Germany, analyst and investor sentiment declined for a third consecutive month in December.

The Mannheim-based ZEW economic think tank's monthly poll of economic sentiment came in slightly above than that expected by a Reuters poll at 50.4 in December, down from 51.1 last month.

Moreover, German industrial output fell for the first time in three months in October, down from 1.8 per cent, driven largely by a 3.5 per cent drop in the production of investment goods.

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.