Financial news
MSE daily report
The Malta Stock Exchange, yet again, continued to gain solid ground yesterday as it was mainly non-financials, this time, which pushed the equity market higher. Over 110,000 shares traded hands across 96 deals to see the MSE close up over 67 points to 3805.775.
Middlesea Insurance plc shares lost 3c2 in trading, to close the day down 3.4 per cent to €0.908 on volume of 16,177 shares.
Also closing on the downside yesterday was Lombard Bank Malta plc which lost 5c to close at €3.10, or down 1.59 per cent.
HSBC continued to be the market leader, closing up another 10c to finish the day at €4. This added another 2.56 per cent to the over 21 per cent gain the bank's shares have climbed within the last four days of trading.
Finishing the day for financial stocks was GlobalCapital plc which closed up 2c4 to €1.499, FIMBank plc which closed unchanged at €1.16 on 2,300 shares traded and Bank of Valletta plc which gained 11c to finish at €4.10
Malta International Airport managed hefty gains, closing up 10c, or four per cent, to close at €2.60 on 1,700 shares while International Hotel Investments also closed in positive territory as a single trade moved the shares up 1.46 per cent to finish at €0.766. The telephony company Go plc was also a gainer on the day as its shares closed up 3c to €2.20 on 12,350 shares.
Weekly US economic review
In the United States, the economic highlight during the past week was the labour report where the economy has unexpectedly shed 85,000 jobs in December after the best labour market performance in two years in November. In fact, an early report of an 11,000 decline in employment in November was revised up to a small gain of 4,000, the first increase since December 2007. The unemployment rate for December remained unchanged at 10 per cent, below the expected increase of 10.1 per cent.
Meanwhile, pending sales of previously owned homes fell more sharply than expected in November. The Pending Home Sales Index, which is based on contracts signed in November, dropped 16 per cent from October to a reading of 96.0 after rising for nine straight months. In a separate report, a monthly gauge of US inflation pressures rose for the ninth straight month in December, indicating a sustained, steady rise in prices in the near-term. The economic Cycle Research Institute's US Future Inflation Gauge (USFIG), designed to anticipate cyclical swings in the rate of inflation, rose to 98.2 in December from 95.6 in November.
The US trade deficit widened more than expected in November, as stronger consumer and manufacturer demands pushed imports to the highest level in nearly a year. The monthly trade gap widened by 9.7 per cent to $36.4 billion, from an upwardly revised estimate of $33.2 billion in October. US imports of goods and services jumped 2.6 per cent to $174.6 billion, the highest since December 2008. US exports rose by a less robust 0.9 per cent.
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.