Financial news
MSE trading report
The Malta Stock Exchange gained over seven points in a highly shortened session yesterday despite mixed results for sector shares. The index finished the session at the 3545.184 level.
GlobalCapital plc lost another 8c7 yesterday in light trading of 2,000 shares across five deals to close at €1.50.
Lombard Bank plc also suffered substantial losses on the day, dropping 5c, or over 1.7 per cent in six trades of 4,160 shares.
Other shares to finish in negative territory were Medserv plc, which closed at €4.25 in a single trade of 5,000 shares, and Plaza Centres plc which ended the day 0c9 lower at €1.62 in a single trade of 10,000 shares.
Shares in Middlesea Insurance plc, meanwhile, managed to make their second day of substantial gains, closing up 4c1, or 4.8 per cent, higher to close at €0.891.
Malta International Airport plc, was able to recover most of the losses it suffered in Tuesday's session by gaining four cents yesterday, to close at €3.14, or up 1.3 per cent in three trades of 2,110 shares.
Other shares to finish the day higher were FIMBank plc, which was up one cent to close at €1.09, and HSBC Bank Malta plc, which finished marginally up at €3.08 in 4 trades of 3,200 shares.
The sole stock to trade yesterday which failed to register a change in its closing price was MaltaPost plc which closed at €0.90 in six trades of 25,745 shares.
Weekly eurozone economic review
The jump in Inflation in the 16 nations using the euro was confirmed at 1.5 on a year-on-year basis in April. Pressure was boosted by the price of fuel and cigarettes, however, core inflation, which excludes volatile components including food and energy, showed that inflation pressures remained weak.
On a positive note, exports in the euro area expanded at 22 per cent, while imports rose by 20 per cent on a year-on-year basis. As a result, the region recorded an unadjusted trade surplus of €4.5 billion in March.
This was much higher than the €1.6 billion recorded a year ago. Growth in exports was mainly aided by the euro's 17 per cent drop against the American dollar in the last six months.
Meanwhile, the debt crisis in some of the eurozone countries weighed on the German investor confidence as it registered the biggest decline since the collapse of Lehman Brother Holdings Inc. In fact, the ZEW index dropped 7.2 points to a reading of 45.8 in May. However, a number of participants already answered the survey before the €750 billion EU/IMF stabilisation mechanism was adopted. In the construction sector, output increased by 7.6 per cent, the most in 14 years in March from a 7.2 per cent decline registered in the previous month.
Finally, Greece received the first instalment of its €110 billion aid package. This allowed Greece to repay its maturing bond yesterday, and further helped reduce uncertainty.
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.