Financial news

The Malta Stock Exchange continued to gather support in the first session of the week as the index gained almost 13 points, or 0.4 per cent, to close at the 3,353.226 level. Trading was relatively restricted to banking stocks as four of the five equities, and 40,196 out of 54,285 shares to trade in the day were bank issues.

The biggest mover in the session were the shares of FIMBank plc, which lost 2c, or 2.1 per cent, to close at US$0.930 in four deals for a total of 15,550 shares.

The other banking stock to also finish lower was Lombard Bank Malta plc, which also shed 2c, or 0.8 per cent, to end the day at €2.580 in a single deal of 2,000 shares. Meanwhile, Bank of Valletta plc shares continued to trade higher as 13 trades for a total of 13,646 shares forced the retail bank’s shares to close 3c, or 0.9 per cent higher, and finish at €3.270.

HSBC Bank Malta plc shares were also higher yesterday, gaining 2c5, or 0.9 per cent, closing at €2.795 on trading volumes of 9,000 shares in five deals.

The other equity to trade on yesterday, yet failed to register a change in its closing price, were the shares of International Hotel Investments plc, which ended the day at €0.800 in a total of four deals across 14,089 shares.

The week ahead - Economic indicators for week starting October 25

In the US, the main data focus this week is clearly the preliminary estimate of the third quarter gross domestic product on Friday, where due to a poor foreign trade performance in August, economic growth is expected to annualise two per cent. On the other hand, private consumption and inventory investment are likely to have had a supportive effect. Meanwhile, durable goods orders will also be a key point in the dataflow in which orders are expected to have picked-up in September, with strong orders by Boeing being the only factor behind this figure. Another release will be the Conference Board consumer confidence indicator due to come out today. This is expected to have stagnated in October, following a tangible drop in September. Other data releases next week include existing home sales, and the second publication of the consumer confidence indicator of the University of Michigan.

In the eurozone, soft economic conditions in the individual countries and weak inflationary pressure in Germany’s booming economy will keep the rates of inflation in the euro area below two per cent. Furthermore credit and monetary aggregates are also growing at a year-on-year rate of just over one per cent. The increase in September is expected to be 0.2 percentage points. The unemployment rate for the euro area is expected to have remained at 10.1 per cent in September. Meanwhile, after the release of industrial new order figures for August yesterday, the sentiment indicators of the EU Commission will also be expected to be also released later on during the week.

In Britain, the preliminary estimate of the UK third-quarter GDP today will provide important clues to upcoming monetary decisions. Meanwhile, housing indicators suggest that activity has reached a plateau. In fact, weaker mortgage approvals in September are expected as household worry about the impact of the upcoming spending cuts. Finally, after August’s largest drop since November 2009 in consumer credit, borrowing is likely to remain weak in September as households rebuild their balance sheets.

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.