Financial news

The Malta Stock Exchange Index lost almost 15 points, or 0.4 per cent yesterday, to close at 3,830.465 in moderate trading of 85,292 shares across 57 deals.

HSBC Bank Malta plc shares continued to slide further as investors shed 1c9, or 0.6 per cent, off the retail bank’s stock price, to see it close at €3.401 on volume of 22,950 shares across 16 deals.

Bank of Valletta plc’s shares, meanwhile, were also down on the day, shedding 1c, or 0.3 per cent, to end the session at €3.140 in 24 trades for a total of 18,892 shares.

Yet the day’s biggest loss was suffered by the equity of the Floriana-based insurance company, Middlesea Insurance plc, which fell 4c8, or 4.6 per cent, to close at €1.002, in two deals for a total of 2,600 shares.

Go plc shares, which traded as much as 4c lower during the session, closed unchanged at €1.940 on robust volume of 37,850 shares across 11 deals.

Also trading in the session were the shares of Malta International Airport plc, which finished unchanged at €1.700 on light volume of 3,000 shares across four deals.

On Wednesday MIA released its official traffic results for the year 2010, whereby the company witnessed a 12.8 per cent increase in passenger movements when compared to 2009. This increase translates into a record number of passenger movements at the airport for the year 2010 of 3.29 million.

Weekly UK economic review

In the United Kingdom, the inflation rate increased to an eight-month high in December. Consumer prices as measured by the consumer price index (CPI) rose to 3.7 per cent from a year earlier after a 3.3 per cent increase registered in the previous month. This was mainly driven by higher fuel and food prices. During the month of December, prices increased by one per cent, the highest rate since records began in 1996, above the 0.7 per cent economists forecast. The core inflation rate which excludes volatile items such as food, tobacco, energy and alcohol, rose to an annual pace of 2.9 per cent.

In the labour market, the number of people claiming unemployment benefit dropped unexpectedly in December by 4,100 to 1.457 million from the previous month. This is the lowest level in 21 months. However, the unemployment rate as measured by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) standards remained unchanged at 7.9 per cent for the three months which ended in November,

Meanwhile according to an estimate by National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), the British economy grew by 0.5 percent during the fourth quarter of last year, less than the 0.6 percent in the previous three months through November. Finally, a measure of consumer confidence, measured by Nationwide Building Society increased by 8 points to 53 in December, from November which was the lowest reading during the past twenty months in November. This was the first increase for this index for the past four months.

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.