The Malta Stock Exchange index continued to climb yesterday as it added almost 25 points, or 0.7 per cent, to close at 3,379.150. Trading volume remained robust as 136,888 shares changed hands across 23 trades.
Leading the way forward were the shares of International Hotel Investments plc, which added 2c, or 2.5 per cent, to close at €0.820 in a single deal of 900 shares.
Bank of Valletta plc stock, meanwhile, continued to advance as it added 4c, or 1.5 per cent in its third consecutive day of gains. The shares of the local retail bank closed at €2.770 in 10 deals for a total of 6,421 shares.
Shares of Grand Harbour Marina managed to pull itself out of negative territory, where it traded for most of the session yesterday, to close up 1c3, or 0.7 per cent and end at €1.980 on volume of 15,290 shares across six deals.
Go plc also closed in positive territory, albeit marginally, by adding 0c1, or 0.1 per cent, to finish at €1.370 in five deals for a total of 114,000 shares.
Rounding out yesterday’s session was the equity of Maltapost plc, which traded in a single deal of 277 shares and closed unchanged at €1.020.
Investors continued to shy away from the corporate bond market yesterday with just 12 trades taking place across an equivalent of €57,148 nominal. Despite the day’s low volume, the 6.25% International Hotel Investment Plc € 2015-2019 bond added €5.000, or 5.4 per cent, to close at €98.000 in two deals across a total of €10,000 nominal.
Weekly UK economic review
The construction sector in the UK grew faster than expected in May, as a report released yesterday showed. The Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) headline construction figure came in at 54.0, from 53.3 in April, advancing faster than analysts’ expectations of 53.5. Despite the better-than-expected figure, economists worry that government spending cuts and fragile home prices remain likely to weigh on new home building and large-scale projects such as schools, hospitals and infrastructure.
British manufacturing activity, meanwhile, slowed in May as weaker domestic demand, particularly for consumer goods, and the slowest growth in export orders in eight months, witnessed the sector put the brakes on growth to its slowest pace in 20 months. The PMI headline figure for the sector registered at 52.1 last month versus the expectations of market participants of 54.1. Manufacturing, which accounts for approximately 13 per cent of UK economic output, had been one of the few success stories during a slow return to growth after a recession that ended late 2009.
Figures from mortgage lender, Nationwide, today showed house prices rose 0.3 per cent in May after a drop of 0.2 per cent in April, but remained 1.2 per cent below their level a year ago. Analysts believe that May’s modest pace of house growth suggests that the property market is continuing to mirror the lackluster performance of the overall economy. Britain’s economy has essentially stagnated since last September, with output contracting by 0.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2010 and rising by 0.5 per cent in the first three months of this year.