The Malta Stock Exchange Index gained just over 10 points yesterday as investors continued to be active in the equity market.Trading activity was firm with 94,130 shares being traded across 26 deals.
In the banking sector, HSBC Bank Malta plc gained four cents, or 1.4 per cent, in weak volume of 6,599 shares across four deals, to settle at €2.960.
Bank of Valletta plc, meanwhile, closed unchanged at €2.895 after trading much of the session 0c2 lower. Trading was moderately light as 13,067 shares changed hands in a total of ten deals.
Also in the financial services industry, Middlesea Insurance plc shares suffered the day’s biggest loss, dropping 3c3, or 3.7 per cent, to close at €0.857 in two trades for a total of 17,058 shares.
Also closing lower were the shares of the local airport operator Malta International Airport plc, which shed a marginal 0c1, or less than 0.1 per cent, to finish the session at €1.699 in a single deal of 7,000 shares.
Stock of Simonds Farsons Cisk plc continued to be active yesterday as another 10,970 shares were traded across three deals. The food and beverage distributor’s shares closed unchanged though, ending the session at €1.800. On Monday, Farsons’ shares gained 10c, or 5.9 per cent, on volume of 10,000 shares.
Also trading during the day were the shares of Go plc, which ended unchanged at €1.400 in four deals for a total of 13,936 shares.
Finally, RS2 Software plc witnessed a robust 25,500 shares across two deals traded during the session, yet also closed unchanged at €0.519.
Weekly US economic review
Last week the ratings agency, Standard and Poor (S&P), affirmed its AAA sovereign rating on US debt, but revised its long-term outlook to negative from stable as concerns over the US policymakers’ inability to come to an agreement on the nation’s debt ceiling placed its current rating at increased risk for future downgrade. Although S&P’s concerns were widely known throughout the markets, the public announcement still took market participants by surprise as markets sold-off early on the day of the announcement but recovered somewhat later in the session.
Meanwhile, the pace of factory activity in the US mid-Atlantic region fell far more than expected in April, after expanding at its fastest pace in 27 years in March. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank report that was issued said its business activity index fell to 18.5 for the month versus 43.4 the month before. Analysts had expected the economic indicator to come in at 36.9.
New US home sales rose higher than expected in March while the number of new properties on the market was at its lowest since the 1960’s. Single-family home sales rose 11.1 per cent for March, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 300,000, up from a near record pace of 270,000 in February when inclement weather hit economic activity. Analysts had expected the figure to register an increase of 280,000 units for the month. The market for new homes is facing competition from previously used homes and a glut of foreclosed properties, despite the inventories of new properties falling to 183,000 units for March, the lowest level since August 1967.
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.