At a meeting this weekend, the Group of Seven finance chiefs pledged to restore confidence to financial markets and growth to the world economy as global equity markets suffered a steep sell-off during the week as major equity indices lost from two to five per cent.

As European markets tried to recover from a bad week, data revealed that Eurozone Gross Domestic Product fell by 1.5% in the fourth quarter last year, led by a dramatic deterioration in Germany. The Xetra Dax in Frankfurt and the CAC 40 in Paris fell 4.97 and four per cent respectively this week, although on Friday they both ended the day in positive territory.

The FTSE 100 index in London fell by 2.35% this week as the banking sector dragged the index down, as Lloyds Banking Group warned that its recently acquired Halifax Bank of Scotland suffered a £10bn loss in 2008.

In the US, the proposed $787bn stimulus package, which was approved by the Congress and Senate late on Friday, did little to help the equity indices, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 5.2 per cent.

The Malta Stock Exchange (MSE) index closed at 2,969.834 points, a drop of 2.53%. During the week, 11 equities were negotiated, with one closing in positive territory, eight closing in negative territory and two remaining stable. Fimbank plc was the best performer of the week as its share price appreciated 1.70%, closing at $1.495. On the other hand, HSBC Bank Malta plc lost most ground with its share price dropping by 5.81% to close at €2.45.

During the week, 268 deals were registered on the stock exchange for a turnover of over €5.18m. In the equity market, 128 transactions were carried out for a total of €507,293. In the corporate bond market, 81 transactions for a total of €863,924 were executed, while in the government bond market 42 transactions worth a total of €1.14m were carried out. Sixteen transactions took place in the Treasury Bills market for a value of over €2.67m.

On Monday, the Central Bank of Malta Stockbroker (CBMS) slightly revised its Malta Government Stock (MGS) bid prices with only two government stocks active during the day. On Wednesday, MGS bid prices were raised as Eurozone yields dropped to 3.30%. On Thursday, the CBMS continued to raise MGS bid prices as Eurozone yields dropped sharply to 3.15%. This led to a good week for government bonds, with only one bond being traded and ending the week at a lower price than the previous week. The best performer was the MGS 4.8% 2016 II, which appreciated by 2.01%.

Bank of Valletta plc (BoV)'s share price fell to €2.44 this week, a five-year low. On Monday, the price fell 1.60% to €2.46. Following Tuesday's public holiday, the share price recovered some of its losses on Wednesday, increasing by 0.85% to €2.481. On Thursday, BoV was the most active equity as 16 deals were executed for a total volume of 33,106 shares, but this led to a drop in price of 1.25%. BoV was the only equity which changed in value on Friday as its share price fell by 0.41% to €2.44, thus falling 2.40% on the week, with 62,496 shares changing hands.

HSBC Bank Malta plc (HSBC)'s share price fell 3.88% on Monday to a new 49-month low of €2.50. However, the equity gained some territory on Wednesday as its share price increased by 1.20% to €2.53. On Thursday, HSBC lost most territory among the traded equities as its share price dropped 3.16%. In total, 47,940 HSBC shares were traded this week in 44 transactions, as shareholders await the publication on Friday of the bank's 2008 full-year results.

Lombard Bank Malta plc also had a negative week as the share price fell by 1.89%. On Monday, it lost 3.77% to reach €2.55, its lowest price in three years. However, on Wednesday Lombard was the best performer as its share price gained 1.96% to close at €2.60. The total volume traded over the week was only 11,100 shares.

On Monday, Fimbank plc was the only positive performer as its share price increased by 2.04% to $1.50 on a single deal of just 1,267 shares. However, the share price slipped marginally by 0.33% to $1.495 on Thursday when 20,900 shares were negotiated across four deals. A single deal on Friday left the share price unchanged.

Datatrak Holdings plc shares were traded for the first time this year when 2,000 shares changed hands in two deals on Monday; however, the share price remained stable at €0.19.

On Monday the share price of Go plc dropped by 2.80% to an all-time low of €1.70 as 20,700 shares were negotiated across 10 deals.

Plaza Centres plc lost most territory on Monday as its share price fell 4.76% to €1.60 on a single deal of 1,000 shares. On Thursday, Plaza was the only positive performer of the day as its shares jumped five per cent to €1.68. A total of 26,800 shares were traded this week with the price remaining unchanged.

The share price of Malta International Airport plc (MIA) dropped 1.96% to €2.45 on a single deal of 5,000 shares negotiated on Wednesday. This was in reaction to January's traffic results which showed an 11.8% decline in passenger movements compared to the same month last year.

On Thursday, MIA announced it will be issuing its 2008 results on March 12. The company's share price dropped a further 0.86% to €2.429 as 30,000 shares changed hands across four deals.

During this week, 35,000 shares were traded across five transactions leading to a drop of 2.80% in the share price.

A single deal of just 1,000 shares left Maltapost plc the worst performer on Wednesday as its share price fell sharply by 3.66% to €0.79. The postal operator is expected to hold its annual general meeting on Tuesday.

RS2 Software plc was active for the second time this year as 10,000 shares were negotiated across three deals on Thursday. Its share price dropped by 1.25% to €0.789.

Simonds Farsons Cisk plc was also active on Thursday when a mere 200 shares were negotiated in two deals, leading to its share price falling fractionally by 0.05% to €1.90.

This article, which was compiled by Jesmond Mizzi Financial Services Limited (JMFS), does not intend to give investment advice and the contents therein should not be construed as such. JMFS is licensed to conduct investment services by the MFSA. The directors or related parties, including the company, and their clients are likely to have an interest in securities mentioned in this article. For further information contact JMFS at 67/3, South Street, Valletta, or on Tel: 2122 4410 or e-mail jmizzi@jmfs.net.