During yesterday's trading session at the Malta Stock Exchange, investors pushed the price of five equities higher through their purchases, while two other companies declined. With three further companies closing unchanged, the MSE Index settled for the day, 0.17 per cent higher at 4,504 points.
Simonds Farsons Cisk continued to attract demand following the publication of their full year results, last Friday.
The day's only trade in this equity consisted of 5,640 shares, carrying a market consideration of €15,397, which were swapped at the €2.73, its highest level since April 2005.
MaltaPost was the day's top gainer as two investors swapped a single chunk of 20,000 shares at the €0.78c5 level, this equates to a 3c5 or 4.7 per cent premium over its previous closing price.
In the banking sector, Bank of Valletta traded for the last time "cum-dividend", gaining 2c4 or 0.5 per cent to close at €5.20c9. The day's activity consisted of 13,990 shares which were exchanged across 14 trades. All investors holding shares at the end of the session will be entitled to receive a gross interim dividend of 13c5 per share.
HSBC Bank Malta on the contrary lost one cent to €4.18 on trading activity of 11,380 shares changing hands across 12 transactions. Lombard Bank Malta declined by the slimmest of margins to €3.24,9 on a total turnover of 8,400 shares, while FIMBank countered this trend rising slightly on low volume to close at $1.908.
Renewed buying activity in Malta International Airport saw investors scoop 17,256 shares off the offer side across seven transactions. In the process the equity gained 5c or 1.2 per cent to terminate at the €3.35 level.
Elsewhere in the market, trades struck in Middlesea Insurance, Plaza Centres and International Hotel Investments did not alter their previous closing prices of €3.41, €1.72 and €1.06c respectively.
Eurozone economic review - weekly round-up
The consumer confidence survey for the month of April remained unchanged, suggesting that the current state of the European consumer is in a much better position vis-à-vis its American and British counterparts. The European economy has a number of atypical macroeconomic conditions that are supporting the economy.
Unlike the UK and the US, the euro-zone does not suffer from major consumer sector imbalances. The eurozone household savings rate is above 10 per cent whereas the UK and US economy's savings rate are constantly flirting with dis-savings. Secondly, eurozone households' assets look in a far healthier position. Homeowners in the UK and US have already seen their average house prices drop. Finally, business surveys still point to a reasonably healthy employment growth which should continue to support income growth.
Meanwhile, European Central Bank's (ECB) President, Jean-Claude Trichet reaffirmed the ECB's neutral stance on rates at the bi-monthly Global Economy Meeting. Interviewed in a handful of Austrian newspapers, the ECB president sounded far from worried about weaker data in the euro area. Mr Trichet noted that in the first quarter "the economy is quite robust and in the first half of the year it will probably be reasonably resilient. At this stage we consider the IMF projection for the EU may be too pessimistic".
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.