A sharp drop in Bank of Valletta shares weighed heavily on the MSE Index which shed 3.4 per cent to close yesterday's session at 3,732 points, its lowest reading in exactly three years.

Following two sessions of inactivity in Bank of Valletta shares, the Malta Stock Exchange lifted the trade-ranges for yesterday's session. On a turnover of just 15,048 shares across 25 trades, the share price declined by 80c1, equivalent to 17.4 per cent. The equity commenced trading at €4.00 and drifted to an intra-day four-year low of €3.75 before buying interest lifted the share price to €3.799. International Hotel Investments gained 0c5 or 0.5 per cent as 2,895 shares were sold across three transactions.

A single transaction for 29,881 shares was executed in Middlesea Insurance at €3.00 which represents a 5c or 1.6 per cent discount to its previous traded price, while similarly 763 shares in Lombard Bank Malta were swapped across two transactions with the equity losing 1c4 or 0.5 per cent to terminate at €3.06. Elsewhere in the market, HSBC Bank Malta closed the day unchanged at €3.20 as 2,884 shares were transacted across six transactions.

Prior to the market opening, Go announced that Forgendo Ltd, its joint venture with Emirates International Telecommunications (Malta) Ltd, had acquired a further 125,000 shares in Forthnet SA issued share capital for a total consideration of €269,450.

International market report - weekly round-up

Global equities fell sharply as uncertainty about the financial sector outlook intensified and the US oil price dropped sharply below $100 a barrel amid heightened concerns about economic growth.

Wall Street financial markets endured another difficult week as financial markets shivered over the dramatic collapse of Lehman Brothers. The news that Bank of America was buying Merrill Lynch along with American Investment Group's appeal for aid which was financed through a $85 billion credit line +by the Federal Reserve sent shockwaves through financial markets, triggering a wave of investor risk aversion. In an effort to stabilise the market, the Federal Reserve broadened its eligible collateral pool to include stocks while 10 banks created a $70 billion liquidity fund. Despite the effort, Wall Street main indices closed the week in the red.

European shares tumbled to a three year low during the week under review as a sharp drop in profit at Goldman Sachs fuelled the continuing sell-off in financial stocks. Early yesterday morning Lloyds TSB group agreed to acquire UK prime mortgage lender HBOS for about GBP12.2 billion to create a lender that controls more than a quarter of the British mortgage market. The FTSE 100 lost more than eight per cent this week whilst French investment bank Natixis led the rout in the French banking stocks. The Xetra Dax index lost 5.13 per cent whilst the CAC 40 in Paris slid by 6.35 per cent to close at the 4,000.11 level.

Renewed uncertainty about the outlook for the global financial sector unsettled Asian investors. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong fell by 9.06 per cent whilst in Tokyo the Nikkei 225 shed 5.07 per cent.

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.