Trading for yesterday's session at the Malta Stock Exchange ended on a positive note as the index gained 1.85 per cent to close at 2,917.11 points. Activity in the equity market was relatively wide spread with nine different equities trading on the day.
HSBC Bank Malta was the day's most liquid and actively traded equity when 27,000 shares were swapped over 19 deals for a market consideration of €66,550. The listing was also the only gainer in the banking sector as its shares rose by four cents or 1.63 per cent to close at €2.49.
FIMBank depreciated by 0.85 per cent to end the session at $1.29. Activity for the trade finance specialist was relatively subdued and spread over just two deals with an aggregate value of $2,792.
Lombard Bank Malta was the only non-mover during the session as the banking equity closed unchanged at €2.70 albeit on very low volume.
International Hotel Investments and GlobalCapital were the best performers during the session with the former climbing by 4c9 or 5.58 per cent over 10,969 shares to close at €0.89 and the latter rising exponentially by 50c to close at €1.50 backed by low trading volume as only 834 shares spread over five trades were executed.
Go and Malta International Airport ended both in positive territory as their shares rose in value by 1c9 and 0c1 to terminate the session at €1.70 or €2 respectively.
Maltapost was also active for the day as the postal operator shed 2.78 per cent to close at €0.70.
International market report - weekly round-up
International equity markets rallied on conflicting speculation about the results of the stress tests for US banks. After initial fears for the need of significant further capital, the US Treasury Secretary reassured markets that the US banking system is able to withstand whatever stresses the recession may inflict once a handful of institutions add their capital base.
Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo have been mentioned amongst the banks that need further capital, while Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase look to be well capitalized and hinted to the probability of returning the TARP money from government in the immediate future. The reassuring tone of Geithner saw US equity markets gain momentum with the S&P 500 heading the gainers list to surge by 5.25 per cent followed by the Dow Jones Industrials which rose by almost four per cent while Nasdaq rose by 2.75 per cent.
On the other side of the Atlantic, equity markets mirrored their U.S. counterparts. The French CAC-40 posted the most notable increase as it climbed by 5.34 per cent followed by London's FSTE 100 which closed with a five per cent gain while Frankfurt's Xetra Dax appreciated by 3.74 per cent.
Asian markets outperformed most global equity markets, as investors' risk appetite increased. The Hang Seng index shot up by 10.39 per cent followed by a strong performance in the Nikkei as the Japanese main index rose by 6.31 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.