Trading activity for the mid-week session at the Malta Stock Exchange ended in a negative close, as the Index was pushed down by a further 2.3 per cent to terminate below the 3,000 level at the 2,968 mark. Nevertheless trading activity was spread over seven different listings with investors swapping a total of 27 deals.
International Hotel Investments was the session's worst performer as the equity declined by 6c6 or 6.9 per cent to terminate at €0.885.
Trading in the hotel proprietary and management company shares was spread over just two deals for a market consideration of just €885.
FIMBank and Malta International Airport also ended the session in the red as the equities declined by 0c2 of a dollar and 1c to terminate at $1.18 and €2.09 respectively. Investors in the former transacted a total of 2,880 shares over a single deal while in the latter investors swapped 2,012 shares over two deals.
In the banking sector HSBC Bank Malta led the list of losers during the session as the equity shed 4c or 1.6 per cent to terminate at €2.51. The financial services company was also the day's most actively traded equity as 7,985 shares were swapped over nine deals.
Bank of Valletta also ended in negative territory during the session as the equity shed a 2c or 0.8 per cent to terminate the session at €2.65. Despite trading at an intra-day low of €2.63, fresh buying activity pushed the price higher to close at its' present standing. Activity was spread over five deals and a market value of €10,911.
Go and Maltapost defied the session's negative sentiment as the equities' shares increased by 2c and a mere 0c1 to close the session at €1.80 and €0.651. Go was the session most liquid equity as investors exchanged 9,300 shares spread over five transactions, while activity in the postal operator was spread over three deals and a value of €4,228.
In the fixed interest sector of the market, activity was spread over seven government stocks and four corporate bonds. The best performer among the government securities was the 6.6% MGS 2019(I) which gained 183 ticks over a single deal to end the session at €115.94.
Weekly eurozone economic review
The economic data for the current week in the eurozone featured consumer and business confidence indicators in Germany, the largest economy in the 16-country member of the euro. Following an increase in signs that the economic slump may be bottoming out consumer's hopes that the economy may be stabilising have increased.
The forward-looking Gfk consumer sentiment indicator, which is based on a monthly survey of 2,000 Germans, rose to a reading of 2.9 in July from an upwardly revised reading of 2.6 in June, taking the headline index to its highest level since July 2008.
Some reasons for this increase was the robust state of the labour market and a slowdown in inflation. The positive sentiment of consumers was also reflected earlier in a buoyant business mood as the German ZEW business confidence index increased to a reading of 44.8 in June from 31.1 the previous month, which was the highest figure for three years.
Meanwhile, the Markit Eurozone Flash Services Purchasing Managers Index unexpectedly slipped to a reading of 44.5 in June from a reading of 44.8 in May. This was the first decline since February and still well below the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction.
The eurozone's unadjusted external trade surplus rose in April as exports showed signs of stabilising on a monthly basis and fell less than imports. The gap shrank to €300 million from March's €1.8 billion as exports fell only 1.3 per cent month on month and imports declined 2.7 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.