The Malta Stock Exchange continued its sluggish drift yesterday as investors saw it fit to stay on the sidelines. The index lost just over two points, or less than 0.1 per cent, in relatively light volume to close at 3567.773 points.
Lombard Bank Malta plc witnessed the days biggest losses as shares in the local retail bank dropped 10c, or 3.2 per cent, in three trades of 2,320 shares.
Other banking shares such as Bank of Valletta plc gained 0c1 to close at €3.261 in 11 trades of 10,440 shares while HSBC Bank Malta plc closed unchanged at €3.28 in uncharacteristically low volume of a single trade of 224 shares.
Staying within the financial services sector, Middlesea Insurance plc gained 1c, or 1.4 per cent to close at €0.73 in a single trade of 4,000 shares.
The local telecom provider, Go plc, gave back some of the gains it witnessed on Tuesday as its shares lost 0c6, or 0.3 per cent yesterday to close at €2.184 in a single trade of 2,000 shares.
Grand Harbour Marina plc made considerable gains yesterday as the marina operator's shares closed up 5c, or 2.6 per cent, in a single trade of 5,000 shares.
Meanwhile, International Hotel Investments plc gained 0c1 to close at €0.801 on volume of 4,187 shares in three trades. MaltaPost plc took a breather yesterday from the heavy volume its shares have witnessed over the last few sessions and closed unchanged at €0.75 on a single trade of 1,400 shares.
Weekly eurozone economic review
In the eurozone, the Ifo business climate for industry and trade showed an unexpectedly large jump in March to a reading of 98.1 from 95.2 the previous month. This was confirmed by the Purchasing Managers' Indices (PMI) which recorded a jump during March.
In fact, manufacturing in Germany grew at the fastest rate in the ten years, while the French industry expanded at the biggest rate in more than three years. The PMI Manufacturing Index for the euro area increased to a reading of 56.3 from 54.2 the previous month.
Meanwhile, the PMI Service, which is made up of surveys of around 2,000 businesses ranging from banks to hotels, grew to a reading of 53.7 from a reading of 51.8 in February. On a negative note, Industrial New Orders for the 16-nation bloc recorded a fall of two per cent for the month of January compared to an increase of 0.8 per cent the previous month. This fall was mainly due to a large drop in capital goods which may highlight the fragility of an economic recovery. Meanwhile, European construction output also fell by 2.2 per cent in January, from a downwardly revised one per cent decline recorded in December. This was the largest decline since December 2008.
Elsewhere, the eurozone's current account balance recorded a deficit of €8.1 billion in January. This compares to an upwardly revised surplus of €2.3 billion recorded in December. Finally, comments from Germany's government and finance ninister showed that they may agree on an IMF involvement in the solution of the Greek crises.
This view is also supported by Italy, the Netherlands and Finland, while Spain is thought to prefer a European solution. This highlights the uncertainties that remain about the form and timing of any Greek bail-out.
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.