The Malta Stock Exchange Index fell just over five points, or 0.2 per cent yesterday, to close at 3,390.068 points, in moderate volume of 71,560 shares across 35 trades.
Banking shares continued to finish mixed, as shares in HSBC Bank Malta plc were off by 3c5, or 1.2 per cent, to close at €2.82 in nine trades for a total of 7,855 shares. Bank of Valletta plc shares, meanwhile, finished 2c, or 0.6 per cent higher, to end the session at €3.26 on volume of 11,093 shares across eleven trades.
Lombard Bank Malta plc shares fell marginally, dropping 0c1, in light volume of 5,064 shares across three deals to finish at €2.739. Earlier in the session Lombard’s stock was down by as much as 4c, but the shares managed to regain most of the losses in the closing moments.
Also in the banking sector, FIMBank plc shares were active in yesterday’s session, yet closed unchanged at €0.99, in two trades for a total of 10,000 shares.
Also trading yesterday was Malta International Airport (MIA) stock, which closed 2c higher, to close at €1.52 on volume of 6,700 shares across four trades. After the close of trading, MIA announced its passenger movements for the month of September. The airport operator stated that passenger movements had reached 373,610, a record number for the company, and represented a 15.4 per cent increase when compared with September 2009.
Other shares to trade in the day were Maltapost plc, Medserv plc and Plaza centres plc, yet all closed unchanged from their previous closing prices.
The week ahead - Economic indicators for week starting October 4
In the United States, after the release of new factor orders and pending home sales yesterday, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) index for the services sector for the month of August will be released today.
This is expected to have edged up following the almost three-point decline the previous month. The most important awaited indicator this week will be the employment report due out on Friday. This is expected to reflect continued weak conditions in the labour market in September, despite better than expected results than those registered in August. The rise in employment is likely to come exclusively from the private service sector, as the manufacturing sector has essentially not created any new jobs in net terms recently, while the jobs related to the census have also been phased out in September. As a result, the unemployment rate is expected to have increased by 0.1 percentage points to 9.7 per cent in September.
In the eurozone, the governing council at the European Central Bank is expected to keep rates at one per cent on Friday.
In the meantime, the composite Purchasing Managers Index and those for the service sector is expected to be confirmed at 53.8 and 53.6 respectively, while the final reading of economic growth in the second quarter of this year is also expected to be confirmed at one per cent.
In the United Kingdom, the most important data release will be industrial production figures on Thursday, which is expected to keep on registering a rise during August. Meanwhile, fresh quantitative easing is set to be on the agenda of Thursday’s Bank of England meeting, as one member of the MPC has indicated a need to expand asset purchases.
However, the committee is expected to remain on hold with easing and with interest rates at 0.5 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.