The Malta Stock Exchange Index fell a marginal two points on Tuesday, in a relatively quiet trading session, as 65,477 shares changed hands across 45 deals.
The sole gainer on the day was the stock of Maltapost plc, which added two cents, or two per cent, to close at €1.020 on volume of 8,997 shares across five deals.
Finishing in negative territory were the shares of Malta International Airport plc, which fell three cents, or 1.6 per cent, to finish at €1.800 in a single deal of 1,000 shares.
Other shares to trade in the session were Bank of Valletta plc, HSBC Bank Malta plc, and Lombard Bank plc, all of which closed unchanged in the session. BOV closed at €3.110, HSBC closed at €3.500 while Lombard finished at €2.960 on volume of 36,481 shares, 9,499 shares and 9,500, respectively.
Trading in the corporate bond market continued to slide lower yesterday as five of the eight issues to trade closed lower while a single bond ended higher. Trading volume was relatively light as €133,000 nominal across 19 trades were dealt.
The 4.6 per cent HSBC Bank Malta plc € 2017 issue suffered the day’s biggest loss, dropping €0.50, or 0.5 per cent, to close at €102.50, in two trades for a total of €10,000 nominal. The sole gainer was the six per cent Gasan Finance Company plc € 2014-2016 bond which managed to climb €0.27, or 0.3 per cent, to close at €102.270, in a single deal of €7,100 nominal.
On Monday, the corporate bond market was also lower as five of the ten bonds to trade in the session closed lower while two ended higher.
Weekly US economic review
In the United States, we had the publication of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figure. The economy returned to an above-average 3.2 per cent growth in the fourth quarter of last year, following the weakness in mid-2010. Private consumption and net exports were the main drivers. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve (Fed) left interest rates on hold in the 0-0.25 per cent range, in line with expectations. In contrast to 2010 meetings, there was a unanimous vote. The Fed was slightly more optimistic about the economic outlook, but still stated that growth was insufficient to lower unemployment. The overall tone of the Fed statement was generally dovish, with Interest rates expected to be maintained at very low levels for an extended period.
Elsewhere, the number of orders for total durable goods fell 2.5 per cent in December, much worse than the 1.5 per cent increase which was expected.
However, this was mainly dragged down by declines in aircraft orders. In fact, capital orders excluding non-defense aircraft rose by larger than estimated 1.4 per cent in December, over the previous month, when they increased by 3.1 per cent.
On a positive note, an index measuring consumer confidence fell less than initially forecasted during January. The University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment for December decreased to a reading of 74.2 in January, from 74.5 the previous month. This is higher than the preliminary figure of 72.7 and may signal that consumer spending, the largest contributor to economic growth may continue to extend gains from the last period of 2010.
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.