Trading activity during yesterday's session at the Malta Stock Exchange was sparse and sporadic with many investors seemingly happy to shun the markets ahead of the long holiday weekend.
The decline in International Hotel Investments share price, meant that the MSE Index closed the session in negative territory, down 0.38 per cent to 4,877 points.
Most of the day's activity was concentrated in Bank of Valletta, where 27,200 shares were swapped across 10 transactions.
The deals carried a market consideration of Lm98,068 and although initially the price was driven lower by selling activity, by the end of the session parity was restored with the equity terminating the day at Lm3.61,9. Bank of Valletta's full year period comes to an end on September 30, with results expected to be published four weeks later.
Two investors swapped 7,736 shares in International Hotel Investments at the €1.07 level. This represents a €0.027 or 2.5 per cent discount over Wednesday's closing price. Earlier this month as much as 178 million shares which were subscribed to by Istithmar Hotels FZE were listed on the exchange catapulting the company to the third largest position on the exchange.
Elsewhere, investors exchanged 4,400 shares of FIMBank across two transactions without affecting its previous closing level of $1.94. At the end of the day's trading session 2,529 shares were best bid at $1.75 while 16,258 shares remained outstanding on the offer side at $1.94. In the Alternative Company's List, a single transaction for 500 shares in Datatrak Holdings was executed at 17c which is the lowest level for the year.
In the fixed interest sector of the market, activity was spread across one single corporate bond, the 6.70 per cent AX Investments 2014/16 which gained 180 ticks to Lm102.00, and three government stocks. The most liquid was the five per cent MGS 2021, where 21,900 nominal was exchanged across four transactions with the price closing below par at Lm99.39.
The Exchange will be closed for business tomorrow and will reopen on Monday.
European stocks decline
Yesterday, European equity markets fell, giving back some of the previous session's gains, amid renewed concerns about the fallout from the credit crisis on the banking sector. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 fell 0.7 per cent, while in Frankfurt, the Xetra Dax slipped 0.4 per cent and in Paris, the CAC 40 lost 0.8 per cent.
London's two-day relief rally came to an abrupt end amid a fresh bout of selling in the banking sector. Northern Rock was again the day's biggest faller, down a further 18 per cent to 210p, on sustained talk that any rescue takeover bid for the troubled bank would be priced at 200p at the most. Other banks fell as the uncertainty in the sector continued. By late morning, the FTSE 100 was 0.5 per cent lower while the FTSE 250 lost 1.2 per cent.
Asian stocks climbed to a record high, extending gains after Tuesday's big US interest rate cut, while the dollar sank to an all-time low versus the euro ahead of testimony from the US Federal Reserve chief. US crude and gold retreated from fresh highs set overnight, but oil was still supported by supply concerns and gold remained underpinned by safe-haven bids.
The financial news was compiled by Valletta Fund Management (Tel. 8007 2344) and Bank of Valletta plc (Tel. 2131 2020). BOV and VFM are licensed by the MFSA to conduct investment services business.