Equities declined slightly during yesterday's trade at the Malta Stock Exchange as investor appetite for stock was fully satisfied during the previous session.
Investors booked profits on HSBC Bank Malta, following its spectacular run over the past two sessions. Trades were struck between Lm5.75c and Lm5.80c, with the equity closing at the lower end. Bank of Valletta shares followed a similar pattern, although last minute buying activity helped soften the drop to a mere 1c8 or 0.3 per cent. Trading consisted in 5,105 shares where changed hands across 11 transactions. FIM Bank traded in uncharacteristic retail amounts with a mere 1,000 shares changing hands at the $1.229 level. A single trade in Lombard ensured activity in all banking sector stocks. Here, 1,036 shares were exchanged with the price dropping a penny to close at Lm5.64c.
Maltacom shares bucked the trend to close 0.7 per cent higher at Lm1.38c. Activity was relatively brisk, with 12,597 shares traded across nine trades, and volatility was high. During the session, the share price moved by almost three per cent touching a low of Lm1.35 and a intra-day high of Lm1.39. Elsewhere, the market was dominated by single trade transactions which brought no change to the closing prices of Global Financial Services Group and International Hotel Investments, although Plaza Centres suffered slightly to close at Lm0.60c2.
Earnings boost European stocks to three-year high
Yesterday shares in Europe hit a three-year high helped by gains in the telecoms sector and strong earnings as the corporate results season got into full swing. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 0.3 per cent to 1,173.6 by midday, having hit a three-year peak of 1,174.86 earlier in the session. London's FTSE 100 rose 0.2 per cent to 5,264.9, France's CAC-40 put on 0.3 per cent to 4,434.10 and Germany's Xetra Dax edged 0.1 per cent higher to 4,845.71.
In Europe, the telecoms sector continued its recent gains after France Telecom announced it would buy 80 per cent of Amena, Spain's third-largest mobile operator. The €6.4 billion acquisition represents the French telecoms operator's largest foreign foray for more than four years and fanned expectations of an increase in takeover activity in the sector as a whole. France Telecom gained 1.8 per cent to €24.82.
On Tuesday on Wall Street, there were gains for the majority of stocks, with the Nasdaq Composite Index rising 0.4 per cent to 2,175.99 and the S&P 500 gaining 0.2 per cent to 1,231.16. However, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average lost ground after disappointing figures from DuPont, falling 0.2 per cent to 10,579.77. Tokyo shares climbed to their 15-week closing high yesterday, buoyed by a further fall in the yen against the dollar. The Nikkei rose 0.8 per cent to 11,835.08. The Topix also climbed 0.8 per cent to 1,198.97.