Local equities closed yesterday's trading session at the Malta Stock Exchange with slim gains as investors deemed prices had moved high enough for the week.
HSBC Bank Malta was the day's only gainer and single-handedly supported the index from slim weaknesses elsewhere. During the final session of the week 9,400 shares were exchanged across 12 transactions with the price momentarily touching the Lm5 mark, only to close a tad lower at Lm4.99c9.
Bank of Valletta shares also tested for a brief moment the Lm5 level, but the thick supply side ensured that no headway was even attempted. In all, 4,605 shares were exchanged across seven trades, the last of which going through at the Lm4.99c8 level bringing about the slimmest of declines.
Lombard Bank, Maltacom and Malta International Airport shares traded without affecting their previous closing prices, while in the alternative Investment list, Datatrak Holdings shares saw plenty of volume but at the end of the day the price had declined by 2.8 per cent to close at Lm0.17c5.
Money seemed to be chasing long-term yields during the session as all three tranches of the five per cent MGS 2021 increased by a quarter to close at their all-time high of 104 per cent.
Wall Street lower as Fed hints at more rate rises
Wall Street stocks closed sharply lower as the Fed signalled Thursday's rate rise would not be its last, disappointing those who hoped the cycle of monetary tightening would be over. By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was almost one per cent down at 10,274.97, while the S&P 500 index lost 0.7 per cent to 1,191.33. The Nasdaq Composite index eased 0.6 per cent to 2,056.96.
European bourses were higher yesterday, shrugging off the effects of the previous session's Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting, as chemicals stocks were lifted by a broker upgrade.
The FTSE Eurofirst 300 turned around early losses to rise 0.2 per cent to 1,143.72 by midday. The Xetra Dax in Frankfurt added 0.5 per cent to 4,608.21, the Paris CAC-40 was up 0.4 per cent to 4,245.43.
London's equity market moved higher by mid-morning yesterday, shrugging aside a 100 point fall overnight on the Dow also after the Fed raised interest rates and because of the hint that monetary tightening was not yet complete. Following a shaky start to the day, the FTSE 100 rose 0.6 per cent at 5,144.5 while the mid-cap FTSE 250 also rose 0.6 per cent to 7,410.2 by mid morning.
Tokyo shares rose on Thursday, boosted by a better-than-expected reading in the Bank of Japan's quarterly Tankan survey of corporate sentiment.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index rose 46.12 points, or 0.40 per cent, to 11,630.13, and the broader Topix average was 4.60 points, or 0.39 per cent, higher at 1,181.80.