The Malta Stock Exchange index shed a mere than four points, or 0.1 per cent on Thursday as trading volumes reverted back to light levels. Traders dealt 76,254 shares across 26 deals to see the index close at the 3,484.270 level.
Shares of Malta International Airport plc rose 3c, or 1.7 per cent, to become the day’s top performer, and closed at €1.760 in five deals for a total of 7,371 shares.
Suffering the day’s biggest loss were the shares of Global Capital plc, which plummeted 50c2, or 33.5 per cent, to end at €0.998 in light volume of 2,980 shares across six deals.
In the banking sector, Lombard Bank Malta plc added 1c5, or 0.5 per cent, to close out the session at €3.075 in 14 deals for a total of 61,903 shares. Also in banking, HSBC Bank Malta plc stock closed unchanged at €2.900 in a single deal of 4,000 shares.
Investors stayed mainly on the sidelines in the corporate bond market yesterday, as an equivalent of €57,209 nominal across nine deals were executed.
Trading finished mixed as three of the six issues to trade closed higher while the remainder ended lower. The 6.3% Int. Hotel Investments Plc 2013 bond rose €3.000, or 3.3 per cent, to close at €93.000 in a single trade of €5,000 nominal, while the 7% MIDI plc GBP 2016-2018 issue ended £2.000, or 1.9 per cent lower, to end the day at £103.000 in a single trade of £5,500 nominal.
On Wednesday, €93,995 nominal of corporate bond issues were traded.
Weekly UK economic review
In Wednesday’s Budget announcement, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, surprised markets with a greater than expected fall in corporate tax, cutting it by two per cent rather than the one per cent anticipated by analysts.
The Budget also contained higher personal allowances and reductions in petrol duty. Slightly offsetting the benefits the UK banks may experience from a lower corporate tax rate is the increased bank levy which rises from 0.075 per cent, to 0.078 per cent, due in January 2012.
Also included in the budget were an increase in the supplementary tax rate applied to North Sea oil and gas profits when the price of oil is above $75 per barrel, and a setting of the carbon dioxide emission floor to £16 per tonne from 2013 rising to £30 per tonne by 2020.
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee remained divided on whether to raise interest rates this month and appeared no closer to tightening policy than they were in February.
Minutes to the BOE’s March 9-10 policy meeting suggested the medium term outlook had not changed, although risks to inflation and growth had both risen as a result of soaring oil prices.
The central bank said there was a “significant risk” inflation could exceed five per cent in the coming months. However, it also noted that consumer spending had “deteriorated sharply” and it was too early to tell how strongly the economy was recovering after a surprise contraction at the end of last year.
This article has been prepared by Bank of Valletta plc (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.