Financial News

When the Malta Stock Exchange reopened its doors for yesterday's trading session, robust transactions were negotiated by investors in the four largest capitalised companies.

Malta International Airport was the most voluminously traded equity of the day with a staggering 118,875 shares being exchanged across 18 transactions. All the Lm181,859 worth of shares were transacted at the Lm1.53,1 level, thereby keeping Friday's closing price unchanged.

Bank of Valletta was the stalwart in the banking sector for volume, number of trades and the movement in its closing price. During the session, a grand total of 20,335 shares were transacted across 39 trades, with the bulk of the dealings going through at the Lm6.90 level.

The final trade of the session saw the remainder 24 shares of a partially filled order being executed "at market" which resulted in the closing price being pushed higher by 5c to close at a misleading Lm6.95.

HSBC Bank Malta gained a penny on sustained buying activity which was constantly met by a steady flow of supply. A total of 10,337 shares were exchanged during the session all at the Lm7.13 level. At the end of the day the best bid was for 375 shares at Lm7.10 while nine shares remained offered at Lm7.13.

Maltacom shares quivered slightly, temporarily trading in positive territory. The day's turnover amounted to 8,840 shares which were struck across nine deals leaving the closing price unchanged at Lm1.72,5.

Bourses ease as investors mull bid implications

Higher crude prices weighed on Wall Street during early trading yesterday, with the three main indices trading in negative territory amid concern that the higher energy costs would put a damper on holiday spending. News that a snowstorm would hit the US northeast - the world's largest heating fuel market - pushed oil prices back above $60 a barrel, with demand for natural gas also on the rise.

European bourses eased yesterday as investors considered the implications of an NTL takeover of Virgin Mobile on its broadcast and telecom competitors. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 fell 0.2 per cent to 1,262 with the Xetra Dax in Frankfurt down 0.3 per cent to 5,294.2, the French CAC 40 traded 0.2 per cent lower at 4,654.1.

London equity markets slipped yesterday as news of a bid approach for Virgin Mobile knocked the rest of the telecoms and media sectors. Virgin Mobile, 72 per cent controlled by Sir Richard Branson, gained 7.1 per cent to 333p after it confirmed it had received a takeover approach from NTL Corporation, the cable TV group that recently bought rival TeleWest. NTL is understood to have offered 232p a share, or £817m.

Japanese stocks rose yesterday, with the machinery and steel sector boosted in particular by a government survey showing higher corporate spending on plant and equipment. The Nikkei 225 stock average closed 0.8 per cent up at 15,551.31. The Topix rose 0.9 per cent to 1,597.57.