Financial News

The focus on equities continued during yesterday's trading session at the Malta Stock Exchange with investors busily trading a total of nine local companies.

Bank of Valletta remained the most heavily traded equity, with the day's activity totalling Lm446,636 in value. Buyers were the dominant force in the market as the price climbed 4c8 or 0.7 per cent to close the day at Lm6.59c8.

Buying activity in HSBC Bank Malta shares remained sustained with 4,230 shares being purchased across 15 trades.

The price closed at Lm6.64c, just a penny below its intra-day record high.

Activity picked up nicely in Lombard Bank shares notwithstanding the fact that the price is also at its highest level. During the session a total of 1,503 shares were struck across six deals with the price closing at Lm7.10.

The day's top gainer was Malta International Airport which literally flew in the face of an unprecedented supply shortage, as a few retail investors were willing to purchase shares at a 20c premium to the government's recent offer price.

Maltacom gained further ground as investors who shunned the equity in the past are now returning to the market. The day's activity saw a grand total of 41,870 shares being exchanged across 31 trades with the price gaining 7c or 4.2 per cent to close at the Lm1.72 level.

International Hotel Investments was the most voluminously traded equity, with 80,010 shares being exchanged across 10 transactions. The price declined slightly to close the session at €0.83.

IEA warns of 50 per cent oil price rise by 2030

European equity markets were higher yesterday led by technology stocks following a strong session on the US Nasdaq, which gained 1.4 per cent to 2,144.31 in spite of disappointing guidance and sales from Symantec and Sun Microsystems, while Euroepean earnings season continued to produce some pleasant surprises.

By midday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.7 per cent to 1,213.33, while Frankfurt's Xetra Dax gained 0.5 per cent to 4,977.75. In Paris, the CAC 40 was 0.9 per cent higher at 4,469.36 and London's FTSE 100 climbed 0.8 per cent to 5,398. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.6 per cent to 10,472.73.

The European Central Bank kept eurozone interest rates unchanged at two per cent for the 29th consecutive month, as expected, but the market was continuing to price in a first-rate hike by the end of the year and further monetary tightening was forecast in 2006.

The International Energy Agency, the oil sector monitoring body, said that by 2030 oil prices would be 50 per cent higher than today if Saudi Arabia did not muster the political will to invest billions of dollars in new production. Fatih Birol, the group's chief economist, said in an interview with the Financial Times that Saudi Arabia, the most important oil producer, might not make the investment needed to ensure production met the strong demand growth in China and India.