Financial News

Activity remained solid during yesterday's trading session at the Malta Stock Exchange with more than Lm350,000 worth of shares changing hands across a wide variety of equities.

HSBC Bank Malta was the day's most voluminously traded equity with 28,194 shares being exchanged across 29 transactions. The equity wobbled slightly within a fairly tight range but ended the day without movement at Lm6.22.

Bank of Valletta shares traded close to its record high although the equity was hit slightly by a reasonable amount of profit-taking. During the session a grand total of 16,088 shares were exchanged across 19 trades, with the price closing at the lowest level of the day at Lm5.63,5. The entire day's trade in FIMBank amounted to just 6,183 shares which were purchased off lower offers than the previous closing price. This mean that the equity terminated the session 0.22 per cent lower at $1.846.

The day's top gainer was International Hotel Investments which gained five per cent as two investors agreed to exchange 14,172 shares at the 73c5 euro level. On the contrary, Plaza Centres dropped the most as 63,627 shares were exchanged across six transactions, all at the 60c level.

Malta International Airport shares continued advancing as investors in the open market continued to bid at a slim premium to the governments offering price of Lm1.40. While Maltacom shares declined 1c9 or 1.2 per cent as 17,445 shares were struck across 13 deals.

Stream of corporate news expected from the US

Wall Street stocks were slightly higher yesterday amid the stream of corporate news, as the momentum of the market remained bearish. Many analysts expect the third-quarter results season to yield double-digit earnings growth for the 14th consecutive quarter. However, some market watchers have pointed to the fact that Corporate America's recent results look less impressive if they are stripped of the energy sector's performance. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.5 to 10,294.31 while the broader S&P 500 index added 0.5 per cent to 1,192.73. The Nasdaq Composite put on 0.3 per cent to 2,084.62.

European markets moved also higher as oil prices remained steady and thanks to winning results from Marks and Spencer and Roche's Genentech unit. By mid-afternoon, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.5 per cent to 1,216.19, while Frankfurt's Xetra Dax added 0.6 per cent to 5,051.45. In Paris, the CAC 40 gained 0.5 per cent to 4,558.81 and London's FTSE 100 climbed 0.5 per cent to 5,399.1.

Roche made the early running after Genentech, its US biotechnology unit, said its net profit rose a better-than-expected 56 per cent, boosted by sales of cancer drugs. This prompted the company to raise its estimates of full-year earnings to a 50 per cent increase, compared with its previous 35 per cent forecast. Shares were 2.4 per cent higher at 188.40 Swiss francs.

Japan's Nikkei 225 stock index jumped at its fastest pace in a year yesterday, responding to extremely strong figures for machinery orders. The Nikkei 225 gained 2.5 per cent to reach 13,556.71. The Topix finished the day up 2.4 per cent to 1,405.99.