Financial News
Psychological levels breached
Equities stumbled during yesterday's trading session with key psychological levels being breached in Bank of Valletta and HSBC Bank Malta. Even bonds declined giving purchasing investors a high return on their investments.
Maltacom shares were the day's biggest losers, falling by three or 2.2 per cent. Almost two-thirds of the 31,100 shares which traded were executed by a largish seller in the final seconds of the session, decapitating the price back to the Lm1.35 level.
BoV and HSBC shares declined in tandem by almost the same percentage terms. Activity in Bank of Valletta was higher with a total of 38,485 shares being exchanged across 17 trades. The Lm5 which held up well during the past few sessions was breached, with the price closing a disappointing 2c5 lower at Lm4.98.
A similar story, but on much lower volume, was experienced in HSBC shares which declined by 3c1 to close at Lm5.47.
The silver lining was Lombard Bank which was the only equity to close in positive territory and at a historical high. Furthermore small volume bids were placed at a higher level than the closing price of Lm5.70, indicating further appetite for the smallest amongst the local listed banks.
Middlesea Insurance shares declined by six cents or 1.9 per cent to close at Lm3.12 on small volume selling activity.
London falls for sixth straight session
After brief early gains, European stocks turned lower yesterday as the weight of falling oil prices hit the energy sector, and fears of slowing economic growth due to high fuel costs dented sentiment. By midday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.3 per cent to 1,182.95, while Frankfurt's Xetra Dax was 0.5 per cent lower at 4,845.61. In Paris, the CAC-40 shed 0.5 per cent to 4,418.47.
Overnight in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 0.4 per cent to 10,550.71 and the S&P 500 rose 0.1 per cent to 1,220.24 as investors shrugged off disappointing macro news as technology stocks did well. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was 0.4 per cent firmer at 2,145.15.
London equities declined for the sixth straight session yesterday as weakness in heavyweight oil stocks offset talk that Shire Pharmaceuticals had struck a deal over its hyperactivity medicine Adderall XR. The FTSE 100 was down 19.3 points at 5,272.5 at midday while the mid-cap FTSE 250 was off 8.1 points at 7,646.7.
The Nikkei stock average closed near a four-year closing high on Thursday, as shares benefited from lower oil prices and strong buying by foreigners. The Nikkei 225 ended trading up 0.3 per cent at 12,307.37. The Topix rose 0.2 per cent to 1,252.94.