Further gains for equities

The MSE index closed the week at a historical high of 4,093 points as investors threw caution to the wind and channelled more funds into equities, most of which are trading close to record levels.

Bank of Valletta was the day's most active equity as a grand total of 30,330 shares for a market consideration of Lm174,384 were exchanged across 24 transactions at the Lm5.75c level.

HSBC Bank Malta gained a penny on sustained buying activity. The day's turnover was for 16,797 shares exchanged across 17 trades, with the price ending at a very respectable Lm6.46c.

Sudden demand for Lombard Bank saw offers at lower levels than the previous closing price being cleared with buyers placing orders no higher than the Lm7 level. The only banking equity to register a decline was FIMBank where 12,000 shares were swapped between two investors at the $1.84 level which represents a 0.3 per cent discount to its previous price.

International Hotel Investments capped off a very positive week with a 6.25 per cent gains on strong volume.

It seems like Maltacom shareholders completely ignored the declaration of a 2c net interim dividend, as sellers outweighed buyers in the market, forcing a 1c drop to the Lm1.57c level. A similar monetary decline was registered by Malta International Airport which closed the day at Lm1.40c.

Simonds Farsons Cisk lost a further 2.3 per cent as investors continued to offload shares following the somewhat disappointing interim results.

Bourses higher as Wall St starts firmly

Futures pointed to a higher open for Wall Street stocks after General electric reported strong profit growth. Less than an hour before the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 18 points at 10,234 as the S&P 500 index contracts rose 1.6 points to 1,179.70, or 0.25 points below fair value, which takes into account interest rates, dividends and the time left until the expiration of the contract. The Nasdaq 100 contract was up eight points at 1,544, or 1.07 points above fair value.

European stock markets traded cautiously yesterday ahead of a glut of US data later in the session, including inflation figures, industrial production and Michigan University's measure of consumer confidence. By midday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.2 per cent to 1,190.72, while Frankfurt's Xetra Dax was flat at 4,950.88. In Paris, the CAC 40 fell 0.1 per cent to 4,470.7.

London equities held their ground yesterday thanks to a fresh dose of takeover talk, centred on hotels operator Hilton Group. While the FTSE 100 began the day in positive territory, the blue-chip index was down 2.9 points in late morning trade at 5,262.3 while the mid-cap FTSE 250 was 4.7 points lower at 7,617.7.

Japanese stocks fell yesterday, with gains in chip-related and warehouse stocks countered by profit-taking in banks and steel companies and a cautionary analyst note on shippers' share prices. The Nikkei 225 declined 0.2 per cent to 13,420.54. The Topix fell 0.7 per cent to 1,397.93 - hurt by a decline in the banking sector.

The financial news was compiled by Valletta Fund Management (tel. 8007 2344) and BOV Stockbrokers Ltd (2122 7370/1/4).