Slim gains for banks, Maltacom

During yesterday's trading session at the Malta Stock Exchange, investors kept on purchasing banking sector stocks, although weakness in Simonds Farsons Cisk and International Hotel Investments forced a decline on the Index.

Maltacom shares, which have so far failed to participate in the recent rally among larger capitalised companies, were the day's top gainers. Investors purchased a total of 10,664 shares up to the Lm1.35c level, when the price finally came to rest.

HSBC Bank Malta and Bank of Valletta shares continued to move in tandem, both closing at the Lm5 level with almost identical volumes.

Meanwhile, two investors swapped 111 Lombard Bank shares across a single deal at the Lm5.61c level, which is a cent higher than Friday's closing price.

International Hotel Investments tumbled 4.8 per cent as substantial supply hit a relatively thin bid side. During the session, a total of 5,023 shares were sold across two transactions pulling the price back down to the €0.75c level.

Weakness continued in Simonds Farsons Cisk, as all demand at the Lm0.93c level was cleared when 1,430 shares were sold in rapid succession across three trades, early in the session. Farsons shares have suffered since early-March, when the company announced that it was embarking on a modernisation investment programme.

Exporters lead Nikkei higher

Wall Street last week concluded a modestly positive quarter with gains, as traders took an optimistic view despite a further increase in interest rates that at first caused concern.

European bourses hit fresh three-year highs yesterday as a strong oil sector countered the effects of Wall Street being shut for the Independence Day holiday. Deutsche Telekom was in focus on talk of a $30bn sale of its T-Mobile USA unit.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 turned around early losses to rise 0.2 per cent to 1,152.45 with the Frankfurt Xetra Dax up 0.1 per cent at 4,620.48 and the CAC-40 in Paris nudged marginally lower to 4,263.61.

The FTSE 100 pushed to a fresh three-year by mid-afternoon yesterday helped by bid speculation in the media sector and a strong performance by oil stocks prompted by crude prices climbing above $58 per barrel. The FTSE 100 rose 0.4 per cent to 5,182.2 while the mid-cap FTSE dipped 0.2 per cent at 7,434.9.

Tokyo shares were broadly higher yesterday, led primarily by exporters as the dollar further strengthened against the yen. The benchmark Nikkei 225 average was up 0.2 per cent to close at 11,651.55, while the broader Topix index was up 0.4 per cent at 1,186.09.

Exporters made gains as the yen hovered at around 111.6 yen against the dollar. Investor sentiment was also buoyed by Friday's Tankan survey, which suggests that the country's economic recovery is gaining momentum. Valletta Fund Management (tel. 8007 2344) and BOV Stockbrokers Ltd (2122 7370/1/4).