Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/488485
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 1 APRIL 2015 12 Business Today Regular market closed – 30/03/2015 Symbol Code Volume Traded Value Traded Trades High Price Low Price Open Price Close Price Change Twap s BOV 21384 50419.770 11 2.360 2.350 2.360 2.360 0.010 2.358 s FIM 6000 2877.480 3 0.500 0.470 0.470 0.500 0.030 0.480 s GO 72730 207632.380 12 2.880 2.850 2.850 2.880 0.025 2.855 l HSB 52717 107833.550 12 2.050 2.040 2.050 2.050 0.000 2.046 s IHI 7000 4970.000 3 0.710 0.710 0.710 0.710 0.010 0.710 l LOM 15261 29048.510 3 1.910 1.900 1.910 1.910 0.000 1.903 t MDI 146800 40785.600 6 0.282 0.270 0.282 0.270 -0.010 0.278 l MDS 33566 63867.400 7 1.910 1.900 1.910 1.900 0.000 1.903 t MIA 40814 140832.790 12 3.451 3.448 3.451 3.448 -0.002 3.451 l MLT 104108 96820.440 8 0.930 0.930 0.930 0.930 0.000 0.930 l PZC 1500 1425.000 1 0.950 0.950 0.950 0.950 0.000 0.950 l G16A 6000 6392.400 1 106.540 106.540 106.540 106.540 0.000 106.540 t G16B 11647 12549.640 1 107.750 107.750 107.750 107.750 -0.020 107.750 s G18A 5824 7256.700 1 124.600 124.600 124.600 124.600 0.050 124.600 s G19C 13000 14465.100 1 111.270 111.270 111.270 111.270 0.090 111.270 s G20E 1000 1075.000 1 107.500 107.500 107.500 107.500 1.000 107.500 s G22A 9318 12156.260 1 130.460 130.460 130.460 130.460 0.320 130.460 s G22B 25000 31042.500 2 124.170 124.170 124.170 124.170 0.310 124.170 s G23A 9318 12674.340 1 136.020 136.020 136.020 136.020 0.120 136.020 s G28A 50000 69465.000 1 138.930 138.930 138.930 138.930 1.130 138.930 t G28B 50000 67715.000 1 135.430 135.430 135.430 135.430 -0.570 135.430 s G29A 50000 71885.000 1 143.770 143.770 143.770 143.770 1.430 143.770 s G30A 80400 117427.740 3 146.060 146.030 146.030 146.060 0.510 146.050 s G31A 24200 35220.680 3 145.540 145.540 145.540 145.540 0.540 145.540 s G32A 8000 10996.000 1 137.450 137.450 137.450 137.450 0.030 137.450 s G32B 57700 77583.420 2 134.460 134.460 134.460 134.460 0.550 134.460 s G33A 75000 99757.500 1 133.010 133.010 133.010 133.010 0.010 133.010 t G34A 91200 118824.270 5 131.010 130.000 131.010 130.000 -1.010 130.290 s G40AA 1953900 2270851.290 176 117.000 116.000 116.000 117.000 0.950 116.220 l BV19A 18000 20520.000 2 114.000 114.000 114.000 114.000 0.000 114.000 t IH19A 10000 10290.000 1 102.900 102.900 102.900 102.900 -0.100 102.900 s MB19A 50000 53555.000 1 107.110 107.110 107.110 107.110 0.610 107.110 t MI17A 7000 6282.500 1 89.750 89.750 89.750 89.750 -0.250 89.750 t PG20A 2900 3147.660 1 108.540 108.540 108.540 108.540 -0.460 108.540 Market Summary as at March 30, 2015 Equity Official List Session State ................................................................... closed Number of trades ............................................................. 287 Volume Traded ................................................................. 3,111,287 Value of € denominated securities .................................... 3,874,768.44 Value of US$ denominated securities ................................ 2,877.48 Value of GBP£ denominated securities .............................. 0.00 Current Index ................................................................... 3776.096 Previous Index ................................................................. 3757.623 Change in Index (%) ......................................................... 0.492% 6pm Holdings plc ........................... 0.700 0.00% Malta International Airport plc ........ 3.448 -0.06% Bank of Valletta plc ......................... 2.360 0.43% MaltaPost plc .................................. 1.411 0.00% FIMBank plc ................................... 0.500 6.38% Medserv plc ................................... 1.900 0.00% GlobalCapital plc ............................ 0.800 0.00% Middlesea Insurance plc ................. 1.140 0.00% GO plc ............................................ 2.880 0.88% MIDI plc ......................................... 0.270 -3.57% Grand Harbour Marina plc .............. 1.880 0.00% Plaza Centres plc ............................ 0.950 0.00% HSBC Bank Malta plc ...................... 2.050 0.00% RS2 Software plc............................. 2.970 0.00% International Hotel Investments plc 0.710 1.43% Simonds Farsons Cisk plc ................ 3.201 0.00% Island Hotels Group Holdings plc .... 1.020 0.00% Tigné Mall plc ................................. 0.752 0.00% Lombard Bank Malta plc ................. 1.910 0.00% Pefaco International plc .................. 2.190 0.00% Malita Investments plc .................... 0.930 0.00% Santumas Shareholdings plc .......... 2.000 0.00% Money Market Report for the week ending March 27, 2015 ECB Monetary Operations On Monday, March 23, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced its weekly main refinancing operation (MRO). The auction was conducted on Tuesday, March 24, and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €120.51 billion, €21.89 billion lower than the bid amount of the previous week. The amount was allotted in full at a fixed rate equivalent to the prevailing MRO rate of 0.05%, in accordance with current ECB policy. On Wednesday, March 25, the ECB conducted a three-month longer-term refinancing operation to be settled as a fixed rate tender procedure with full allotment, with the rate fixed at the average rate of the MROs over the life of the operation. The auction attracted bids of €19.33 billion from euro area eligible counterparties, which amount was allotted in full in accordance with current ECB policy. Also on Wednesday, March 25, the ECB conducted a seven-day US dollar funding operation through collateralised lending in conjunction with the US Federal Reserve. This operation was carried out at a fixed rate of 0.62% and did not attract bids from euro area eligible counterparties. Domestic Treasury Bill Market In the domestic primary market for Treasury bills, the Treasury invited tenders for 91-day and 182-day bills maturing on June 26, and September 25, 2015, respectively. Bids of €27.00 million were submitted for the 91-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €4.00 million, while bids of €38.00 million were submitted for the 182-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €1.00 million. Since €2.00 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills increased by €3.00 million, to stand at €208.14 million. The yield from the 91-day bill auction was 0.000%, i.e. 0.1 basis point lower than on bills with a similar tenor issued on March 20, 2015, representing a bid price of 100.0000 per 100 nominal. The yield from the 182-day bill auction was 0.010%, i.e. 1.8 basis points lower than on bills with a similar tenor issued on March 13, 2015, representing a bid price of 99.9949 per 100 nominal. During the week under review, there was no trading on the Malta Stock Exchange. On Tuesday the Treasury invited tenders for 92-day bills, maturing on July 3, 2015. Market commentary: The economic data that spooked the equity markets Investors were closely watching the economic data due this week after the Federal Reserve officially opened the door for an interest rate increase last week, linking it to a further improvement in economic indicators. Last week four important set of data were released: US Exist- ing Home Sales on Monday, US New Home Sales on Tuesday, along with February's Inflations data, and US Durable Goods on Wednesday. With most of market participants looking at these economic data in an attempt to grasp any hint related to the timing, pace and size of the coming interest rates hike, investors got spooked by somewhat disappointing data, with equity markets across the globe taking a hit and posting sizable losses throughout the entire week. The week opened with US Existing Home Sales statistics that showed a smaller rebound than expected, with sales increasing only by 1.2% to an annual rate of 4.88 million units, below economists' forecasts of 4.9 million units. Harsh weather, and the undersupply of properties have consistently pushed prices higher and sales lower, impacting negatively the real estate sector. Data also showed a concerning trend with property prices growing at a much faster rate than wages, making houses across the country less and less affordable despite the abundance of liquidity and mortgage rates at multi-year lows. In contrast, US New Home Sales, released on Tuesday, showed a strong growth with sales jumping 7.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 539,000 units, the highest level in seven years. While this was clearly a good news and a sign that the house market is continuing to improve, higher sales also resulted in a decline of the stock of new houses, which is likely to support further increases in prices, contributing to diminish properties' affordability. Core Inflation readings were also positive, with consumer prices rebounding thanks to higher gasoline prices, which rose for the first time since last June. Once again, while the data per se was good news, it also confirmed that the FED is on track to raise interest rates this year. Despite investors welcoming an inflation that is finally accelerating, they also see a consistently improving inflation as being supportive of the need to raise interest rates, which will surely put some downward pressure on both bond and equity markets. If Tuesday proved to be a positive day, Wednesday's US Durable Goods data proved to be a complete disappointment. Data showed that durable goods orders for the month of February declined 1.4% on a seasonal adjusted basis, suggesting that US companies are still cautious and concerned of the negative implications of a weaker than expected demand and the strengthening of the US dollar. The disappointing data for durable goods is adding up to falling retail sales, declining business investment indicators and weaker than expected manufacturing production data, prompting analysts and economists to lower their forecasts for the country's first quarter output. The reaction of investors to the latest economic data and a worsening geopolitical environment, dominated by a deterioration in the Greece negotiations and the bombing of Islamic rebels in Yemen by Saudi Arabia, was an equity sell-out across the board. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 522 points over the last three sessions, closing at 17,678.23, 2.87% down from its Monday's high. The S&P 500 retreated by 56 points, dropping 2.65% throughout the week and closing at 2,056.15 on Thursday. The Nasdaq recorded its worst drop in over five months, shedding 163 points, dragged down by plunging tech and biotech stocks. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost around 3.24% since the beginning of the week, indicating that a correction may be on the horizon. While these dips may offer an interesting entry point after last week's rally following the FOMC meeting, investors should also be cautious to jump into a volatile market that is still close to record highs, as further declines may very well materialise in the coming days. This article was issued by Paolo Zonno Trader/Analyst at Calamatta Cuschieri. For more information visit, www.cc.com.mt . The information, view and opinions provided in this article is being provided solely for educational and informational purposes and should not be construed as investment advice, advice concerning particular investments or investment decisions, or tax or legal advice. Calamatta Cuschieri & Co. Ltd has not verified and consequently neither warrants the accuracy nor the veracity of any information, views or opinions appearing on this newspaper.