Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/644193
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 24 FEBRUARY 2016 12 Regular market closed – 23/2/2016 Symbol Code Volume Traded Value Traded Trades High Price Low Price Open Price Close Price Change ▲ BOV 22,867 50,793.68 11 2.225 2.215 2.220 2.220 0.020 ▲ GCL 420 193.20 1 0.460 0.460 0.460 0.460 0.010 ● GO 2,220 7,326.00 3 3.300 3.300 3.300 3.300 0.000 ● HSB 1,790 2,942.82 2 1.649 1.640 1.640 1.649 0.000 ▲ LOM 364 800.80 1 2.200 2.200 2.200 2.200 0.015 ● MDI 385,000 134,750.00 13 0.350 0.350 0.350 0.350 0.000 ▲ MDS 935 1,514.70 3 1.620 1.620 1.620 1.620 0.069 ● MIA 20,100 94,927.25 9 4.735 4.720 4.720 4.720 0.000 ▲ MPC 22,350 12,473.75 4 0.570 0.550 0.560 0.570 0.010 ▲ PZC 7,497 7,497.00 1 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 0.020 ▲ RS2 77,726 271,872.37 17 3.530 3.460 3.460 3.530 0.090 ▼ SFC 480 3,000.00 1 6.250 6.250 6.250 6.250 -0.050 ▼ G17C 41,700 44,681.55 4 107.150 107.150 107.150 107.150 -0.010 ▼ G18A 13,977 16,555.76 1 118.450 118.450 118.450 118.450 -0.020 ▼ G19A 12,260 15,000.11 1 122.350 122.350 122.350 122.350 -0.020 ▼ G21A 23,648 29,321.15 2 123.990 123.990 123.990 123.990 -0.010 ▲ G22A 41,463 52,998.01 1 127.820 127.820 127.820 127.820 0.030 ▲ G22B 6,000 7,331.40 2 122.190 122.190 122.190 122.190 0.030 ▲ G24A 30,400 35,814.24 1 117.810 117.810 117.810 117.810 0.210 ▲ G28B 6,000 7,902.00 1 131.700 131.700 131.700 131.700 0.050 ▲ G29B 148,800 157,866.60 9 106.110 105.950 105.950 106.110 0.190 ▲ G30A 90,900 129,096.18 4 142.020 142.020 142.020 142.020 0.160 ▲ G31A 8,000 11,396.80 1 142.460 142.460 142.460 142.460 0.170 ▲ G32A 20,000 27,102.00 2 135.510 135.510 135.510 135.510 0.150 ▲ G32B 150,000 199,230.00 1 132.820 132.820 132.820 132.820 0.150 ▲ G33A 13,000 16,992.30 2 130.710 130.710 130.710 130.710 0.180 ▲ G34A 54,500 69,487.50 4 127.500 127.500 127.500 127.500 0.120 ▲ G40A 141,500 153,545.26 13 108.520 108.470 108.500 108.470 0.130 ● AX24A 45,200 51,980.00 2 115.000 115.000 115.000 115.000 0.000 ▼ BV18A 2,500 2,612.75 1 104.510 104.510 104.510 104.510 -2.480 ▲ BV19B 15,000 16,145.00 3 108.750 105.000 105.000 108.750 4.740 ● BV30B 50,000 49,500.00 2 99.000 99.000 99.000 99.000 0.000 ▲ CF22A 5,000 5,450.00 1 109.000 109.000 109.000 109.000 1.000 ● GF21A 1,400 1,512.00 1 108.000 108.000 108.000 108.000 0.000 ● HP25A 7,600 8,132.00 4 107.000 107.000 107.000 107.000 0.000 ▼ MB19A 100,000 110,250.00 2 110.250 110.250 110.250 110.250 -0.010 ● MO19A 600 622.20 1 103.700 103.700 103.700 103.700 0.000 ● MS26A 50,000 52,000.00 1 104.000 104.000 104.000 104.000 0.000 ▲ PG22A 1,900 2,166.00 1 114.000 114.000 114.000 114.000 1.000 ▼ PT24A 13,700 14,796.00 2 108.000 108.000 108.000 108.000 -1.980 Market Summary as at February 23, 2016 Equity Official List Session State ................................................................... Market Closed Number of trades ............................................................. 136 Volume Traded ................................................................. 1,636,797 Value of € denominated securities .................................... 1,877,578.38 Value of US$ denominated securities ................................ 0.00 Value of GBP£ denominated securities .............................. 0.00 Current Index ................................................................... 4,535.266 Previous Index ................................................................. 4,512.645 Change in Index (%) ......................................................... 0.501% 6pm Holdings plc ......................... 0.760 0.00% MaltaPost plc ................................. 1.960 0.00% Bank of Valletta plc ....................... 2.220 0.91% Medserv plc .................................. 1.620 4.45% FIMBank plc ................................. 0.635 0.00% Mapfre Middlesea plc .................... 2.520 0.00% GlobalCapital plc .......................... 0.460 2.22% MIDI plc ........................................ 0.350 0.00% GO plc .......................................... 3.300 0.00% Plaza Centres plc ........................... 1.000 2.04% Grand Harbour Marina plc ............. 1.030 0.00% RS2 Software plc ........................... 3.530 2.62% HSBC Bank Malta plc ..................... 1.649 0.00% Simonds Farsons Cisk plc ............... 6.250 -0.79% International Hotel Investments plc 0.720 0.00% Tigné Mall plc ............................... 0.980 0.00% Island Hotels Group Holdings plc .. 1.101 0.00% Pefaco International plc ................ 2.240 0.00% Lombard Bank Malta plc ................ 2.200 0.69% Santumas Shareholdings plc ........ 2.220 0.00% Malita Investments plc .................. 0.950 0.00% Malta Properties Company plc ....... 0.570 1.79% Malta International Airport plc ....... 4.720 0.00% MSE Index Business Today Market commentary: An energetic start for European markets European markets started the week off confidently, as a positive trend set in Asia and a rally in oil and metal prices calmed investor nerves after the recent commodity rout. Oil was the driver behind the bulk of the gains for stock futures on Monday, helping lift European energy companies and offset concerns about Britain's poten- tial exit from the European Union. Mining stocks were among the best performers of the day, with Anglo American enjoying a 9% rise as the price of copper reached a two-week high. Both crude and Brent also posted solid gains, as prices were up 6.68% and 5% respectively. This was good news for all markets worldwide. Similarly to Europe, it was also a good start to the week in America. Investors continued to load up on some of the year's worst performers, with banks up for the fifth time in six days as Bank of America and Wells Fargo & Co increasing at least 2.1%. In the UK, the FTSE 100 climbed 1.47% to 6,037.93 regardless of the current political turmoil. Elsewhere, Germany's DAX 30 rose 1.98% to 9,576.33 and France's CAC 40 gained 1.79% to 4,298.70. Despite the positive backdrop, sterling hit a seven-year low on Monday as it slipped to £1.4150 from £1.4405 against the dollar. This marked the biggest decline since March 2009, leaving the global community pondering what a British exit from the EU would mean for a number of markets. Meanwhile, HSBC faced a rough start to the week, after the bank posted an unexpected loss during the fourth quarter. This loss was the first since 2009, and is said to have been the result of a fall in revenues, and loans to oil and gas companies, causing a jump in impairment charges. This news resulted in HSBC shares skidding 3% but, despite this, the company managed to recover some of its losses to close the day at 445.60. Carmaker BMW had a good day too. Shares were up 1.8% after the Handelsblatt newspaper reported that the carmaker planned to launch a new 7-Series model, which will compete with the Mercedes S-class. Elsewhere in the news, Facebook says it has set up a team dedicated solely to researching and developing virtual reality for social networking. The company is of the firm belief that "pretty soon we're going to live in a world where everyone has the power to share and experience whole scenes as if you're just there, right there in person". This announcement led Facebook shares to trade 2.85% higher at $107.57. Investors are still keeping a close eye on the U.S Federal Reserve for its next move on interest rates. While Fed Chair Janet Yellen has indicated the central bank would stick to its rate hike programme, policymakers appear at odds, and traders have all but given up on a hike this year. Still, investors continue to asses economic data to gauge the health of the world's biggest economy and the possible trajectory of interest rates. Reports on consumer confidence, home sales, durable goods, economic growth and personal spending are due this week. This article was issued by Rebecca Naudi , Trader at Calamatta Cuschieri. For more information visit, www.cc.com.mt .The information, views and opinions provided in this article are 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 Investment Services Ltd has not verified and consequently neither warrants the accuracy nor the veracity of any information, views or opinions appearing on this newspaper. Big businesses say Brexit would risk jobs Leaving the European Union would threaten jobs and put the UK's econ- omy at risk, leaders of some of Brit- ain's biggest companies have said. Bosses - including those of BT, Marks & Spencer and Vodafone - signed a letter published in the Times, saying an EU exit would deter investment in the UK. Leave campaigners point out two- thirds of FTSE 100 firms, including Tesco and Sainsbury, did not back the letter. A referendum on whether the UK should stay in the EU will be held on 23 June. The letter from business leaders said Mr Cameron had secured a commitment from the EU "to reduce the burden of regulation, deepen the single market and to sign-off crucial international trade deals". The signatories wrote: "Business needs unrestricted access to the European market of 500 million people in order to continue to grow, invest and create jobs. Britain will be strong, safer and better off remaining a member of the EU." John Holland-Kaye, the chief executive of Heathrow airport, denied he had been pressurised into signing the letter, saying his company wanted to get the message across that the EU had "opened up the aviation market and reduced the cost of flying". "Lower costs of flying mean we can go on holiday more easily, we can go on business more easily - so whether you are going on a stag night or exporting there is a real benefit of being part of the EU," he told the media. Bill Gates calls for debate on terror data The row between Apple and the FBI over access to a dead murderer's phone should start a debate about government requests for data, says Bill Gates. The FBI wants Apple to unlock the iPhone of Syed Rizwan Farook who killed 14 people in December last year. Apple has resisted the demand saying the FBI order was "dangerous" and "unprecedented". Speaking to the Financial Times, the Microsoft founder said complying would not put a backdoor in all iPhones. "This is a specific case where the government is asking for access to information," he said in the interview. "They are not asking for some general thing, they are asking for a particular case." Gates (pictured) said the case was similar to the requests regularly made to phone companies and banks for information. In a separate interview with the BBC, Gates reiterated his view that the issue came down to a debate about whether governments can get at data they use to protect citizens. "Should governments be able to access information at all or should they be blind, that's essentially what we are talking about," he told the BBC. Microsoft itself has not formally commented on the row between the FBI and Apple. However, when pushed on the issue Microsoft referred to a statement issued by the Reform Government Surveillance group of which it is a member. That statement sides with Apple saying: "Technology companies should not be required to build in backdoors to the technologies that keep their users' information secure." It emerged this week that the US Department of Justice is asking for Apple's help to get at data on iPhones relevant to more than a dozen separate investigations. The Wall Street Journal said the cases came from several different criminal investigations and data locked on the handsets would help law enforcement. None of the cases is believed to be related to terrorism and many involved older iPhones that lack the stronger security protections found on newer devices.