Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/662335
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 6 APRIL 2016 12 Regular market closed – 5/4/2016 Symbol Code Volume Traded Value Traded Trades High Price Low Price Open Price Close Price Change ▲ BOV 41,872 95,446.67 14 2.285 2.276 2.276 2.285 0.009 ▲ FIM 19,299 14,169.48 3 0.740 0.733 0.733 0.740 0.006 ▲ GO 6,813 23,535.09 6 3.470 3.451 3.470 3.451 0.001 ▲ HSB 1,500 2,502.00 1 1.668 1.668 1.668 1.668 0.008 ▲ IHI 18,908 12,290.20 4 0.650 0.650 0.650 0.650 0.010 ▲ MDS 30,050 53,890.00 6 1.800 1.770 1.770 1.800 0.030 ▼ MIA 2,500 11,035.49 4 4.435 4.385 4.435 4.385 -0.045 ▼ MLT 1,000 900.00 1 0.900 0.900 0.900 0.900 -0.020 ▲ MPC 11,925 6,787.92 5 0.575 0.561 0.561 0.562 0.001 ▼ RS2 9,720 36,873.67 6 3.800 3.751 3.799 3.751 -0.048 ▼ G16B 354,066 364,829.60 2 103.040 103.040 103.040 103.040 -0.030 ▼ G17C 1,000 1,066.90 1 106.690 106.690 106.690 106.690 -0.010 ▲ G22B 25,000 30,797.50 1 123.190 123.190 123.190 123.190 0.050 ▲ G28B 10,000 13,620.00 1 136.200 136.200 136.200 136.200 0.380 ▲ G29A 27,000 39,052.80 3 144.640 144.640 144.640 144.640 0.420 ▲ G29B 119,000 131,564.50 9 110.750 110.550 110.550 110.750 0.560 ▲ G30A 30,000 44,175.00 2 147.250 147.250 147.250 147.250 0.250 ▲ G31A 5,000 7,388.00 1 147.760 147.760 147.760 147.760 0.430 ▲ G32B 187,000 257,912.70 4 138.000 137.870 138.000 138.000 0.330 ▲ G33A 20,000 27,148.00 2 135.740 135.740 135.740 135.740 0.380 ▲ G34A 87,400 115,792.00 6 132.500 132.370 132.500 132.370 0.360 ▲ G36AA 1,818,100 1,911,093.20 34 105.250 105.050 105.100 105.100 0.050 ▲ G40A 753,900 831,352.40 23 110.300 110.100 110.100 110.230 0.130 ▼ 6PM25 4,000 4,383.60 1 109.590 109.590 109.590 109.590 -1.410 ● BV18A 3,500 3,657.50 1 104.500 104.500 104.500 104.500 0.000 ● BV19B 10,000 10,401.00 2 104.010 104.010 104.010 104.010 0.000 ▼ BV30A 25,000 24,875.00 1 99.500 99.500 99.500 99.500 -0.250 ● GF21A 5,700 6,156.00 2 108.000 108.000 108.000 108.000 0.000 ▼ HM24A 10,000 10,820.00 1 108.200 108.200 108.200 108.200 -1.800 ▼ HP25A 2,500 2,625.00 1 105.000 105.000 105.000 105.000 -1.500 ▼ IB25A 20,000 21,002.00 2 105.010 105.010 105.010 105.010 -4.990 ▼ IG24A 8,500 9,308.25 2 109.510 109.500 109.510 109.500 -0.500 ● IH25A 2,900 3,190.00 1 110.000 110.000 110.000 110.000 0.000 ● MF24A 15,000 16,593.00 1 110.620 110.620 110.620 110.620 0.000 ▼ MI21A 5,000 4,975.00 1 99.500 99.500 99.500 99.500 -0.490 ● MS23A 7,800 8,502.00 1 109.000 109.000 109.000 109.000 0.000 ▲ PT24A 14,000 15,393.40 2 109.960 109.950 109.950 109.960 1.950 Market Summary as at April 5, 2016 Equity Official List Session State ................................................................... Market Closed Number of trades ............................................................. 158 Volume Traded ................................................................. 3,714,953 Value of € denominated securities .................................... 4,160,935.39 Value of US$ denominated securities ................................ 14,169.48 Value of GBP£ denominated securities .............................. 0.00 Current Index ................................................................... 4,583.165 Previous Index ................................................................. 4,575.440 Change in Index (%) ......................................................... 0.169% 6pm Holdings plc .......................... 0.875 0.00% MaltaPost plc ................................. 1.980 0.00% Bank of Valletta plc ....................... 2.285 0.40% Medserv plc .................................. 1.800 1.69% FIMBank plc ................................. 0.740 0.82% Mapfre Middlesea plc .................... 2.490 0.00% GlobalCapital plc .......................... 0.400 0.00% MIDI plc ........................................ 0.390 0.00% GO plc .......................................... 3.451 0.03% Plaza Centres plc ........................... 1.035 0.00% Grand Harbour Marina plc ............. 0.900 0.00% RS2 Software plc ........................... 3.751 -1.26% HSBC Bank Malta plc ..................... 1.668 0.48% Simonds Farsons Cisk plc ............... 6.100 0.00% International Hotel Investments plc 0.650 1.56% Tigné Mall plc ................................ 1.049 0.00% Island Hotels Group Holdings plc ... 1.101 0.00% Pefaco International plc ................ 2.240 0.00% Lombard Bank Malta plc ............... 2.220 0.00% Santumas Shareholdings plc ........ 2.360 0.00% Malita Investments plc ................... 0.900 -2.17% Malta Properties Company plc ....... 0.562 0.18% Malta International Airport plc ....... 4.385 -1.02% MSE Index Business Today Market commentary: Positive start for the second quarter The first day to the second quarter of 2016 got off to a positive start in Europe, as markets edged higher on Monday thanks to gains in energy shares. Meanwhile, US stocks were little changed, thanks to wavering oil prices that weighed on risk appetite, and offset the positive effects of a recent dovish stance by the Federal Reserve, which adopted a go-slow approach to future interest rate in- creases. One of the standout sectors on Monday was the French Telecom industry, as merger talks between Orange SA and Bouygues SA fell apart. The proposed tie-up was widely seen as a make-or-break chance to reduce the number of telecom groups to three from four in France, and prop up profits which have been low since the arrival of low-cost operator Iliad. However, shares in Bouygues slumped almost 15%, and were heading for their worst day in 17 years, after its attempt to buy rival Orange in a 10 billion Euro cash-and-share deal collapsed. Shares in Orange also fell 4.2%. While Orange and Bouygues dropped, France's CAC 40 managed to move up 0.53% to 4,345.22. Germany's DAX and UK's FTSE were also up 0.28% and 0.35 respectively. Oil prices wavered Monday, dipping in and out of negative territory. Brent crude turned lower as hopes that top oil producers would reach an agreement to help tackle a stubborn global glut faded, when comments by a Saudi official dampened hopes for an output- freeze deal from major oil producers. Major oil producers are set to hold a meeting later on this month, to discuss measures to curb production. Nevertheless, shares in oil and gas giant Royal Dutch Shell were trading in the green, and enjoyed a gain of 1.07% on Monday. Similarly, its competitor BP Plc reversed early losses, to end the day with a 0.88% gain. It was also a big day in the airlines industry, as Alaska Air Group announced that it would buy Virgin America for a whopping $2.6 Billion, in an effort to compete more effectively with larger airlines and become the top carrier of the US West Cost. The deal would create the fifth-largest US airline in the latest series of mergers in the past decade that have shrunk the industry to a handful of companies. The top four control more than 80% of the US travel market. This news saw shares of Virgin America surge 40%, but Alaska Air shares were down 4.9%. Marks and Spencer shares were up on Monday, after the UK retailing company had its "neutral" rating restated by broker Peel Hunt. The company upgraded Marks and Spencer's rating to "buy" from "hold", and raised its target price on the stock. Marks and Spencer shares gained 0.82% and closed at £410.63. As the Federal Reserve remains on track to raise interest rates at a slow pace, the European Central Bank has been loosening monetary policy. Minutes from the bank's March meeting are scheduled for release on Thursday. 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. India cuts interest rates to fi ve-year low India's central bank has cut its key interest rate for the first time this year. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reduced its repo rate to 6.5% from 6.75%, in line with the expectations of many economists. The repo rate is the level at which the central bank lends to commercial banks. The latest cut takes interest rates in the country to the lowest level in five years. The RBI cited a fall in inflation for the latest cut. "Retail inflation measured by the consumer price index (CPI) dropped sharply in February after rising for six consecutive months," said Raghuram Rajan, India's central bank governor. The drop came largely from a bigger-than-anticipated fall in vegetable prices. Analysts are factoring in more rate cuts to come, later in the year. Mahantest Sabarad, from SBI Cap Securites in Mumbai, said: "We expect there could be further rate cuts ahead. One of the important data points that the governor had to work with is that there is a normal monsoon forecast ... which is the first preliminary forecast. "Therefore it tells me that there could be another rate cut by 25 basis points sometime during May-July." IMF's Lagarde tells Greece debt leak is 'nonsense' International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde has dismissed re- ports that the IMF is trying to push Greece towards default as "simply nonsense". "The IMF conducts its negotiations in good faith, not by way of threats, and we do not communicate through leaks," Lagarde wrote in a letter to Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. Her letter comes after Wikileaks published a transcript of IMF officials discussing bailout negotiations. One says a "crisis" could force a deal. Greece publicly demanded an explanation after the leak, suggesting the comments meant the IMF could be planning to deliberately prolong debt negotiations until the country was close to running out of money. Lagarde said the "incident" had made her "concerned as to whether we can indeed achieve progress", but said she had decided to allow the IMF team to return to Athens to continue debt discussions. However, she also warned that the latest bailout deal was "still a good distance away". She said that the IMF could only support a deal that would enable "robust growth" for Greece, while also allowing it to tackle its debt repayments. Last year, Greece agreed a multi- billion dollar bailout with the EU and IMF that was needed for the country to avoid bankruptcy and stay in the eurozone. Talks between Greece, the EU and the IMF on a bailout review, assessing Greece's progress at implementing money-saving reforms and aimed at unlocking further loans, are due to resume this week. The review has been suspended twice since January due to disagreement among the lenders over the estimated size of Greece's fiscal gap by 2018, as well as different opinions on pension reforms and how bad loans are being managed. "In the interest of the Greek people, we need to bring these negotiations to a speedy conclusion," wrote Lagarde.