Equity Indices

Energy shares and basic-resources companies posted the biggest losses among all 19 industry groups as Brent prices slid further, while copper tumbled to a 5 1/2-year low. The World Bank cut its forecast for global growth this year amid worsening prospects in Europe and China, the world's biggest consumer of copper.

 Interest Rates

 Benchmark Bond Yields

The Treasury on Tuesday accepted 8 million 91-day Treasury bills at an average yield of  0.025% and 20 million 182-day Treasury bills at an average yield of  0.055% . Outstanding Treasury Bills now amount to Euro 185,440,000 - an increase of Euro 28 million from the previous week.

The European Commission said that public investment and structural reforms could win some leeway for countries breaking EU budget rules, reducing the likelihood of tough penalties on France or Italy.  The commission's interpretation of the rules is a balancing act between retaining financial markets' confidence and responding to EU leaders who want to use whatever flexibility there is in the rules to boost economic growth.  

Japan's cabinet approved a record $812 billion budget for the fiscal year starting on April 1, while cutting new borrowing for a third straight year in a bid to balance growth and fiscal reform.  The 96.34 trillion yen ($812.45 billion) general-account budget draft, marks a rise from this fiscal year's initial 95.88 trillion yen, reflecting higher welfare spending and military outlays.  A projected rise in tax revenue on an expected economic recovery allows Tokyo to cut new bond issuance to a six-year lows.

Forex

Sterling held up in the face of another round of bearish headline numbers on the economy on Tuesday, helped by a slightly improved breakdown on core inflation that underlined Britain is still doing better than much of Europe.  Worries that the British economy is slowing ahead of  parliamentary elections in May have sent the currency spinning lower since the start of January.

HSBC Bank Malta p.l.c. has based this document on information obtained from sources it believes to be reliable but which it has not independently verified and is for your personal, non-commercial use only. The contents do not constitute a solicitation of the purchase or sale of any investment. Although HSBC makes every reasonable effort to do so, it makes no representations that the information presented is accurate, complete or timely. Expressions of opinion herein are subject to change without notice. Accordingly, HSBC shall not be liable for any decisions made or actions taken in reliance on such information. Past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance and the value of investments may go down as well as up. Issued by HSBC Bank Malta p.l.c., which is regulated by the Malta Financial Services Authority.