Equities closed the week on a negative note as the Malta Stock Exchange Index terminated lower for the third consecutive session dragged lower by weakness in the three major companies listed on the Exchange. As a result the MSE Index closed weaker by 0.295 per cent at 4,456.884 points.
Go was the day's top decliner as 3,600 shares were sold across four transactions pushing the price lower by €0.04c5 or the equivalent of 1.50 per cent to €2.95. At the end of the session 990 shares on the offer side remained unsatisfied at today's closing price.
Low volume activity in HSBC Bank Malta shares brought a €0.02c or 0.48 per cent decline in its share price which closed the session at €4.13. A mere 1,300 shares were exchanged across two transactions. At the close of the session the bid/offer spread remained significantly wide with 4,993 shares best bid at €4 against supply of 200 shares offered at €4.14,9.
On a similar note, FimBank shares lost USD0.02c8 or 1.47 per cent to close the session at USD1.88. Trading Activity was very low with 2,745 shares being exchanged during the session. Lombard Bank Malta plc shares lost a marginal nine tenths of a cent to close the day at €3.24.
International Hotel Investments was the most liquid share on the Exchange during yesterday's session where a total of 14,386 shares were traded across four transactions. This trading activity heaved the price higher by €0.01 or 0.94 per cent to close at €1.07.
Elsewhere in the market, 12,494 shares of Maltapost plc were exchanged during the session without altering its previous closing price of €0.80 while a mere 1,644 shares of Malta International Airport were traded over two transactions closing higher by the slimmest of margins at €3.35.
The fixed interest sector of the market had a buoyant session, where activity was spread over ten corporate bonds and seven government stocks. The biggest mover was the five per cent MGS 2021 which moved 141 ticks higher at €100.75 while a total nominal of 156,069 were exchanged in the 5.9 per cent MGS 2009 pushed the price lower by €1.08 to close at €101.68
Weekly local equity market review
Local equities registered yet another negative week, with the Malta Stock Exchange Index closing the week off at 4456 points, this equates to a decline of 0.8 per cent from the previous week's reading.
Simonds Farsons Cisk witnessed a positive reaction to its full year accounts published at the end of last week, with the price ending 5 per cent higher at the €2.73 level.
MaltaPost was the best performer of the week as the equity gained 6.7 per cent to close the week at €0.80, its highest closing level since the end of March.
Malta International Airport gained 1.5 per cent to end at the €3.35 level. The only other equity that ended the week on a positive note was International Hotel Investments, which gained 0.9 per cent.
On the other hand, Datatrak Holdings registered the worst weekly performance as one deal of 3,000 shares pushed the price lower by 4.6 per cent to the €0.291 level.
Bank of Valletta's share price lost 2.7 per cent to close the week at the €5.05 level. Bank of Valletta started trading ex-dividend on Wednesday.
HSBC Bank Malta lost 1.4 per cent, while FIMBank closed lower by 1.6 per cent to the $1.88 level. Lombard Bank saw its share price slide by 0.3 per cent to €3.24.
Trading in Middlesea Insurance led the price lower by 0.6 per cent to €3.41, while the most liquid equity for the week, Plaza Centres, traded flat at €1.72.
This article has been prepared by Bank of Valletta p.l.c. (the Bank), which is licensed to conduct investment services business by the MFSA, for your general information only. This information is not a solicitation or offer by the Bank to acquire or sell securities. Nor does it constitute any form of advice by the Bank. Appropriate advice should be obtained before making any such decision. Past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance and the value of your investments may fall or rise.