Stock market weekly round-up

The Malta Stock Exchange index closed the week yesterday at 4,173.044, a loss of 1.27 per cent over last week. Year to date, the MSE index is now 15.49 per cent lower. During the week, 12 equities were negotiated, with four equities closing in positive territory and eight in negative territory. Maltapost plc was the best performer while GlobalCapital plc lost most territory in the first week of June.

A total of 253 deals were registered on the stock exchange for a turnover of over €5.3 million. In the equity market, 169 transactions were carried out for a total value of over €1.23 million. In the corporate bond market 34 transactions for a total value of €269,636 were carried out. In the government bond market 42 transactions were executed for a total value of €904,283. Eight transactions were carried out in Treasury bills for a total value of over €2.9 million.

The pre-placement of the initial public offering of RS2 Software plc which opened on Thursday was oversubscribed. The pre-placement, which was made available to investors through authorised intermediaries, was for 6,250,000 ordinary shares. The company and the offeror are together making a combined offering of 12,500,000 shares at €0.80 per share with the general public offering opening on Monday. On Wednesday RS2 reported that it has been awarded a contract of €600,000 by Transworks LLC of New York. Transworks is an independent sales organisation which facilitates the card transaction process and acts as an intermediary between banks and retailers, processing 400 million transactions a year.

This week FIMBank plc was the only positive performer in the banking sector as its share price increased by 0.05 per cent to $1.89 on 12 deals for a total volume of 196,044 shares. Lombard Bank Malta plc share price fell by 0.16 per cent to €3.07 as 5,669 shares changed hands across three deals. On Friday, its share price recovered by 2.33 per cent. Bank of Valletta plc lost most ground in the sector when its share price dropped by 2.72 per cent to €4.62 as 46 deals were executed during which 54,269 shares changed hands. On Friday, BOV also recovered 0.02 per cent. HSBC Bank Malta plc saw its share price lose a further 1.32 per cent to €3.75, as 37,256 shares changed hands across 39 transactions.

Middlesea Insurance plc share price fell by 0.58 per cent to €3.41 as 84,806 shares changed hands across eleven deals. Go plc also declined by 3.28 per cent as its share price ended the week at €2.65 as 23,356 shares changed hands across 17 transactions.

International Hotel Investments plc fell 0.09 per cent to €1.072 as 6,515 shares changed hands across six deals. The share price of Plaza Centres plc declined by 1.45 per cent as 65,908 shares changed hands across six deals. The share price of GlobalCapital plc lost most ground this week as it fell by 3.51 per cent to €2.75 on only two deals for a total volume of just 2,000 shares.

Simonds Farsons Cisk plc appreciated by 0.74 per cent to €2.73 as 6,460 shares changed hands across five transactions. The share price of Malta International Airport plc appreciated by 0.16 per cent to €3.12 as 28,460 shares changed hands across 21 deals. This week MIA announced that there was an increase of 18.2 per cent in passenger departures during May 2008 (+16.7 per cent year to date). Lastly, the share price of MaltaPost plc increased by 3.86 per cent to €0.78 as 2,089 shares changed hands on a single deal.

On Thursday the Treasury announced that it allotted a total of €106.9 million nominal for last week's Malta Government Stock issues. The Treasury received 2,089 applications and accepted a total of €61.2 million for the 5.1 per cent MGS 2014 (III) and €45.7 million in the five per cent MGS 2021 (I).

This article, which was complied by Jesmond Mizzi Financial Services Limited (JMFS), does not intend to give investment advice and the contents therein should not be construed as such. JMFS is licensed to conduct investment services by the MFSA. The directors or related parties, including the company, and their clients are likely to have an interest in securities mentioned in this article. For further information please contact JMFS at 67/3, South Street, Valletta, or on Tel: 2122 4410 or e-mail jmizzi@jmfs.net.