Stock market: Negative day for equities

The MSE Share Index slipped 0.6 per cent during this morning’s session to 3,456.594 points as six out of the eight active equities traded lower.

HSBC Bank Malta plc eased a further 0.4 per cent to €2.86 and Bank of Valletta plc edged minimally lower to the €3.29,9 level

In the financial sector, Middlesea Insurance plc and FIMBank plc also closed in negative territory on low volumes. The insurance Group shed 6.4 per cent to drop back to the €1.03 level whilst the trade finance specialist’s share price was pushed 0.5 per cent lower to the US$0.99,5 level.

GO plc partially recovered from an intra-day low of €1.81 to close at the €1.87, 1.1 per cent lower than the previous close. The quad-play operator is scheduled to issue its 2010 interim results tomorrow.

International Hotel Investments plc also traded 1.1 per cent lower to close at the €0.88 level on volumes of 8,600 shares.

Tomorrow, those shareholders on the company’s register as at December 31, 2009, will receive confirmation of their respective bonus shares allotment.

The four per cent bonus issue was approved by shareholders last Friday during an extraordinary general meeting.

Shareholders will subsequently have until September 29 to elect to sell these shares to IHI at a price of €1 per share.

The sole positive performer today was MaltaPost plc with a 1.2 per cent increase to €0.83,5 with best bids already placed higher at the €0.85 level.

Meanwhile Lombard Bank Malta plc traded unchanged at the €2.80 level on just 660 shares.

On the bond market, significant volumes continued to be exchanged in the 20-year government paper. A further €4.5 million (nominal) traded today with the price dropping to 104.45 per cent.

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