Notwithstanding a negative week-on-week performance by nearly all traded financial equities, the Malta Stock Exchange index managed to end the week with a slight gain of 0.04 per cent. A positive performance by three equities was enough to propel the index in the green this week, following a decline of 1.44 per cent registered the previous week. Turnover in the equity market soared as over €1 million was traded, with the two major banks taking the lion’s share. In terms of trading volume, Maltapost shares outpaced the other equities as almost 110,000 shares were traded. Throughout the week 14 equities were active; only three moved higher, seven ended lower and four closed unchanged.
In the equity market turnover jumped from €626,347 traded last week to over €1 million as 177 deals of 541,343 shares were executed. In the Government Bond market turnover declined to €5.2 million while one trade was executed in the Treasury Bill market for a value of almost €1.2 million.
In the Corporate Bond market activity surged on the week as 127 transactions of €0.7 million were traded.
Activity in Bank of Valletta plc shares remained on a high note reaching the highest value this week as over €230,000 was traded. The bank’s share price started the week with a negative three-day streak, regaining some ground on Thursday and closing flat yesterday to end the week at €3.24. Notwithstanding this week’s 0.92 per cent loss, the bank’s performance year-to-date stands at 4.65 per cent in positive territory.
Similarly, HSBC Bank Malta plc shares edged lower with a minimal decline of 0.25 per cent. Turnover in the equity increased further with nearly €197,000 being traded across 37 deals of 70,312 shares. Throughout the week, the equity’s price barely fluctuated as the equity closed yesterday’s session at €2.798.
Despite the negative sentiment surrounding financial equities, Middlesea Insurance plc shares posted a 5.26 per cent gain. Since the beginning of the month to date, the equity climbed over seven per cent having finished the week at €1. Liquidity however remained on the low side, with just over 6,200 shares being traded across seven transactions.
Over 35,300 shares dealt across six transactions in FIMBank plc depreciated the price by over 1.04 per cent to $0.95, while Lombard Bank plc lost further ground on a negligible deal of 625 shares. The bank’s equity ended the week at €2.70, which results in a negative year-to-date performance of 9.7 per cent.
Following last week’s hefty decline, Simonds Farsons Cisk plc shares managed to recover some of the lost ground ending the week at €1.75, a gain of 7.03 per cent or €0.115. This equity was only active on two trading days during which 1,599 shares were dealt across four transactions. Throughout the week the equity’s price fluctuated between a low of €1.65 and a high of €1.75, the week’s closing price.
Meanwhile, Malta International Airport plc share price moved up by 3.87 per cent as the equity recorded gains across four trading days, while it closed flat on Tuesday. Turnover in the equity totalled €82,706 as nearly 54,000 shares changed hands over 17 transactions. Since the beginning of the year MIA’s performance shows a 30 per cent gain as the equity finished the week under review at €1.558.
Conversely, Go plc edged minimally lower following a 0.54 per cent decline registered on Thursday while it closed flat in the other two sessions during which it was active. Liquidity in the equity surged to over 80,000 shares from 5,495 shares traded last week, closing yesterday’s session at €1.84.
Maltapost plc, which was the week’s most traded equity, traded flat at last week’s close of €0.90 as 109,926 shares were traded over 15 transactions. Grand Harbour Marina plc shares also traded flat at €1.96 as 47,090 shares were dealt across four deals, up from 5,000 shares traded last week. The equity was only active during the closing two sessions of the week.
For the second week running, Plaza Centres plc closed unchanged at €1.685 as 30,000 shares were dealt over two deals. The equity was only active during the mid-week session.
Following last week’s hefty loss of nearly six per cent, International Hotel Investments plc shares traded flat at €0.80 with turnover declining to €16,000 as 20,000 shares were traded over three transactions.
On the negative side, Santumas Shareholding plc shares closed lower by 1.15 per cent on Monday over two deals of 5,000 shares, while two deals of 10,000 shares in Medserv plc dropped its share price by 0.23 per cent to close the week at €4.27.
This article, which was compiled by Atlas JMFS Investment Services Limited, does not intend to give investment advice and the contents therein should not be construed as such. Atlas JMFS is licensed to conduct investment services by the MFSA and is a member firm of the Malta Stock Exchange. The directors or related parties, including the company, and their clients are likely to have an interest in securities mentioned in this article.
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