Most of today’s trading activity on the Stock Exchange was in the equities of the two large banks.

A continued recovery in the share prices of HSBC Bank Malta plc and Bank of Valletta plc helped the MSE Share Index rise by another 0.9 per cent to 3,775.801 points.

The share index has recovered most of last week’s 2.3 per cent drop during the past two days but is still 0.1 per cent below its value at the beginning of the year.

HSBC Bank Malta plc closed in positive territory for the third consecutive session on increased demand in the run-up to the bank’s full-year results publication which are generally published by the end of February.

Following the 3.5 per cent rise registered in the previous two sessions, HSBC’s share price jumped another 2.5 per cent during this morning’s session to close at a 10-month high of €3.35 on strong volumes of over 35,600 shares.

Bank of Valletta plc also continued to recover from last week’s 4.1 per cent drop. The equity initially opened one per cent higher at €3.15,1 level before easing back to close the day at €3.14,5, representing a 0.8 per cent increase from yesterday’s close.

Trading activity in BOV shares also increased from yesterday as a total number of 27,167 shares traded this morning. The bonus shares will be allocated to eligible shareholders tomorrow with trading in the new shares expected to commence on Thursday.

Malta International Airport plc also edged 0.6 per cent higher to regain the 2010 high of €1.66 on a single trade of 1,400 shares.

The other active equities, namely Lombard Bank Malta plc, MaltaPost plc and Middlesea Insurance plc closed unchanged on very low volumes.

On the Alternative Companies List, Loqus Holdings slid 6.3 per cent back to the €0.15 level on a single trade of 1,212 shares.

The company has yet to publish the full-year results for the financial year ended June 30, 2010.

The Rizzo Farrugia MGS Index remained practically unchanged at 994.345 points as the benchmark 10-year Eurozone yield stabilised at the 2.87 per cent level.

www.rizzofarrugia.com

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