HSBC and GO marginally higher

The MSE Share Index edged 0.1% higher today to 3,117.594 points amid declining volumes.

The share price of HSBC Bank Malta plc rose by 0.4% to €2.59 across three trades totalling 9,310 shares while Bank of Valletta plc held on to the €2.50 level on a small deal of 552 shares.

Also in the financial sector, Lombard Bank Malta plc slid 1.1% lower to the €2.70 level across two trades totalling 1,200 shares.

This afternoon the bank's postal subsidiary, MaltaPost plc, is expected to publish its financial results for the year ended September 30. The company is also expected to announce a full-year dividend to shareholders.

GO plc closed 1% higher at €1.01 after recovering from a new all-time low of 99c5 on weak volumes totalling 6,500 shares.

Earlier this week, GO made an announcement referring to the transfer of Forthnet's shares to the 'Under Surveillance' segment on the Athens Stock Exchange following the goodwill impairments totalling €56.9 million incurred by Forthnet in its financial statements between 2010 and the first six months of 2011.

Forthnet is due to convene an extraordinary general meeting on December 15.

In the IT sector, Crimsonwing plc slumped 10% to a fresh 28-month low of 27c on a single trade of 15,000 shares.

Yesterday, Crimsonwing published its interim results.

During the six months ended September 30, the IT group registered a loss of €19,346 in contrast to the profit of €54,375 during the previous comparable period.

This drop in profitability was mainly due to the increase in the group's cost base which outweighed the overall growth in revenue.

On the other hand, 3,000 RS2 Software plc shares traded unchanged at the 59c level.

The Rizzo Farrugia MGS Index climbed for the third consecutive session with a further 0.5% rise to 977.485 points.

This was in line with the decline in Eurozone yields today to below the 2.30% level following yesterday's co-ordinated action by the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England, the European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan, the Bank of Canada, and the Swiss National Bank to alleviate the liquidity constraints prevailing in financial markets particularly across European banks. International bond yields also dropped today as Spain and France successfully tapped the bond markets this morning.

The Spanish government managed to sell €3.75 billion of government bonds although yields increased compared to previous auctions.

http://rizzofarrugia.com/news-events/2011/interim-results-cw05/

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