HSBC shares extends rally

The share price of HSBC Bank Malta plc closed in positive territory for the third time this week on continued fresh demand ahead of the bank's interim results publication today week.

The equity touched yet another 11-month high of €2.88 before easing to a close of €2.85 which still represents a 3.6% rise over the previous close.

A total of 17,500 shares changed hands today with the bank's equity ending the week 6.7% higher (the fourth consecutive weekly increase).

The only other positive performing equity this week was GO plc (but this was inactive today) which regained most of last week's 9.9% drop with an 8% jump to the €1.08 level.

Nonetheless it was a very volatile week for the equity of the quad play telecom operator as it initially surged to the €1.20 level on Monday before easing back to the €1.08 level yesterday.

Meanwhile, Bank of Valletta plc drifted a further 2.4% lower today to close at its 33-month low of €2 across 31 deals totalling over 69,500 shares.

BOV ended the week with a 2.7% decline. Also in the financial sector, Lombard Bank Malta plc continued to trade slightly above its 79-month low of €2.15 as 1,000 shares changed hands at the €2.18 level representing a weekly drop of 0.9%.

On the IT front, RS2 Software plc slid 4% lower to the 48c level (minimally higher than its 2012 low of 47c8) on volumes of 8,200 shares. Following this morning's dip, RS2's equity ranks as the worst performer of the week. GlobalCapital plc and MIDI plc also closed in negative territory with weekly declines of over 3%.

On the bond market, the Rizzo Farrugia MGS Index edged marginally higher to close at 992.930 points as Eurozone yields slid back to the 1.16% level as Germany consolidated its 'safe-haven' status.

Despite this morning's approval of a €100 billion bailout for Spain's banking system, market concerns over Spain are still escalating with the spread between German and Spanish government bonds rising to 595 basis points – the widest since the introduction of the euro.

www.rizzofarrugia.com