The Malta Stock Exchange index advanced by a further 1.2 per cent this week and posted a gain of 4.1 per cent for October.
In the banking sector, Bank of Valletta plc shares were the prim-ary source of strength towards the broader market with strong gain, while Lombard Bank plc managed to rebound from its yearly lows by registering a significant gain. Conversely, HSBC Bank Malta plc repositioned itself in negative territory, followed by Middlesea Insurance plc which headed southwards to top up its recent declines.
The week was characterised by 13 equities being active, in which losers and gainers tallied to four, while non-movers totalled five. Turnover increased to €920,726 traded over 181 transactions which covered 684,536 shares.
In the Government Stock market, investors expressed conviction on local sovereign debt, as 13 of the 16 active stocks advanced in value while three marked minimal declines. As opposed to the previous week, turnover decreased drastically to €1.8 million as a result of the new issues. In fact, yesterday afternoon the Treasury announced that all subscriptions by members of the public for the Malta Government Stocks, which amount to over €120 million, will be accepted in full. Meanwhile, total subscription reached nearly €253 million, of which just under €140 million were accepted.
In the Corporate Bonds market, yields were rather mixed as out of the 21 active stocks two gained ground, seven edged lower and 12 closed unchanged. The 6% Simonds Farsons Cisk 2017-2020 headed the list of losers with 2.3 per cent depreciation.
In the equity market, Bank of Valletta plc shares surged by 4.5 per cent as investors digested positively the financial results which were released on Friday of last week. In fact, on Monday investors expressed impetus as the equity’s share price soared by 7.4 per cent on high volume, to push the index markedly higher towards a 2.1 per cent appreciation. In the following sessions the banking equity shaved off 2.8 per cent, on much lower volume, to close the week at the €2.43 level. Consequently, BOV shares have rallied by 10.6 per cent over four consecutive weeks to move towards a 9.4 per cent appreciation on a year-to-date basis. The equity was the most active this week, as total trading value amounted to €550,413 over 225,409 shares.
Likewise, Lombard Bank plc managed to advance by a remarkable 7.5 per cent to close the week at €2.00. The banking equity was active over three sessions in which it gathered the gain in the Tuesday and the mid-week sessions, closing unchanged on Monday. Accounting for this week’s rise, the equity managed to regain 11.1 per cent from its yearly low of €1.80 recorded in mid-October. This equity was the second most liquid equity as total trading value amounted to €134,255.
On the contrary, HSBC Bank Malta plc cancelled last week’s gain as it drifted lower by 0.4 per cent to close at the €2.749 level. The banking equity started the week with a 1.4 per cent gain, which it then wiped off in the following three sessions. From the same sector, Middlesea Insurance plc extended its losses with a further decline of 1.3 per cent on Tuesday to end the week at €0.74.
The other active financial was FIMBank plc, which closed unchanged at $0.79 in the last trading session of the week after trading at an intra-week high of $0.80 on insignificant volume.
In the telecommunication sector, Go plc closed flat at €1.00 over a total of 32,268 shares which were executed across 16 deals. Meanwhile, yesterday the company announced that, despite profits for the first nine months of the year remaining lower than last year, the gap from €12.4 million recorded in the first six months of 2011 to the €10.5 million figure in the same comparable period in 2012 was reduced following the improvement registered in the third quarter of the year. In addition, with regard to its foreign investment in Forthnet, the company stated that it is still awaiting the release of the Forthnet prospectus to determine whether or not to participate in the €30 million increase of capital in the latter’s case.
On a positive note, both Maltapost plc and Crimsonwing plc closed the week higher following last week’s notable gains. The former added 2.1 per cent over 15,600 shares to close at €0.735, while the latter headed the list of gainers with a staggering 18.8 per cent gain over three sessions to close the week at €0.38.
On the other hand, 6pm Holdings plc declined by 3.1 per cent on Monday to close at £0.31, while Santumas Shareholdings plc slipped by a minimal 0.1 per cent in the last trading minutes of the week to touch the €1.70 price level.
The other non-movers for the week were Malta International Airport plc, RS2 Software plc and Midi plc, which closed unchanged at €1.75, €0.60 and €0.25 respect-ively.
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