Following last week’s minimal gain, the Malta Stock Exchange index managed to capture a further 0.13 per cent appreciation to close the week at 3,327.036 points.

Due to Monday’s bank holiday, the index was active in four sessions with HSBC Bank Malta plc emerging as the sole gainer among the active financial stocks, while RS2 Software plc promoted itself as the main headliner for the week with a staggering gain, to reach a new all-time high.

Conversely, Go plc shares edged lower following three consecutive weeks of gains. Total turnover for the week amounted to €998,278 traded over 12 stocks, of which gainers and losers equalled to three, while non-movers totalled to six.

Meanwhile, executed transactions for the week totalled 136, which consisted of 672,430 shares.

In line with the previous week, yields within domestic sovereign debt drifted lower. Clearly, the touchy situation in Cyprus loomed negatively over investors’ sentiment despite the country being considered as the third smallest economy within the eurozone.

Other than that, investors were also conditioned by the lack of governance in Italy, in addition to less than expected negative figures from the 27 European member state area. Total turnover for the week reached €10.3 million with long-dated issues returning notable gains.

From the equity segment, HSBC Bank Malta plc advanced by a minimal 0.2 per cent over a single session, in which relatively low volumes of 8,779 changed hands over six trades. The equity closed the week at the €2.74 level having traded at a low of €2.70.

Bank of Valletta plc closed the week flat at €2.25 after trading at an intra-week high of €2.30. Total trading volume reached 198,344 shares which were dealt across 49 trades.

The other active financial stocks were Lombard Bank plc and Middlesea Insurance plc which both closed flat at €2.00 and €0.86 respectively. In the former’s case volume traded amounted to 18,103 shares, while the insurance operator was active over a mere of 294 shares.

From the IT sector, RS2 Software plc shares glittered with a remarkable gain of 8.7 per cent to close the week at the €1.00 price level, the highest position since its listing in 2008. The equity displayed impetus through the week as it captured a 5.4 per cent on Tuesday, while registering further gains of over 3.1 per cent in the following sessions. Activity was on high volumes of 144,699 shares.

This week, RS2 Smart Processing, the managed services subsidiary of RS2 Software plc, concluded a major, three-year contract with one of the largest payment processors in Europe. RS2 Smart Processing will be supporting this company for its operations in Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia Pacific.

The company had already referred to a deal in its directors’ interim statement but the agreement was signed in March.

Meanwhile, from the same industry, 6pm Holdings plc closed the week unchanged at £0.45. The equity touched lows of £0.44 over a single session in which 10,600 shares changed ownership.

On similar lines, the other gainer for the week was Malta International Airport plc, which topped its value by a further 2.2 per cent over two sessions to close the week at €1.90. The airport operator was active in three sessions in which nine trades worth €20,309.20 were executed. Yesterday afternoon the company released its traffic results for both the month of March and for the first quarter period.

In the former’s case, passenger movements increased by 12.3 per cent when compared to the same month last year, while for the first three months of 2013 an increase of 8.6 per cent was recorded.

On the other hand, Go plc shares stripped off last week’s appreciation as it marked a loss of 1.8 per cent. However, one must consider the fact that, despite the equity turning ex-dividend on Wednesday, the telecommunications equity traded fairly lower as it gathered just below two per cent in the last two sessions of the week. Total number of shares amounted to 172,000 shares which were dealt over 32 deals, thus moving towards the €1.57 price level.

Yesterday morning the company announced that its annual general meeting will be held on May 7, in which the consideration of its financial statements for 2012 and the payment of a net dividend of €0.10 are on the main agenda among other resolutions.

The other losers for the week were Midi plc and Island Hotel Group Holdings plc, which declined by 0.3 per cent and 2.8 per cent respectively. The former slipped over 15,800 shares to close at €0.314, while the latter incurred a loss of just below three per cent to close the week at €0.63.

Finally, the other non-movers for the week were Plaza Centres plc which closed flat at €0.55 and International Hotels Investments plc which was active over a total value of €4,391 to close at €0.775.

On Thursday the hotels operator disclosed its financial statements for the year ending December 31, 2012, where the Group registered a loss after tax of €10.4 million when compared to the loss of €10.7 million registered in 2011. However, the Group registered an increase in consolidated revenue of 14 per cent compared to 2011, with 6.5 per cent of this increase being delivered from the Marina Hotel Malta which was acquired in early 2012. The Group incurred an increase in its net impairment losses on hotel properties of just over €5.3 million, thus amounting to €7.8 million.

The company stated that, although the global economic situation in 2013 remains challenging, there are signs of recovery which should positively impact the Group’s performance in 2013.

This article, which was compiled by Jesmond Mizzi Financial Advisors Limited, does not intend to give investment advice and the contents therein should not be construed as such. The company is licensed to conduct investment services by the MFSA and is a member of the Malta Stock Exchange and a member of the Atlas Group.

The directors or related parties, including the company, and their clients are likely to have an interest in securities mentioned in this article. For further information contact Jesmond Mizzi Financial Advisors Limited at 67, Level 3, South Street, Valletta, or on Tel: 2122 4410, or e-mail info@jesmondmizzi.com.