Following five consecutive sessions of gains, the MSE Share Index eased 0.2 per cent lower today to 3,367.494 points largely due to the declines in the share prices of Bank of Valletta plc and Lombard Bank Malta plc.
BOV’s equity lost the momentum which it enjoyed during the beginning of this week with the share price shedding 0.9 per cent to €2.10 on increased activity totalling 44,465 shares.
Similarly, Lombard’s share price lost 0.3 per cent and closed the day at the €1.46 level as 14,026 shares changed hands.
Maltapost plc also closed lower with a decline of 2.6 per cent to the €1.12 level as a total of 33,963 shares traded.
Likewise, Island Hotels Group Holdings plc shed 1.2 per cent to the 81c level on a single trade of 2,000 shares.
Malita Investments plc reversed part of yesterday’s drop as the equity edged 1.9 per cent higher to regain the 55c level on increased activity totalling 88,500 shares. Malita’s interim financial statements will be published on July.
On the other hand, the equity of RS2 Software plc closed two per cent higher today at €2.55 across 10 deals totalling 58,470 shares.
Go plc shares too edged marginally higher to close the session at a fresh six-year high of €2.35 on volumes of 30,700 shares.
Meanwhile, Crimsonwing plc and Middlesea Insurance plc traded unchanged at 82c (6,621 shares) and 88c (5,000 shares), respectively.
Crimsonwing yesterday announced that during the first three months (April 1 to June 30) of the current financial year ending March 31, 2015, the Crimsonwing Group maintained good progress with like-for-like revenues up six per cent to €5.3 million. Furthermore, the announcement also revealed that the trading outlook for the second quarter remains positive.
On the bond market, the Rizzo Farrugia MGS Index edged marginally higher to 1,059.795, despite the rebound in the Eurozone yields to the 1.164 per cent level on the back of some positive economic data emerging from the Eurozone including the better-than-expected growth in the region’s private sector and the fastest rate of growth in three years for Germany’s service sector during the month of July.
Such data quashed the prospects of quantitative easing from the European Central Bank. Meanwhile, markets remain conscious of the various geo-political tensions including that between Western allies and Russia as EU proposes to include state-owned Russian banks in its further sanctions against the Kremlin.
This afternoon, the Treasury published the prices of the new Malta Government Stocks. The two per cent MGS 2020 (V) is being issued at 101.75 per cent, whilst the 4.1 per cent MGS 2034 (I) is being issued at 100.75 per cent. The total amount being offered is of €180 million, and subscriptions close July 30.
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