The share price of GO plc continued to advance and closed at yet another fresh six-year high of €2.52 on the stock exchange today.
The equity has been the best performer this year in anticipation of developments with respect to the Group’s €50 million property portfolio, the possible disposal of the stake in Forthnet and the recent investment in the Cypriot based telco operator, Cablenet.
Malta International Airport plc also closed in positive territory today with a rise of 0.9%. The equity regained its all-time high of €2.35 across 11,150 shares.
Meanwhile, further volatility was seen in the banking equities. HSBC Bank Malta plc recovered from last week’s decline and regained the €2.00 level (+2.6%) on weak volumes of just 3,523 shares after opening at a high of €2.034. Similarly, the equity of Bank of Valletta plc failed to hold on to an intra-day high of €2.25 to end the session unchanged at the €2.24 level across 8,362 shares.
The other positive movements today were FIMBank plc (+0.8% to USD0.66 on a small trade of 400 shares) and Simonds Farsons Cisk plc (+0.7% to €2.76 on low volumes of 4,796 shares).
On the other hand, International Hotel Investments plc slid 3.1% back to its all-time low of €0.62 on a single trade of 5,000 shares.
Meanwhile, Plaza Centres plc traded unchanged at the €0.598 level on a single trade of 5,000 shares.
On the bond market, the Rizzo Farrugia MGS Index eased minimally lower to 1,078.97 points as Eurozone yields rallied to a six-week high of 1.097%. Over the weekend, Fitch Ratings confirmed Malta’s sovereign credit rating at ‘A’ with a Stable outlook. The international rating agency explained that Malta’s economy was growing at a faster pace than its European peers and unemployment was below the Eurozone average.
Meanwhile, Fitch warned that the country’s debt to GDP ratio is still above the EU target of 70% and at the same time Malta is incurring expenditure slippages, particularly in the areas of healthcare, social security and transport.
Looking ahead, Fitch commented that future rating actions will largely depend on the progress or otherwise on the rate of economic growth, fiscal and debt positions as well as the restructuring of the state energy provider, Enemalta.
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