The share index trended lower for the fifth consecutive session with a further marginal decline during this morning’s session to 3,329.517 points. Today’s decline was due to the losses in HSBC and International Hotel Investments.

HSBC initially traded higher to regain the €2 level but moved back to the €1.98 level by the end of this morning’s session representing a 0.8 per cent drop from the previous day’s closing price. A total of 50,722 shares changed hands today.

Similarly, IHI ended this morning’s session 1.8 per cent lower at the 56c level on a single trade of 1,551 shares.

On the other hand, four other equities trended higher including the shares of Bank of Valletta which touched an intra-day high of €2.24 before losing some of the intra-day gains as it moved back to the €2.22,1 level which still represents a 0.3 per cent increase from the previous day’s closing price.

A total of 72,131 shares of BOV changed hands ahead of tomorrow’s cut-off for the entitlement to the one for 11 bonus share issue.

New bids also lifted the share price of Malta International Airport by 1.7 per cent to its all-time high of €2.40 across six deals totalling 23,400 shares. The airport operator is expected to publish its 2014 passenger numbers and a forecast for 2015 shortly.

Similarly, demand emerged for the equity of Medserv as it touched a new 16-month high of €1.47 before easing back to the €1.46 level which still represents a 0.7 per cent increase over the previous closing price across 31,000 shares.

The only other positive performing equity was Midi with a 9.5 per cent jump to recapture the 23c level on a single trade of 10,500 shares.

Meanwhile, GO shares recovered from an intra-day low of €2.56 to end this morning’s session unchanged at the €2.59,5 level on low volumes of 2,310 shares.

Likewise, 6pm Holdings held on to the 70p level across shallow volumes of 5,402 shares.

On the bond market, the Rizzo Farrugia MGS Index once again trended in positive territory with a further 0.2 per cent rise to yet another all-time high of 1,109.605 points as Eurozone yields dropped back to around the 0.47 per cent level as investors speculate on the extent of the quantitative easing programme expected to be launched by the European Central Bank during its next monetary policy meeting scheduled to be held on January 22.

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