The share index added to yesterday’s gains and advanced by a further 0.4 per cent to 4,322.991 points. Activity was limited across six equities with three performing negatively and another three closing the day unchanged.
GO was the day’s best performer with an increase of 1.5 per cent to €3.42 on activity of 27,842 shares. The company will be holding an extraordinary general meeting on October 29.
The other positive performers of the day were FIMBank and Bank of Valletta , albeit on much lighter volumes. FIMBank advanced by one per cent to 49c5US as 16,102 shares were traded across four deals. Also in the banking sector, Bank of Valletta moved 0.9 per cent higher to €2.33 across 7,563 shares.
Meanwhile, all other equities traded unchanged. Midi held on to its recent gains as 78,000 shares changed hands at the 36c level.
A single trade of 2,200 shares in Medserv left the equity unchanged at its all-time high of €3.10.
On October 12, the company will be convening an extraordinary general meeting during which shareholders will be asked to authorise the board of directors to disclose the required information (including unpublished price-sensitive information) for any offeror and its advisers to make, confirm, withdraw or modify any offer made to the company. Shareholders ought to have received a notice as well as an explanatory circular.
Insignificant volumes of 641 shares were also traded in HSBC at the unchanged level of €1.84,9.
On the bond market, the RF MGS Index moved marginally lower by 0.07 per cent to 1,128.950 as the benchmark 10-year German Bund shortly surpassed the 0.61 per cent level before easing lower to 0.57 per cent later on during the day.
Investors were little comforted by encouraging news coming out from Germany which showed that, despite a weakening growth outlook for China and other large developing economies, the mood among German business managers beat expectations and picked up further in September.
With the Volkswagen scandal still prominent in the news, uncertainty remains high whether this saga will have spill-over effects over other German businesses and industrial firms and this sent equity markets deeply in the red today.
The increased risk aversion positively impacted bond markets with the German bund yield declining due to its safe haven status.
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