Trading on the Borza resumed today with the MSE Share Index dropping by 0.65% to 4,435.326 points. Activity was spread across most listed equities in a rather volatile session as the prices of a number of shares changed by a wide margin. In total, just over €385,000 worth of shares changed hands.
A single deal of just 1,283 shares dragged the equity of International Hotel Investments plc 9.3% lower to a nine-month low of €0.662.
All four listed banks trended in negative territory. Lombard Bank Malta plc shed 9.0% to the €2.185 level on just 1,155 shares.
On the other hand, Bank of Valletta plc closed at the €2.22 level (-0.4%) on strong volumes totalling 59,350 shares.
Likewise, HSBC Bank Malta plc (40,109 shares) eased minimally lower to an almost one-year low of €1.679 (-0.1%) after touching an intra-day low of €1.65. The Bank is scheduled to publish its 2015 preliminary financial statements on 22 February. Meanwhile, media reports on Monday confirmed that HSBC reached a deal on a new collective agreement for its employees.
Within the same sector, FIMBank plc lost 0.8% to the USD0.605 level across 65,273 shares.
Medserv plc declined by 2.2% to the €1.565 level – the lowest in five months – across 49,873 shares.
Plaza Centres plc and GO plc also finished lower albeit on shallow volumes. The former slid to the €0.98 level (-2.0%) whilst the latter dropped by 0.3% to the €3.19 level. GO is expected to announce its 2015 financial results this afternoon.
Amongst the positive performers, Malta International Airport plc broke into record territory as it closed at the €4.55 level (+1.1%) for the first time ever across 3,920 shares. The airport operator is scheduled to publish its preliminary full-year results on 24 February. The Directors will also consider the recommendation of a final dividend. Last Friday, the company published its January 2016 traffic results showing a 13.2% growth in passenger numbers to a new record of 236,552 passengers.
RS2 Software plc extended its positive streak (its sixth consecutive upward movement) as it gained 0.2% to the €3.33 level across 4,000 shares.
Mapfre Middlesea plc jumped 8.6% to the €2.45 level – the highest since May 2009 – across two deals totalling 4,000 shares.
MaltaPost plc also registered robust gains as the equity advanced 7.1% to the €1.94 level on low volumes. The postal operator is scheduled to settle its dividend either in the form of new shares or in cash at €0.04 (net) per share tomorrow.
Yet, the best performer of today’s trading session was Santumas Shareholding plc (1,436 shares) as the equity surged 22.1% from the post-bonus adjusted price of €1.818 to €2.22 today.
6PM Holdings plc (5,304 shares) and Malta Properties Company plc (5,250 shares) also trended higher on light trading volumes. The I.T. services company gained 3.6% to the GBP0.725 level whilst the equity of the property-related company moved up by 3.5% to the €0.569 level.
Meanwhile, Simonds Farsons Cisk plc (800 shares) and Tigne’ Mall plc (5,284 shares) retained the €6.10 and €0.97 levels respectively.
On the bond market, the RF MGS Index rebounded from its lowest level in four weeks as it advanced by 0.13% to 1,136.457 points. This afternoon, the benchmark 10-year German Bund yield hit the 0.13% level last seen late in April 2015. In parallel, peripheral sovereign yields’ (namely those of Italy and Spain) crept higher amid a broad and violent stock markets’ rout as uncertain global economic conditions led investors to take refuge in perceived “safe-haven” assets. Yesterday, the US Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen, during her semi-annual monetary policy report to Congress, struck a dovish tune to the Fed’s path to further interest rate hikes.
The newly issued 4.5% Medserv plc 2026 unsecured bond traded for the first time since being admitted to listing last Friday. A nominal amount of €50,000 was negotiated at the price of 104.25% – representing a 4.25% increase over the security’s par issuance price.