The Malta Stock Exchange (MSE) index ended the week flat with a marginal rise of 0.03 per cent, to close the week at 4,534.762 points. The index’s performance was buoyed by gains in HSBC Bank Malta plc, International Hotel Investments plc (IHI), Fimbank plc and Midi plc. However, falls in the share prices of Bank of Valletta plc (BOV) and Malta International Airport plc (MIA) weighed down the MSE.
Total turnover fell from €1.84 million to €1.14m, spread across 16 equities, of which eight rose, seven fell and one was unchanged.
Heading the list of gainers was Midi plc, whose shares rallied to a four-year high of €0.39 last Wednesday but closed slightly lower at €0.388 on Friday. Over the week, the equity gained 4.9 per cent and was active in 11 deals of 66,603 shares.
Midi plc announced that its annual general meeting (AGM) will be held on May 12 to consider the approval of its audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2015, and the payment of a final net dividend of €0.007 per share.
Malita Investments plc’s share price inched 0.1 per cent higher to €0.93, on two deals of 5,376 shares.
Malta Properties Company plc shares suffered a two per cent fall to close at €0.58, as 95,489 shares changed hands in 15 deals. Last Tuesday, the company announced that its first AGM will be held on June 2 to consider the approval of its annual report and financial statements.
Plaza Centres plc’s share price fell by half a per cent to €1.03, as one deal of 15,000 shares was struck.
Tigné Mall plc announced that its AGM will be held on June 24. The equity was not active during the week.
Elsewhere, nine deals of 46,684 shares in IHI lifted its share price 1.6 per cent higher to €0.63, after having touched €0.64 mid-week. Last Friday, the company announced that its board of directors will meet on Tuesday to review its financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2015.
HSBC shares rose 0.6 per cent to close the week at €1.60, having traded in the week’s second highest turnover worth €165,000.
BOV fell a further 0.4 per cent after its previous week’s 0.6 per cent decline to close at €2.26 on a turnover of €133,000.
BOV announced that its board of directors is due to meet on Friday to consider and approve the group’s and the bank’s interim financial statements for the six months ended March 31, 2016, and to consider the declaration of an interim dividend.
Mapfre Middlesea plc shares tumbled further, closing at a 15-week low of €2.30 – down five per cent on the week, on a single deal of 22,210 shares.
Conversely, Fimbank plc’s share price continued to tick higher, to notch a seven-week winning streak. The equity locked a weekly gain of 3.2 per cent to close at $0.75 – a level last seen in May 2014. This upward momentum was backed by a volume of 204,000 shares, spread across nine deals.
The company announced that its AGM will be held on May 10 to consider the approval of its audited accounts for the financial year ended December 31, 2015, and the approval of a bonus issue of one share for every 25 ordinary shares held, with a nominal value of $0.50 per share.
Meanwhile, 28 deals of 43,327 shares placed further selling pressure on MIA’s share price, thus extending its downward spiral for the third consecutive week. The equity closed the week one per cent lower at €4.33 after trading at a low of €4.25 and a high of €4.375 intra-week.
Among the list of gainers, Go plc traded 0.8 per cent higher back to €3.479, on 10 deals of 29,148 shares.
Medserv plc shares partially recovered from its previous 1.1 per cent fall with a 0.6 per cent gain, to close at €1.791, on six deals of 37,300 shares.
After eight weeks of inactivity, Loqus Holdings plc was active in four deals of 22,364 shares and closed the week 0.8 per cent higher at €0.131.
Eleven deals of 33,410 shares in RS2 Software plc shares wiped out the previous week’s gains of the equity, having closed the week 0.5 per cent lower at €3.80 in anticipation of the announcement of the company’s results for the year ended December 31, 2015, due to be announced on Thursday.
Last Monday, 6PM Holdings plc announced that its board of directors is due to meet on Tuesday to consider and approve the company’s audited financial statements for the financial year ended December 31, 2015, and the declaration or otherwise of a dividend to be recommended to shareholders at the AGM on June 21.
Santumas Shareholdings plc’s share price retreated by 0.4 per cent to €2.35, on a thin volume of 2,330 shares. The equity traded last Monday after five weeks of inactivity.
There was no movement in Maltapost plc’s share price, which closed at €1.98 after five deals of 21,500 shares.
In the corporate bond market, total turnover stood at €1.22 million – a week-on-week drop of 25.8 per cent. Trading activity was spread across 38 issues, of which 21 rose, 11 fell and six closed the week unchanged. The six per cent Island Hotels Group Holdings plc € 2024 issue recorded the week’s best performance, having traded five per cent higher at €115, on seven deals of 43,000 nominal. Last Friday marked the start of trading for the recently issued 4.25 per cent Corinthia Finance plc unsecured € 2026, having closed the week at €104.50 – up 4.5 per cent from par.
In the sovereign debt market, all the 23 traded issues fell during the week, with the 2.3 per cent MGS 2029 (II) issue recording the worst drop of 1.4 per cent, down to €108, on nine deals of 185,500 nominal. Total trading value amounted to €5.98 million, of which 41 per cent was traded in the 2.5 per cent MGS 2036 (I) r, having edged 0.7 per cent lower to €106.
Last Thursday as expected, the European Central Bank kept its benchmark interest rate at zero and retained the deposit rate to lenders at -0.4 per cent. Meanwhile, ECB president Mario Draghi was on the defensive on the effectiveness of the latest easing package delivered just a few weeks ago. He also reiterated that additional fiscal measures would quicken the effect of the monetary easing currently being implemented. He further stated that interest rates will stay at current or lower levels for an extended period, well beyond the current horizon for the quantitative easing programme of asset purchases.
This article, which was compiled by Jesmond Mizzi, managing director of Jesmond Mizzi Financial Advisors Ltd, does not intend to give investment advice and the contents therein should not be construed as such. The company is licensed to conduct investment services by the MFSA and a member of the Malta Stock Exchange and a member of the Atlas Group. The directors or related parties, including the company, and their clients are likely to have an interest in securities mentioned in this article. For further information contact Jesmond Mizzi at 1/2, St Joseph High Street, Ħamrun, or on Tel. 2122 4410 or e-mail jesmond.mizzi@jesmondmizzi.com.