The share index erased the declines of the previous two trading sessions as it edged up by 0.79 per cent to 4,439.727 points. The uplift in the local equity index largely took place on the back of the recovery in the share price of IHI which rallied by 7.6 per cent albeit on insignificant volumes. BOV, RS2 and MPC also performed positively whilst HSBC was the only equity to post a decline today. Trading activity remained subdued across the equity market.
A single deal of just 650 shares lifted the equity of International Hotel Investments back to the 65c level (+7.6 per cent). Tomorrow, an additional 6,507,168 IHI shares will be allotted in relation to last year’s acquisition by IHI of the IHG Group.
Also among the large companies, Bank of Valletta regained the €2.23 level (+0.5 per cent) across 3,320 shares.
Similarly, RS2 Software advanced by 0.3 per cent to the €1.90,5 level on thin volumes totalling 2,050 shares. RS2 is expected to reveal its interim results on Thursday.
In the property segment, Malta Properties Company gained 0.2 per cent to the 50c9 level on low volumes.
HSBC failed to hold on to its intra-day high of €1.60 (+3.2 per cent) as it closed at its 12-year low of €1.55 (-0.1 per cent) on volumes totalling 34,000 shares. HSBC shares will continue to trade with the entitlement to the gross interim dividend of 7c1 per share until tomorrow.
In the meantime, three equities finished today’s trading session unchanged. GO briefly touched an intra-day low of €2.80 before closing flat at €2.82. A total of 1,500 GO shares changed hands today.
This afternoon, GO revealed its six-month performance ended June 30 in which the group posted a pre-tax profit figure of €17.1 million which is 31.3 per cent higher than the corresponding period last year.
GO’s results were positively impacted by a gain of €6.1 million arising from the acquisition of a subsidiary. Eliminating this one-off gain, EBITDA still improved by 19 per cent to €29.9 million.
Malta International Airport (967 shares) and Mapfre Middlesea (2,500 shares) also maintained the €4.19 and €2.02,5 levels respectively. The airport operator is scheduled to publish its 2016 interim results on August 17.
On the bond market, the RF MGS Index climbed 0.15 per cent to 1,160.812 points – its highest level since the end of April 2015. Indeed, the indicative bid prices of the Central Bank of Malta for various Malta Government Stocks (including the shorter-term dated MGS issued last February – i.e. the 1.5 per cent MGS 2022 IV) reached a new all-time high today.
Such gains reflected developments in sovereign yields in Europe where the search for yield is becoming even more difficult in the context of the European Central Bank’s and now the Bank of England’s expanded quantitative easing programmes.
In fact, the 10-year yields of both Spain and Britain hit record lows today at 0.973 per cent and 0.592 per cent respectively.
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