After trending higher during the past two trading sessions, the share index dropped 0.16 per cent today to 4,422.418 points mainly reflecting the declines in the share prices of HSBC, BOV and GO which together outweighed the rebound in IHI.
The most actively traded equity today was Bank of Valletta plc which retreated back to the €2.25 level (-0.4 per cent) on volumes totalling 44,692 shares having a market value of €0.1 million – representing nearly 43 per cent of the total value of equities traded today.
Also in the retail banking sector, HSBC slipped 1.2 per cent to drop back to the €1.60 level across 9,261 shares.
Three deals totalling 10,445 shares pulled GO one per cent lower from its sixteen-week high of €3.15 to the €3.12 level.
The other negative performing equity today was Malta Properties Company as it fell 4.4 per cent to 51c6 on light volumes.
In contrast, International Hotel Investments reversed yesterday’s decline as it regained the 64c level across 7,426 shares.
In the interim results published recently, the directors of IHI noted that the general business outlook for the group’s hotels remains positive with year-on-year growth forecast in both turnover and operating profits.
Nonetheless, the prevailing challenging conditions which have impacted the financial performance of IHI‘s properties in Tripoli and St. Petersburg are expected to persist. Notwithstanding this, the commercial centre in Tripoli remains fully-leased out thereby mitigating the hotel’s operational loss for an overall positive EBITDA.
In Russia, the hotel is managing to compensate the loss of international business with additional local business.
Medserv plc regained the €1.60 level (+0.9 per cent) on a single trade of 4,900 shares.
Meanwhile, RS2 Software held on to the €1.64 level across 12,648 shares whilst Simonds Farsons Cisk recovered from an intra-day low of €6.35 (-2.3 per cent) to also finish unchanged at its all-time high of €6.50.
On the bond market, the RF MGS Index rebounded by 0.11% from yesterday’s near four-week low to 1,166.347 points.
Euro zone sovereign bond yields fell from their recent highs after a top US Federal Reserve official argued against hiking rates too soon, easing concerns that central banks globally were stepping back from looser monetary policy. In fact, the 10-year benchmark German Bund yield fell to 0.023 per cent today from 0.042 per cent yesterday.
Similarly, the corresponding yields of Italy and Spain also retreated to 1.262 per cent and 1.064 per cent respectively. On the economic front, fresh data showed that German economic sentiment remained unchanged near the lowest level in four years in September, despite expectations for a modest improvement.
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