The share index extended yesterday’s decline and closed 0.35 per cent lower at 4,327.589 points as all the three retail banks performed negatively.
Two other equities ended the day unchanged. Volumes remained low with only €182,000 worth of shares changing hands.
Bank of Valletta closed one per cent lower at the €2.34 level across 19,300 shares. The bank is expected to publish its annual preliminary results by the end of October.
Recently, the bank announced that it lodged an application with the listing authority for a subordinated debt issuance programme of a maximum of €150 million over the next 12 months. Further details will be issued in the prospectus and final terms once approval is granted.
Higher trading activity took place in HSBC with 46,911 shares changing hands today. The equity shed a further 0.6 per cent and dropped back to the €1.80 level.
Lombard Bank dropped 1.3 per cent lower from yesterday’s multi-year high of €2.25. Two deals took place with only 1,153 shares changing hands at the €2.22 level.
Meanwhile, the two other active equities ended today’s session unchanged. Go maintained the €3.45,9 level across low volumes of 2,000 shares. On October 29, the quad-play telecom operator will be holding an extraordinary general meeting during which shareholders will be asked to authorise the board of directors to make disclosures, including unpublished price sensitive information, which the directors may consider necessary for any bona fide bidders to make bids for the company’s entire issued share capital.
Likewise, Malta International Airport also closed unchanged at the €3.89 level across 11,000 shares.
Last week, the company published September's traffic results in which it revealed that it registered an 8.6 per cent increase in passenger movements to a new record for the month of 502,823 passengers.
Meanwhile, yesterday Ryanair announced that it will be basing a third aircraft in Malta and will operate an additional nine new routes as from the next summer season. The low cost carrier also confirmed that it will increase the frequency of some of the routes it currently operates.
On the bond market, the RF MGS Index advanced by a further 0.09 per cent to 1,137.147 points – the highest level since mid-August 2015 – as the 10-year German Bund yield eased to the 0.54 per cent level.
The renewed decline in yields took place after the head of Austria's central bank, who sits on the board of the European Central Bank, acknowledged that the ECB is missing its inflation target and it will have to introduce additional monetary stimulus measures.
Following the recent Malta Government Stock issues, the two institutional tranches were listed today and trading is expected to commence as from tomorrow. However, the Treasury and the Malta Stock Exchange have not yet indicated when the retail tranches will be listed.
Yesterday evening, Hili Properties announced its allocation policy with respect to its recent €37 million 4.5 per cent 2025 unsecured bond offering.
The issue was heavily oversubscribed and the company received a total amount of €227.8 million. Hili Ventures Group Bondholders will be allotted a minimum of €4,000 and 1.153 per cent of the remaining balance rounded up to the nearest €100.
Moreover, applications from the public will be allotted a minimum of €2,000 with an additional 1.964 per cent of the remaining balance rounded up to the nearest €100. Refunds will take place by Wednesday and trading is expected to commence today week.
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