The MSE Equity Price Index retreated by 0.34 per cent from its six-month high to 4,407.680 points, mostly driven by the slump in the share price of BOV which together with the declines in five other equities outweighed the gains in several other shares including the surge in MIDI.
Trading volumes improved considerably to just under €0.48 million, largely reflecting heightened activity in MIDI.
Bank of Valletta plc tumbled 6.4 per cent to its lowest level since July 2012 of €1.31 on volumes totalling 65,832 shares.
Also among the large companies, both Malta International Airport plc and International Hotel Investments plc suffered declines. MIA shed 1.6 per cent to €6.10 and IHI also lost 1.6 per cent to €0.635 albeit on shallow activity. Last Friday, MIA announced the September traffic results revealing a 12.8 per cent increase in passenger movements to a record of 706,814 passengers. The announcement also noted that during July, August and September, the airport operator registered 2.2 million passenger movements – a record for this period and representing an 11.4 per cent increase over the corresponding period last year. From January to September this year, MIA welcomed over 5.29 million passengers, representing an increase of 14.2 per cent over the previous corresponding period.
Medserv plc dropped by 1.8 per cent to the €1.07 level across 6,100 shares.
In the property segment, Main Street Complex plc and Tigne’ Mall plc eased by less than 1 per cent to €0.65 and €0.955 respectively on light trading volumes.
In contrast, MIDI plc surged by nearly 18 per cent to a fresh all-time high of €0.66 on robust volumes totalling 269,010 shares. The significant gain in MIDI’s share price was fuelled by a local media article published today saying that Tumas Group will be acquiring from MIDI an equity stake of at least 60 per cent in a new joint venture company for €100 million. The new company will reportedly proceed with the development of the Manoel Island project next year. However, following the publication of this media article, MIDI clarified in a company announcement that, as such, it has not yet concluded any agreement with Tumas Group and that discussions are still ongoing. MIDI also made reference to its earlier announcement dated June 21, 2018, and reiterated that any material updates in relation to the potential development of Manoel Island will be communicated by MIDI in accordance with regulatory requirements.
Positive sentiment towards FIMBank plc persisted further as the equity reached a new 2018 high of $0.70 (+2.2 per cent) across 38,934 shares.
Similarly, GO plc climbed 2.1 per cent to a new 12-year high of €3.90 on six deals totalling 21,128 shares. Last week, GO announced that subject to shareholders’ approval, it will be seeking to dispose of up to 49 per cent of its shareholding in BMIT Technologies plc through an initial public offering. In this respect, GO also added that through this sale, it will be seeking to raise up to €49 million. These proceeds are earmarked to deliver returns to shareholders.
A single deal of just 6,500 shares lifted the equity of RS2 Software plc 1.8 per cent higher back to the €1.15 level.
Low trading activity also took place in the equities of Trident Estates plc and Mapfre Middlesea plc which recaptured the €1.35 (+0.7 per cent) and €1.93 (+5.5 per cent) levels respectively.
Meanwhile, HSBC Bank Malta plc held on to the €1.81 level across 22,930 shares.
Malta Properties Company plc (2,780 shares) and PG plc (29,485 shares) also closed the day unchanged at €0.50 and €1.40 respectively.
The RF MGS Index continued to perform negatively as it slipped by a further 0.08 per cent to an over four-year low of 1,080.112 points. Prices of MGS extended their recent decline amid a persistent surge in global bond yields. Particularly in the US, the 10-year Treasury recorded a new seven-year high of 3.26 per cent amid expectations of further monetary policy tightening in the months ahead.
Meanwhile, in Europe, fiscal uncertainty in Italy continued to dominate headlines. On the one hand, Economy Minister Giovanni Tria was reported as saying that "in the face of a financial crisis, the government will do what it must do, as Draghi did." In contrast, however, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said that the government has “no plan B or backtracks” on its intentions to fuel economic growth through looser fiscal policy.
Stock markets are volatile and subject to fluctuations which cannot be reasonably foreseen. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.