The share price of Bank of Valletta plc exceeded the €2.50 level this morning for the first time since February 2011.
BOV’s equity added 0.8 per cent to the €2.52 level across nine deals totalling 13,150 shares. The bank is scheduled to publish its preliminary full-year results on October 31.
The equity of HSBC Bank Malta plc also ended this morning’s session in positive territory with a 0.4 per cent increase to €2.63 on low volumes of 2,754 shares.
This morning, the European Central Bank announced that it will carry out a comprehensive assessment of the large banks in each of the 17 eurozone nations.
It will be doing this in anticipation of its new supervisory tasks which it expects to undertake as from November 2014 under the regulation on the single supervisory mechanism.
The assessment will comprise supervisory risk assessment, an asset quality review as well as a stress test. In Malta, both BOV and HSBC will be subjected to this comprehensive assessment.
The shares of RS2 Software plc advanced for the third consecutive session with a further 2.4 per cent jump to yet another all-time high of €2.10 although volumes were low at 5,333 shares.
The share price of Tigné Mall plc inched minimally higher to regain the 51c2 level on a single deal of 50,000 shares.
On the other hand, International Hotel Investments plc slipped 3.6 per cent lower to 80c across 25,000 shares.
Yesterday, IHI published a prospectus in connection with a €10 million bond issue.
The prospectus revealed that the group is expected to achieve improved operational performances across all its properties both this year and in 2014.
Nonetheless, IHI is expected to remain in an overall loss-making position mainly as a result of the high depreciation and finance costs.
The prospectus also revealed that the sale of the 12 London apartments is now only expected to take place in 2014.
Crimsonwing plc shares eased after failing to hold to a new all-time high of 85c. The IT equity slipped 0.6 per cent from the previous close to end the session at the 84c level on high volumes of 95,000 shares.
Meanwhile, no change was registered in the share price of Malta International Airport plc as 17,800 shares traded at the €2 level.
Similarly, GO plc traded unchanged at the €1.45 level on volumes of 20,375 shares.
In the banking sector, Lombard Bank Malta plc held on to the €1.90 level on low volumes of 5,000 shares.
The only other active equity was MIDI plc with 11,500 shares changing hands at the 25c level.
On the bond market, the Rizzo Farrugia MGS Index edged 0.1 per cent higher to a three-week high of 1,020.277 points as Eurozone yields dropped below the 1.8 per cent level for the first time in two weeks.
Yields have slid after a disappointing US jobs report strengthened the view that the US Federal Reserve will delay the tapering of its stimulus measures.
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