The December rally gathered further momentum during the final trading week of 2010 as the MSE Share Index advanced by 1.5 per cent today on continued gains in each of the three largest capitalised companies.

This month, the local equity market has so far risen by 6.6 per cent.

The share price of Bank of Valletta plc managed to recover from last week’s 2.9 per cent decline as the equity touched the 2010 closing high of €3.81 registered on December 17 before closing the day at €3.80,1 (+2.7 per cent over last week’s close). Volumes in BOV amounted to over 22,000 shares today.

HSBC Bank Malta plc also started the final trading week on a positive note. The equity advanced by 1.6 per cent to €3.15 on volumes of 28,000 shares. HSBC’s share price is at its highest level since April 9.

Moreover, following the gain of 18.9 per cent last week, International Hotel Investments plc added another 2.3 per cent this morning to regain the 2010 high of €0.90.

Volumes however declined from last week’s levels on lack of offers in the market below €1. IHI recently announced that it is currently undertaking a private placement of new shares at a price above the €1 level.

On the bond market, the Rizzo Farrugia MGS Index declined by 0.14 per cent today to 991.24 points as indicative bid prices of the Central Bank of Malta were revised lower once eurozone benchmark yields again surpassed the three per cent level.

The market price of the 5.25 per cent MGS 2030 declined by 63 basis points to 102.62 per cent after opening the day at a high of 103 per cent.

In the corporate bond market, the 4.25 per cent FIMBank plc 2013 EUR bonds traded up to a new all-time high of 102 per cent.

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