New bids for Bank of Valletta plc shares today lifted the Bank’s equity 2.4% higher to regain the €2.15 level across fourteen trades totalling 20,890 shares on the Malta Stock exchange.
On the other hand, sell orders forced the share prices of HSBC Bank Malta plc and Lombard Bank Malta plc down. Following the 8.5% drop in the previous three weeks, HSBC’s equity retreated by a further 0.7% during this morning’s session to close at the €2.631 level across three trades totalling 5,000 shares. Similarly, Lombard shares extended the recent declines with another 2.3% drop today to a new 7-year low of €2.10 on a single trade of 500 shares.
The only other active equity today was GO plc as the equity slipped 2% back to the €1.00 level across 3,000 shares.
Overall, the MSE Share Index edged 0.2% higher to 3,032.933 points.
On the bond market, the Rizzo Farrugia MGS Index eased marginally lower to 994.640 points reflecting the rise in eurozone yields to 1.585% this morning as markets continue to hope for intervention by the European Central Bank (ECB) in the bond markets of peripheral eurozone countries.