The MSE Share Index advanced by 0.4 per cent to 3,476.884 points on gains in four equities amid higher trading activity.
RS2 Software plc ended this morning’s session one per cent higher at a new closing high of €2 although volumes were low with only 7,982 shares changing hands.
Yesterday evening, the IT company announced that Mr Christopher Wood, who currently sits on Barclaycard’s Executive Committee and leads its Enterprise Development and Corporate Affairs function, has been appointed as a non-executive director of RS2.
The appointment of Mr Wood is part of the deal by virtue of which Barclays Bank plc will acquire a 10 per cent stake in RS2 from ITM Holding Ltd – the major shareholder of RS2.
Barclays has also already announced its intention of acquiring a further 10 per cent from the secondary market.
Bank of Valletta plc also performed positively with a 1.2 per cent increase to regain its 2013 high of €2.47,9 across 25 deals totalling 52,784 shares.
The September 2013 full-year results are expected to be announced by the end of October.
Similarly, the equity of Malta International Airport plc moved 0.5 per cent higher to regain the €1.97 level on low volumes of 8,475 shares.
Last Friday, the airport operator announced a 10.8 per cent increase in passenger movements during September and it was also revealed that British Airways will return to Malta with a daily flight to Gatwick as from March 30.
GO plc shares also closed this morning’s session in positive territory. The equity of the telecoms quad-play operator recovered from an intra-day low of €1.44 to end today’s session at the €1.48 level representing a 0.7 per cent increase over the previous closing price.
Meanwhile, the other four active equities ended this morning’s session unchanged.
HSBC Bank Malta plc held on to the €2.62 level on volumes of 23,650 shares and Lombard Bank Malta plc maintained the €1.86 level on a single deal of 5,500 shares.
Similarly, Crimsonwing plc traded unchanged at the all-time high of 77c on just 6,250 shares.
The IT company is scheduled to hold its annual general meeting on October 16 for shareholders to consider and approve a number of resolutions including the recommended final gross dividend of 1c per share. Shareholders as at the close of trading on October 17 will be eligible to receive this dividend.
The equity of Simonds Farsons Cisk plc was active for the first time since turning ex-dividend with respect to the interim gross dividend of 3c33 per share. Nonetheless, its share price remained unchanged at the €2.75 level on a trade of 3,600 shares.
On the bond market, the Rizzo Farrugia MGS Index eased 0.1 per cent lower to 1,018.743 points as Eurozone yields edged marginally higher to 1.83 per cent in spite of the uncertainty created by the US shutdown as well as an unexpected fall in German factory orders.
www.rizzofarrugia.com