The MSE Share Index shed a further 0.2 per cent to 3,508.802 points as all three active equities declined.
The share prices of both Bank of Valletta plc and HSBC Bank Malta plc continued to ease. HSBC closed 0.9 per cent lower at €2.42 after touching a new 2014 low of €2.39.
A total of 34,333 shares changed hands today. Likewise, the share price of BOV closed 0.1% lower to €2.245 after also touching a new 2014 low of €2.24. Activity in BOV amounted to 21,280 shares.
The only other active equity was GO plc which eased minimally lower to €2.08,9 after touching an intra-day low of €2.
Volumes increased to 31,880 shares.
Last Tuesday afternoon, GO published its 2013 financial statements revealing a 41.5 per cent drop in pre-tax profits to €15.6 million which is largely due to the one-off €11.4 million gain in relation to disposal of property reported in 2012.
In fact, normalised EBITDA declined by 5.7 per cent to €48.4 million. GO plc recommended a net dividend of 7c per share (2012: 10c) to shareholders as at close of trading on April 1.
On the bond market, the Rizzo Farrugia MGS Index dropped by 0.13 per cent to 1,025.746 points as the benchmark 10-year Eurozone yields climbed following last night’s comments from the Federal Reserve.
Newly appointed chairwoman Janet Yellen announced a further reduction of $10bn from its economic stimulus programme and confirmed that the US central bank might end its bond-buying program this coming autumn and could start to raise interest rates six months later – earlier than anticipated.
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