The share price of HSBC Bank Malta plc added on to yesterday’s 3.1 per cent gain with an increase of 0.7 per cent this morning to the €3.04 level on volumes of 12,000 shares. Support for this equity above the €3 level has gathered momentum with few sellers in the market in anticipation of the publication of the 2010 full-year results in February.
The gains registered by HSBC helped the MSE Share Index rise by 0.2 per cent to close at a four-month high of 3,532.362 points.
Meanwhile Bank of Valletta plc managed to maintain the €3.77 level on continued high volumes amounting to over 26,000 shares as demand for this equity remains encouraging ahead of the bank’s one for five bonus issue effective next month. Tomorrow, BOV will be holding its annual general meeting.
Apart from HSBC, the other positive performing equity of the day was Simonds Farsons Cisk plc which edged 1.2 per cent higher to regain the €1.72 level on volumes of over 12,100 shares.
In its interim statement issued on November 24, SFC announced that the overall group performance during the third quarter (August to October) of the Group’s fiscal year ending January 31 was satisfactory despite the highly challenging and competitive environment in which the group operates.
Meanwhile, works on the new €14 million brewhouse and water treatment facility are progressing according to plan and the directors expect the group’s results for the current financial year to show an improvement in profitability over the previous year when a pre-tax profit of €3.1 million was generated.
Further bids remain outstanding in the market at the €1.72 level with lowest offers placed at €1.75.
In contrast to the positive trend in the local equity market, the bond market saw further declines in Malta Government Stock prices as the Central Bank of Malta lowered its bid prices in line with the continued rise in the Eurozone yield which surpassed the three per cent level.
The biggest decline was registered in the 5.5 per cent MGS 2023 (I) dropping by 74 basis points to 108.16 per cent compared to its recent high of 115.26 per cent.
www.rizzofarrugia.com