Trading activity in the local equity market remained high with over €0.5 million worth of shares changing hands during this morning’s session. The MSE Share Index edged a further 0.1 per cent higher to 3,559.629 points – a fresh 33-month high.
During this morning’s trading session, the share price of HSBC Bank Malta plc edged 0.4 per cent higher to €2.56,5 across eight deals totalling 11,800 shares. Similarly, MIDI plc moved 2.3 per cent higher to 27c across 63,000 shares.
Medserv plc also performed positively with an increase of 1.1 per cent to the €1.35,5 level albeit on a small deal of 745 shares. Low volumes were also registered in Island Hotels Group Holdings plc as the equity inched marginally higher to 90c on a trade of 1,000 shares.
On the other hand, two of the IT equities eased lower. The share price of Crimsonwing plc shed 1.2 per cent back to the 86c level across six deals totalling 191,970 shares and RS2 Software plc’s equity eased minimally lower to €2.29,9 on volumes of 41,000 shares.
Meanwhile, no change was registered in the share price of Bank of Valletta plc as the equity held on to the €2.62 level across 24,396 shares. The bank is scheduled to hold its annual general meeting on December 19.
Similarly, GO plc traded unchanged at the €1.66,5 level on volumes of 70,000 shares. This morning, foreign press reports revealed that WIND Hellas exercised its call option to acquire 3.5 million shares of Forthnet thereby increasing its stake in Forthnet to 32.3 per cent. In the meantime, Forthnet is undertaking a €30 million rights issue.
A single deal of 30,000 Tigné Mall plc shares was executed today at the 50c5 level representing no change from the previous close. Likewise, no change was registered in the share price of 6pm Holdings plc as 5,000 shares traded at the 70p level.
On the bond market, the Rizzo Farrugia MGS Index shed a further 0.1 per cent lower to a new seven-week low of just above 1,018 points as Eurozone yields continued to move upwards towards the 1.8 per cent level.
The further rise in benchmark yields reflects a sell-off across bond markets as US private-sector hiring rose in November at the fastest rate in the last twelve months reigniting fears that the US Federal Reserve could start trimming its monetary stimulus earlier than anticipated.
This afternoon, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced that it maintained its benchmark interest rate at the historically low level of 0.25 per cent during its last monetary policy meeting of the year.
Nonetheless, the ECB President Mario Draghi explained that the region’s central bank remains ready to act in view of its own projections that the inflation rate will remain below target for the next two years.
However, investors shrugged off these comments as Eurozone yields rallied to the 1.86 per cent level – a fresh seven-week high.
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