The stock exchange share index shed a further 0.3% to a fresh 13-month low of 3,332.434 points today largely due to continued downward pressure on the share prices of the large banks.
Following two sessions on inactivity, the share price of Bank of Valletta plc opened at an intra-day high of €2.153 (+2.5% above the previous closing price) but dropped back down to the €2.08 level. Volumes increased to over 96,000 shares with the share price closing at €2.08, representing a 1% drop from the previous close. Similarly, the share price of HSBC Bank Malta plc failed to hold on to an intra-day high of €2.06 as it slipped to yet another fresh 5-year low of €2.04 albeit on lower volumes of 5,074 shares.
The only other negative performing equity was Crimsonwing plc with a 5.7% drop to €0.811 on a single trade of 560 shares.
On the other hand, the share price of GO plc edged 0.7% higher to €2.05 across 4,700 shares. This morning, media reports revealed that during the Annual General Meeting of OTE (the incumbent Greek telecoms operator) held yesterday, the CEO revealed that the Company is seriously considering a bid for it competitor Forthnet, in which GO has an indirect investment. Although Forthnet denied that it is in negotiations with OTE in relation to a takeover bid, an eventual bid by OTE could be in competition with the joint takeover plans of Vodafone Greece and Wind Hellas.
The equity of Plaza Centres plc climbed 3.5% to regain the €0.59 level across eight trades totalling 32,000 shares.
Meanwhile, no change was registered in the share price of Middlesea Insurance plc at the €0.88 level on a deal of 2,460 shares. Likewise, the equity of Malita Investments plc ended the session unchanged at the €0.55 level on volumes of 15,000 shares.
On the bond market, the Rizzo Farrugia MGS Index trended higher for the fifth consecutive session with a further 0.1% increase to 1,051.568 points as Eurozone yields slipped back to 1.3% reflecting the increasing demand for ‘safe-haven’ bunds in view of the escalating conflict in Iraq. Insurgents in Iraq took control of one of the country’s biggest oil refineries keeping oil prices high and in turn creating concerns on how this will affect the global growth outlook. This afternoon, the benchmark 10-year yields of the Eurozone fell further to the 1.27% level after the US announced a worse-than-expected contraction in their first quarter GDP at an annualized 2.9% drop compared to the preliminary 1% drop reported last month, representing the worst performance in the last five years.
www.rizzofarrugia.com