The equity of RS2 Software plc advanced for the second time this week as demand for the IT equity continued to emerge. The share price of RS2 opened lower at €1.85 but soon recovered to close this morning’s trading session at yet another all-time high of €1.89 across nine deals totalling 76,810 shares.

The IT equity has so far garnered a year to date uplift of 171.6% largely due to the GBP8.5 million licence deal concluded with Barclays Bank plc and the latter’s intention to acquire a 20% shareholding in RS2. Trading volumes in RS2 also grew this year with a total 2,885,337 shares, equivalent to 6.8% of the Company’s issued share capital, changing hands since the start of 2013.

Island Hotels Group Holdings plc also remained well supported albeit on lower volumes. The share price edged a further 4.4% higher to today to reach a new 29-month high of €0.94 on activity of only 7,800 shares. The equity of Island Hotels is up 19% since the start of 2013 across a total of 1,819,600 shares.

Yesterday evening, the Directors of Island Hotels issued a statement explaining that, barring any unforeseen events in the last two months of the Group’s financial year (September and October), its aggregate operating profits will be marginally better than those registered last year when the Group registered an operating profit of €1.9 million. Nonetheless, this operational profit was offset by interest charges and taxes which led to a net loss of almost €1 million. The announcement also reiterated that the Group continues to seek a fresh equity injection so as to finance new projects, namely the development of the Oasis project (ex-Hal Ferh).

Elsewhere in the local equity market, the share price of Bank of Valletta plc retreated for the second consecutive session by a further 0.4% to €2.34 on volumes of almost 8,000 shares. This month marks the end of the Bank’s financial year with the preliminary full-year results published by the end of October.

Meanwhile, no change was registered in the share price of HSBC Bank Malta plc as a further 20,840 shares changed hands at the €2.50 level across thirteen deals. Similarly, Malta International Airport plc held on to the €1.88 level across four deals totalling 5,556 shares.

On the bond market, the Rizzo Farrugia MGS Index moved back into positive territory with a 0.1% increase to 1,021.004 points as Eurozone yields slipped back to the 1.95% level. The trend reflected that registered yesterday evening in US Treasury markets following strong demand in a US$21 billion auction of 10-year US Treasury notes.

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