The share price of RS2 Software plc touched a new all-time high of 88c during the course of this morning’s session before easing back to close unchanged at the 86c level on total activity of 6,398 shares.
The IT equity has surged by 16.2 per cent since the start of 2013 as sentiment remained positive following the announcements in Q4 2012 of the two new licence agreements with an initial value of €6.5 million as well as further contracts and potential business in the pipeline.
Malta International Airport plc shares also ended this morning’s session unchanged at the €1.79 level after recovering from an intra-day low of €1.77. Volumes remained high for the second successive day with 93,600 shares trading this morning.
Likewise, no change was recorded in the share price of Bank of Valletta plc as the bank’s equity failed to hold on to an intra-day high of €2.26 across 15 deals totalling just over 24,000 shares.
Yesterday, Fitch confirmed the long-term credit rating of the BOV group at ‘BBB+’ with a stable outlook on the back of its strong domestic franchise, stable funding model and a healthy liquidity position.
Meanwhile, a single trade of 4,000 HSBC Bank Malta plc shares was transacted at the €2.72,3 level representing a 0.1 per cent increase over the previous close. Outstanding demand is already placed at €2.73 ahead of the bank’s full-year results publication on March 4.
On the bond market, the Rizzo Farrugia MGS Index eased minimally lower to 1,007.290 points in line with the uplift in Eurozone yields to the 1.64 per cent level following a successful Spanish bond auction.
The Spanish government managed to sell a total of €4.6 billion (across three different maturities) – higher than its maximum target of €4.5 billion.
Meanwhile, the European Central Bank this afternoon announced it will hold its benchmark rate at the historically low level of 0.75 per cent for the seventh consecutive month.
The ECB is waiting to see whether the signs of a recovery across the Eurozone will strengthen throughout the year or be derailed by the sharp appreciation of the euro.
Similarly, the Bank of England announced that it held its benchmark rate at the record low of 0.5 per cent whilst pledging to further support the UK economy. In this respect, the BoE announced that it will be reinvesting £6.6 billion of maturing bonds (redeeming in March) and pledge to provide further stimulus if necessary.
www.rizzofarrugia.com