Following last week's 5.8% jump, the share price of Malta International Airport plc advanced by a further 2.4% during this morning's session to a new 3-month high of €1.70 on sustained demand totalling 24,000 shares. The upturn in the share price helped the airport operator's equity to move into positive territory since the start of 2011 with a year-to-date increase of 2.4%.

Elsewhere in the local equity market, high volumes were registered in International Hotel Investments plc amounting to almost 68,000 shares. IHI's share price however eased by 0.6% to close at €0.815.

Bank of Valletta plc closed minimally higher at €2.455 as a total of 19,000 shares traded during this morning's session. Meanwhile, HSBC Bank Malta plc closed unchanged at the €2.64 level on lower activity.

This morning eurozone yields jumped to a new 3-month high of 2.256% following the G20 meeting during which the European representatives reassured the other delegates that Europe was working on a plan to solve the region's sovereign debt crisis. As a result the Rizzo Farrugia MGS Index slipped 0.3% to a 3-month low of 980.507 points. However, earlier on this afternoon, Eurozone yields slipped back to the 2.13% level on renewed scepticism over the ability of European leaders to solve the debt crisis following comments made by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Germany is also calling for private investors to take on a bigger write-off on Greek debt than the original 21% agreed to in July.

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