The share price of Bank of Valletta plc advanced by a further 0.2% today to €3.725 on increased volumes totalling over 25,000 shares on renewed demand ahead of the 1 for 5 bonus share issue taking place next month. HSBC Bank Malta plc also closed higher but volumes were weak on lack of offers in the market below the €3.00 level. HSBC’s share price closed 0.7% higher at €2.921. Lombard Bank Malta plc also saw its share price edge 1.2% higher today to close at the €2.60 level across 3,400 shares.

While these three banking equities advanced, the US Dollar denominated equity of FIMBank plc declined by 3.1% to USD0.92 on a single trade of 25,000 shares.

Shortly after the close of this morning’s trading session, two important announcements were issued. Malta International Airport plc published its November traffic results revealing a double-digit growth in passenger movements for the seventh consecutive month. During November passenger numbers rose by 12.5% to 202,718 – the highest level of passenger movements ever recorded in November. This growth was mainly due to the 11.8% increase in seat capacity. During the first eleven months of the year, MIA registered a 13% increase in passenger movements – substantially higher than the Company’s forecast of an 8% growth. MIA’s share price edged minimally higher this morning to €1.65 across three trades amounting to 6,000 shares.

Meanwhile, GO plc announced that Forgendo (a joint-venture between GO and its majority shareholder Emirates International Telecommunication) increased its shareholding in Forthnet through further share purchases on the Athens Stock Exchange. Forgendo purchased another 1,299,439 shares for a total consideration of €694,196 equivalent to €0.534 per share. Following this additional purchase, Forgendo’s equity stake in Forthnet has increased from 39.88% to 40.71%.

On the bond market, volumes across corporate bonds declined while indicative bid prices of Malta Government Stocks quoted by the Central Bank of Malta Stockbroker declined as the benchmark 10-year Eurozone yield continued to rise towards the 2.90% level – the highest since May 2010. The bid price of the 5.25% MGS 2030 (I) was lowered by 43 basis points to 101.32%.

www.rizzofarrugia.com now also available on mobile

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.