The MSE Equity Total Return Index continued its negative start to 2018 as it posted further falls of 0.2%, closing at 8,631.649 points. Trading in the equity market was spread across 17 securities of which five headed north and nine declined as total turnover reached €1.31m over 239 deals.
MSE Index losses were minimised by a positive performance of the most liquid equity on the local market, Bank of Valletta plc.
The equity started the week negatively but then managed to turn things round with three successive positive performances. The share price ended the week at €1.82, translating to a 1.11% gain on the price of the previous week.
HSBC Bank Malta plc traded heavily as 88,304 shares were exchanged over 35 deals. In spite of this substantial trading activity, the equity traded flat after mixed performances throughout the week cancelled out each other.
The only other active banking equity was FIMBank plc.
Two deals on Tuesday of 8,500 shares left the equity’s price unchanged at $0.69.
GO plc edged 1.12% lower to end the week at €3.52 on a turnover of €29,253 over 8 transactions.
Yesterday, the company an-nounced that following its decision not to participate in the convertible bond loan issued by Forthnet S.A. on October 11, 2016, the company’s percentage shareholding in Forthnet has declined.
GO plc now directly holds 15.19 per cent of Forthnet’s issued share capital, as opposed to the 22.605 per cent which it owned prior to the convertible bond loan.
Malta International Airport plc (MIA) posted solid gains this week as the share price jumped by 2.13 per cent, reaching €4.80.
A turnover of €71,776 was generated over 11 transactions.
Yesterday, after close of trading, MIA presented its traffic forecast for 2018, revealing that it expects to register further growth in the coming year to reach the figure of 6.5 million passengers.
In a press conference, the company announced that during 2017, an upturn of 17.5 per cent in passenger movement was recorded.
The CEO also presented the financial targets for the year, including total revenue which is expected to reach over €87m and net profit projected at over €28m.
International Hotel Investments plc was a drag on the index as it erased all of the gains posted in the previous week after dropping by a considerable 3.91 per cent.
The equity ended the week at €0.615 as €19,814 worth of shares changed hands over six deals.
Mapfre Middlesea plc closed at €1.84 after five deals were struck in which 10,610 shares changed hands. This change was the outcome of a single deal executed yesterday after the equity had traded flat at €1.82 during the earlier days of the week.
In the oil and gas sector, Medserv plc recovered a small portion of the previous week’s substantial losses as it advanced by a marginal 0.87 per cent, closing at €1.16. The equity was only active on Monday, when a total of 5,870 shares were exchanged over a couple of trades.
A total of three trades involving 18,900 shares of Loqus Holdings plc hit the equity hard as it slumped by 14.29 per cent. A single trade on slim volume registered on Monday at €0.15 set the tone for another two trades recorded later on during the week at the same price.
In the food and beverages industry, Simonds Farsons Cisk plc shares were traded four times this week as a turnover of €13,289 was generated.
After having registered no price changes until Thursday, the equity yesterday closed a sizable 5.29 per cent lower.
In the IT sector, RS2 Software plc continued the year on a negative trend as six trades worth a combined €24,518 pushed the share price down to €1.49 – which translates to a 2.61 per cent decline.
MIDI plc registered its first price movement for the year as it posted falls of 2.86 per cent to close at €0.34. The equity generated a hefty turnover of €105,252.
In the property industry, Malita Investments plc returned to positive territory as its shares clicked a notch higher on Thursday to a price of €0.825. The 1.23 per cent gain was the result of a total of five deals in which 42,200 shares were traded.
Conversely, Malta Properties Company plc continued to trade in the red as it posted further falls of 1.36 per cent to end the week at €0.434. A total of €18,061 worth of shares were traded over six transactions between Wednesday and Thursday.
Maltapost plc was also active, albeit on unimpressive trading volumes as just 687 shares were exchanged on a single deal registered yesterday, which caused the share price to fall by 3.77 per cent closing at €2.04.
Plaza Centres plc had a very similar performance, as it was inactive for the whole week, but yesterday, a single deal of 1,000 shares caused the equity to fall by 0.9% to €1.10.
The price for PG plc closed unchanged as despite generating a turnover of €42,238, all nine deals were executed at a price of €1.40.
The Prospects MTF market was also active as a single trade worth €5,050 in the 4.875% AgriHoldings Plc Senior Secured € 2024 pushed the price of the bond up by 1 per cent to €101.
In the corporate debt market, 31 issues were active, 14 of which fell in value, while nine posted gains.
A turnover of €1.2m was generated over 123 deals.
Yields in the sovereign debt market were generally up as out of 19 active issues, 12 traded negatively while six gained ground.