The Malta Stock Exchange Equity Price Index rebounded by 0.22% on Wednesday to 4,492.924 points after a decline of nearly 1% on Tuesday. Four equities trended higher whilst another three shares traded unchanged. Trading volumes fell sharply as only €0.07 million worth of shares changed hands.

HSBC Bank Malta plc added 1.1% to regain the €1.80 level across 10,439 shares.

Also among the large companies, a single deal of just 325 shares lifted the equity of GO plc 0.5% higher to the €3.94 level.

Low trading activity also took place in the equities of Malita Investments plc and Loqus Holdings plc. Malita advanced 1.7% to regain the €0.89 level whilst Loqus closed substantially higher at €0.075.

Meanwhile, Bank of Valletta plc retained the €1.35 level across 15,538 shares.

Two deals totalling 3,370 shares left the equity of Malta International Airport plc at the €6.20 level.

Trident Estates plc stayed at the €1.35 level on activity of 1,500 shares.

The RF MGS Index posted its first three-day positive streak since early July as it added a further 0.16% to a near one-week high of 1,082.861 points. Bond prices continued to mirror the volatile setting across international financial markets amid various uncertainties related to the health of the global economy. This also included the publication of disappointing economic data in Europe. In France, industrial activity dropped markedly to an over two-year low.

Similarly, preliminary readings of indices gauging the level of confidence among purchasing managers in the manufacturing and services sectors in Germany and all of the euro zone also fell to their lowest levels in two years.

On Wednesday, the Governing Council of the European Central Bank kick-starts its two-day monetary policy meeting. While analysts are not expecting the ECB to implement any changes to its earlier indications of terminating its Asset Purchase Programme at the end of this year, and also leave interest rates unchanged at least through the summer 2019, attention will be mainly focused on any possible references to Italy.

In an unprecedented step, the European Commission on Tuesday formally rejected Italy’s budget for 2019 and ordered the Italian government to present a new set of fiscal targets within three weeks.

www.rizzofarrugia.com

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