Daily Market Highlights (05.01.11)

  • Negative start to 2011 persists as all active equities apart from MaltaPost closed lower. MSE Share Index sheds a further 1.4% this morning to close at 3,711.632 points mainly due to declines in the three large cap equities, namely HSBC, BOV and IHI. Download a copy of today’s Equity Market Summary.
  • Bond market back in positive territory as the benchmark 10-year Eurozone yield drops to the 2.89% level. As result the Central Bank of Malta Stockbroker raised its Malta Government Stock bid prices which in turn lifted the Rizzo Farrugia MGS Index by 0.1% to 994.193 points.
  • BOV loses further ground ahead of next Friday’s 1 for 5 bonus issue cut-off date. Share price down another 1.3% today to the €3.82 level across 15 trades amounting to over 18,800 shares. Best bids now placed at €3.80 whilst lowest offers pitched at the €3.83 level.
  • Volatile session for HSBC shares. Equity opened lower at €3.17 but soon regained the €3.20 level only to drop back to €3.17 by the end of today’s trading session representing a 0.6% drop from the previous close. Significant decline in volumes as only 4,780 shares changed hands today in contrast to yesterday’s activity of 109,000 shares.
  • IHI also in negative territory as it trades for the first time this year. Equity plunged 4.8% back to the €0.90 level across seven trades totalling 49,600 shares. Recently the IHI Group announced that it is undertaking a private placement of new shares at a price above the nominal value of €1.00.
  • On the other hand, MaltaPost closed unchanged at its all-time high of €1.00 on volumes of 24,928 shares. The postal operator this morning published its September 2010 full-year results revealing a 1% growth in revenue which offset the marginal increase in the overall cost base of the Company. As a result MaltaPost reported a 7% rise in profitability to €2.1 million. The Directors recommended a final net dividend of €0.04 per share subject to approval at the upcoming Annual General Meeting scheduled for Monday 31 January. Further details and copy of preliminary results available here.
  • MIA fails to hold on to its 2010 high of €1.66 as a single trade of 2,000 shares is transacted at the €1.65 level representing a 0.6% decline from its previous close.
  • Share price of Simonds Farsons Cisk also closes 1.2% lower today to the €1.68 level on volumes of 2,333 shares.
  • Lombard and Middlesea also traded lower this morning. Lombard sheds 0.7% to €2.78 on a single trade of 1,500 shares with the share price of the insurance company declining back to the €1.00 level on volumes of 9,740 shares.