Daily Market Highlights (10.01.14)

  • The MSE Share Index was practically unchanged today at 3,679.306 points as the declines in BOV, GO and Crimsonwing counterbalanced the increases in FIMBank and 6pm Holdings. Download a copy of the Equity Market Summary. In the first few sessions of 2014, most locally listed equities maintained a positive trend amid sustained high volumes. In fact, a total of €2.2 million worth of shares changed hands during the first 6 trading sessions of the year. Nonetheless, the local equity benchmark slipped 0.2% mainly due to IHI’s 3.2% slide.
  • On the bond market, the Rizzo Farrugia MGS Index climbed 0.4% to 1,021.583 points as Eurozone yields retreated to just below the 1.9% level again in view of the fragile recovery of the Eurozone economy. This was reflected in the inflation rate to a 4-year low of 0.7% and the high unemployment which remains at a record 12.1%.       
  • The most active equity has been BOV with the price inching minimally higher to €2.65 on 130 deals totalling 259,836 shares. The equity will continue to trade with the entitlement to the 1 for 10 bonus issue until next Tuesday 14 January.
  • Meanwhile, HSBC held on to the €2.60 level across total activity of 136,295 shares.
  • Amongst the large cap equities, GO was also actively traded as the equity accounted for 7.3% of the trading activity in the local equity market since the start of 2014. The share price of the telecoms quad-play operator moved 1.4% higher to €1.85 on volumes of over 87,000 shares. Yesterday, GO replicated a Forthnet announcement on the results of the rights issue in which it explained that existing shareholders and persons who acquired pre-emption rights took up 97.88% of the shares on offer equivalent to 95,093,730 shares or €28,528,119. Demand was also high at the oversubscription process with shareholders requesting 118,735,714 shares against the remaining 2,050,845 shares on offer. As a result, the over-subscription applications were heavily scaled down and applicants were only allocated 1.73% of the amount requested. Following this rights issue, the share capital of Forthnet is now composed of 110,097,185 shares with a nominal value of €0.30 each. GO is shortly expected to confirm the number of shares taken up by Forgendo and the total amount of the loan being provided.
  • On the other hand, the share price of IHI declines by 3.2% decline to €0.92 on low volumes of 33,139 shares. Yesterday, IHI announced that works on the mixed-use development in Benghazi which will include a Corinthia Hotel started last week and is expected to be completed in mid-2017. This development is taking place in partnership with the Libyan Foreign Investment Company.
  • The only other two negative performing equities were Crimsonwing and Island Hotels Group. The share price of Crimsonwing dropped 5.9% since the start of 2014 back to the €0.80 level across 468,520 shares. Significantly lower volumes took place in Island Hotels with only 28,500 shares changing hands as the share price slipped by 5.6% to the €0.85 level.