Daily Market Highlights (12.03.13)

  • The MSE Share Index closed lower for the third consecutive session with a further 0.2% drop to 3,316.567 points as BOV, MIA and Farsons traded lower to offset the increases in the share prices of HSBC, FIMBank and RS2 Software. Meanwhile, the other six active equities ended the session unchanged. Download a copy of the Equity Market Summary.
  • On the bond market, the Rizzo Farrugia MGS Index inched minimally lower to 1,010.062 points as the benchmark 10-year German Bund yield this morning continued to trade around the 1.5% level. However, by this afternoon the benchmark Eurozone yields slipped back to 1.475% after the head of Germany’s central bank stated that the Eurozone crisis is not over as France’s reforms are slipping. Investor sentiment was also rattled by the steepest fall in UK manufacturing output since June last year.
  • BOV’s share price declined 1.4% to €2.265 on lower levels of support for the Bank’s equity. Following the heavy volumes of 111,000 shares that traded yesterday, activity declined to 21,480 shares today.
  • MIA also closed in negative territory with a 0.6% decline to the €1.80 level on volumes of just over 5,000 shares. The airport operator is scheduled to publish its 2012 full-year results on Wednesday 20 March.
  • Likewise, Simonds Farsons Cisk shares (active for the first time in almost a week) slid 1.9% lower from its all-time high of €2.60 back to the €2.55 level on high volumes amounting to almost 52,000 shares.
  • Furthermore, a single trade of 100,000 MaltaPost shares was transacted at the €1.03 level representing a 1.9% drop from the previous close.
  • On the other hand, HSBC Bank Malta recovered some of its recent declines with a 0.7% increase to regain the €2.75 level across four trades totalling 7,000 shares. Tomorrow marks the last day for investors to gain entitlement to the final dividend of €0.079 per share as the equity turns ex-dividend as from Thursday.
  • FIMBank’s share price also edged 2% higher to regain the US$1.02 level on volumes of just over 9,000 shares. The equity of the trade finance specialist is also trading with the entitlement to the recently declared final net dividend of US$0.0369 per share until 26 March.
  • Similarly, RS2 Software shares edged 1.1% higher to regain its all-time high of €0.91 on volumes of 17,375 shares.