Daily Market Highlights (14.07.2017)

  • The MSE Share Index extended yesterday’s gains by a further 0.06% to 4,716.022 points as the increases in the share prices of GO and Santumas outweighed the drop in RS2. Over the week, the local equity index moved lower for the first time in the last six weeks largely reflecting the declines in the share prices of BOV, RS2, HSBC and FIMBank. Download a copy of today’s Equity Market Summary.
  • On the bond market, the RF MGS Index remained virtually flat at 1,116.380 points as drops in the indicative opening bid prices of the Central Bank of Malta for Malta Government Stocks (MGS’s) with maturities up to thirteen years were offset by gains in the bid prices for MGSs with longer maturities. On the economic front, fresh inflationary data in Italy came in as expected. Week-on-week, the RF MGS Index bounced back by 0.31% following the 2.04% decline in the previous two weeks.
  • Today, Santumas Shareholdings plc 6.5% to reach a new record high of €2.13 across two deals totalling 4,888 shares.
  • GO plc also performed positively today as the equity climbed 2% to an over six-week high of €3.569 albeit on a single deal of just 3,000 shares.
  • On the other hand, RS2 Software plc retreated by 0.3% to the €1.84 level across 42,500 shares. Last Monday RS2 announced that it signed a strategic alliance agreement with Quattro Processing Services Inc., a global FinTech company that specializes in full service payment processing, to offer an end-to-end hosted credit card processing and acquiring technology platform for banks and financial institutions in India.
  • Meanwhile, eight equities finished the day unchanged. In the retail banking sector, Bank of Valletta plc (70,089 shares) and HSBC Bank Malta plc (5,000 shares) maintained the €2.175 and €2.068 levels respectively. BOV is scheduled to hold an Extraordinary General Meeting on Thursday 27 July 2017 whilst HSBC is due to reveal its interim financial results on 31 July.
  • Malta International Airport plc retained the €4.15 level across 7,800 shares. On Wednesday, MIA published the June 2017 traffic results revealing yet another record month with a year-on-year increase of 17.5% in passenger movements to 578,827 passenger movements. During the first six months of 2017, passenger movements increased by 20.9% over the first half of last year. The airport operator is due to reveal its six-month financial performance on 26 July.
  • In the property segment, MIDI plc held on to the €0.31 level across 45,000 shares whilst a single deal of 13,500 shares left the equity of Malita Investments plc at the €0.73 level.
  • The equity of Plaza Centres plc remained close to its all-time high of €1.15 after recovering from an intra-day low of €1.001. Only 1,000 shares traded today. The Company is due to reveal its interim financial results on Wednesday 19 July.
  • PG plc also closed unchanged at the €1.30 level across 25,150 shares whilst light volumes left Mapfre Middlesea plc at the €1.87 level.
  • This morning, Medserv plc announced that Eni Cyprus Ltd has extended the contract with Medserv for the provision of operational base support services in Cyprus for another two years. Nonetheless, the equity remained inactive today.