Daily Market Highlights (15.02.11)

  • After three negative sessions, the MSE Share Index recovers by 0.84% to 3,853.262 points as both HSBC and BOV perform positively. GO, Middlesea and Crimsonwing close lower whilst MIA and IHI remain unchanged. Download a copy of today’s Equity Market Summary .
  • The Central Bank of Malta Stockbroker revised most MGS bid prices lower as European benchmark 10-year Bund yields rose to 3.31% as sentiment was hit by a contraction in Portugal’s GDP during Q4 2010. This led to a 0.1% decline in the Rizzo Farrugia MGS Index to 979.169 points. Subscriptions for the two new Malta Government Stock issue open until tomorrow afternoon. The two new stocks are the 4.25% MGS 2017 (III) at 101.25% (YTM: 4.03% per annum) and the 5.25% MGS 2030 (I) at 101.50% (YTM: 5.13% per annum). Application forms available here.
  • HSBC advances by 2.9% to €3.50 on large volumes of over 107,000 shares. The Bank is due to publish its 2010 full-year results on Friday. Further shares remain on offer at €3.50.
  • BOV’s share price recovers all of yesterday’s declines as the equity rises by 1% to €3.05. Volumes decline to 14,695 shares today compared to the heavy trasing activity in recent sessions. The Bank recently published its Interim Statement revealing fair mark downs during the first quarter of its financial year. Further details available here.
  • GO’s share price slides by a further 3.8% to a 15-month low of €1.80 alson on high volumes of 54,300 shares. GO’s equity has continued to decline over the past two weeks as uncertainty on the Group’s investment in Forthnet continues to weigh on investor sentiment.
  • Middlesea’s share price drops 1.9% lower to close again at the €1.05 level.
  • MIA unchanged at €1.81 as all outstanding bids are satisfied at this level. This morning a local online newspaper reported that MIA has been ranked as top airport in Europe in the annual ACI Airport Service Quality (ASQ) passenger survey. The airport operator recently announced a 14.9% increase in passenger movements during the month of January to a new record of 169,673 passengers.
  • Crimsonwing’s equity trades for the second time this year. Share price eases by 0.3% to €0.379 on low volumes of 4,000 shares. The IT company recently issued a positive interim statement reporting a 25% growth in revenue to €10.7 million during the first three quarters of the company’s current financial year to 31 March 2011.