Daily Market Highlights (24.09.15)

  • The MSE Share Index added to yesterday’s gains and advanced by a further 0.4% to 4,322.991 points. Activity was limited across six equities with three performing negatively and another three closing the day unchanged. Download a copy of today’s Equity Market Summary.
  • On the bond market, the RF MGS Index moved marginally lower by 0.07% to 1,128.950 as the benchmark 10-year German Bund shortly surpassed the 0.61% level before easing lower to 0.57% later on during the day. Investors were little comforted by encouraging news coming out from Germany which showed that, despite a weakening growth outlook for China and other large developing economies, the mood among German business managers beat expectations and picked up further in September. With the Volkswagen scandal still prominent in the news, uncertainty remains high whether this saga will have spill-over effects over other German businesses and industrial firms and this sent equity markets deeply in the red today. The increased risk aversion positively impacted bond markets with the German bund yield declining due to its safe haven status.
  • GO plc was the day’s best performer with an increase of 1.5% to €3.42 on activity of 27,842 shares. The Company will be holding an Extraordinary General Meeting on 29 October.
  • The other positive performers of the day were FIMBank plc and Bank of Valletta plc, albeit on much lighter volumes. FIMBank advanced by 1.0% to USD0.495 as 16,102 shares were traded across four deals. Also in the banking sector, Bank of Valletta moved 0.9% higher to €2.33 across 7,563 shares.
  • Meanwhile, all other equities traded unchanged. MIDI plc held on to its recent gains as 78,000 shares changed hands at the €0.36 level.
  • A single trade of 2,200 shares in Medserv plc left the equity unchanged at its all-time high of €3.10. On 12 October 2015 the company will be convening an Extraordinary General Meeting during which shareholders will be asked to authorise the Board of Directors to disclose the required information (including unpublished price-sensitive information) for any offeror and its advisers to make, confirm, withdraw or modify any offer made to the Company. Shareholders ought to have received a notice as well as an explanatory circular.
  • Insignificant volumes of 641 shares were also traded in HSBC Bank Malta plc at the unchanged level of €1.849.