Daily Market Highlights (29.12.16)

  • Following yesterday’s brief drop, the MSE Share Index rebounded by 0.40% to a fresh near nine-year high of 4,625.409 points today as the gains registered in five equities outweighed the declines in three other shares. Meanwhile, Malta International Airport plc (20,245 shares) and Plaza Centres plc (24,000 shares) closed unchanged at €4.05 and €1.09 respectively. Total value of equities traded today remained above the €0.3 million mark. Download a copy of today’s Equity Market Summary.
  • The RF MGS Index moved higher for the fourth consecutive day as it advanced by a further 0.22% to a fresh near seven-week high of 1,157.634 points. Euro zone sovereign yields extended their recent downward trend (bond prices went up). Indeed, the benchmark 10-year German Bund touched a seven-week low of 0.163% today (from 0.188% yesterday) whilst the 20-year Bund fell below the 0.65% level for the first time this month. Meanwhile, the controversy regarding the rescue of Italy’s third largest lender – Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena – by the Italian government continued as Italy’s economy minister was reported as saying that the European Central Bank (ECB) should have explained more clearly why it nearly doubled its estimated capital shortfall for the bank and also criticised the ECB’s “very rigid stance” in its assessment of the ailing bank’s risk profile. On the economic front, fresh data showed that bank lending to non-financial companies in the euro zone grew at the fastest pace since mid-2009 whilst lending growth to households accelerated to the fastest pace since mid-2011.
  • FIMBank plc was the best performing equity today with a jump of 3.4% to recapture the USD0.90 level albeit on shallow volumes totalling 1,600 shares.
  • Also in the banking sector, Bank of Valletta plc erased most of yesterday’s decline as it bounced back by 1.4% to the €2.25 level across 20,493 shares. The equity will continue trading with the entitlement to the 1 for 13 bonus issue until 12 January 2017.
  • RS2 Software plc briefly traded at its highest level since 1 September 2016 of €1.827 (+1.9%) before settling at the €1.80 level – representing a gain of 0.4% from yesterday’s closing price of €1.793. A total of 41,107 shares changed hands.
  • In the property segment, Malta Properties Company plc advanced 1.7% to the €0.59 level across 25,493 shares whilst a single deal of 15,000 shares lifted the equity of MIDI plc to a new four-month high of €0.351 (+0.3%).
  • In contrast, Malita Investments plc retreated by 0.2% to the €0.857 level on light volumes totalling 4,000 shares.
  • Amongst the large companies, HSBC Bank Malta plc slipped back to the €1.90 level (-0.5%) across 17,880 shares whilst three deals totalling 28,172 shares pulled the equity of International Hotel Investments plc 0.6% lower to the €0.645 level. Trading in the newly issued 4% IHI 2026 unsecured bonds commenced today. The price jumped by 195 basis points to 101.95% albeit on a single deal of just €14,400 nominal.