Equity market index slips 1% lower

The negative trend in the local equity market extended into the fourth consecutive session as the MSE Share Index shed a further 1% during this morning’s trading session to close at 3,349.381 points – just eight points above the 2010 low. The declines in Bank of Valletta plc, International Hotel Investments plc and Simonds Farsons Cisk plc forced the Index lower today.

BOV dropped 0.5% to €3.26 after failing to hold onto the €3.275 level. A total of just over 12,900 shares were exchanged today. Meanwhile HSBC Bank Malta plc edged minimally higher to close at €2.805 across four trades amounting to 4,300 levels.

Despite last week’s positive interim results, the share price of Simonds Farsons Cisk plc slumped 3.4% today to the €1.73 level on a single trade of 1,390 shares. The Group July 2010 interim results show a 4.7% increase in turnover to €35.1 million and a 19.4% increase in profitability to €2.2 million. The Directors declared an interim dividend of €0.0133 per share representing a 33% increase over the interim dividend paid with respect to the six months ended 31 July 2009. Further details available at https://rizzofarrugia.com/news-events/2010/interim-results-sfc11/.

Following three sessions of inactivity IHI’s share price slumped 5.9% to the €0.80 level across thirteen trades amounting to 56,372 shares. No further bids in the market whilst lowest offers now pitched at the €0.85 level.

On the positive side, fresh bids lifted the share price of GO plc from an intra-day low of €1.80 to the €1.85 level representing a 1.1% increase over the previous closing price. A total of 5,495 shares were exchanged this morning.

Shortly after the close of today’s trading session, IT services company 6pm issued a press release stating that it won a contract to deliver its ‘CareSolutions Data Warehouse’ to the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre NHS Trust – a world renowned hospital based in Oxford, UK. 6pm’s solution will be used to provide reporting management information requirements using data loaded from core clinical systems.