GO touches new all-time low on high volumes

The share price of GO plc spent most of today’s trading session at a new all-time low of €0.70 with over 800,000 shares changing hands at this level. However the share price regained the €0.74 level by the end of the day on lack of further offers and further sizeable bids entering the market at the all-time low. A total of 819,673 shares changed hands today.

Meanwhile, the only two other active equities moved in opposite directions. The equity of Bank of Valletta plc eased 0.9% to the €2.10 level – just €0.01 above its 2012 low. Seven trades amounting to 5,500 shares were transacted this morning. On the other hand, International Hotel Investments plc edged 2.4% higher to regain the €0.84 level on high volumes of 168,000 shares. The uplift in IHI’s share price, which helped the MSE Share Index rise 0.2% to 2,985.545 points, is possibly due to the improved performances registered by the Group during the first quarter of 2012 as reported in last week’s Interim Directors’ Statement.

Last Friday evening, MIDI plc published its Interim Directors’ Statement in which it stated that 12 of the 22 apartments in Pjazza Tigne are subject to a promise of sale agreement. MIDI indicated that the company’s focus will now turn onto construction works related to the T14 office block and the two residential apartment blocks known as T17. Construction on this phase is expected to start later on this year and will take two years to complete. Meanwhile, the commercial operations of the Group continued to return encouraging results with increasing footfall at The Point shopping mall and higher utilisation levels of the underground car park.

On the bond market, the Rizzo Farrugia MGS Index edged higher for the third consecutive session with another marginal increase to a new 6-month high of 991.113 points as Eurozone yields tumbled to an all-time low of 1.434%. The downturn in yields follows the increased uncertainty over Greece’s future in the Eurozone. Greece is preparing itself for a fresh round of elections after the main parties failed to form a coalition government. The Greek political parties opposing the country’s austerity measures, which were agreed to as part of the Greek bailout, are expected to obtain the majority of votes in the fresh election to be held next month. Furthermore, market concerns over Spain’s ability to control its budget deficit led to a record spread of 477 basis points between Spanish and German bond yields.