Mild recovery in BOV and HSBC

The MSE Share Index closed in positive territory for the first time in five trading sessions as the share prices of the two large banks registered a mild recovery as fresh demand for both equities emerged. The Share Index inched 0.2% higher from its 5-month low to 3,444.176 points.

HSBC Bank Malta plc added 0.7% to regain the €2.95 level across six trades totalling almost 33,000 shares. Following last week’s Annual General Meeting, the Bank is now expected to pay the final gross dividend of €0.077 per share by 21 April.

Similarly, the share price of Bank of Valletta plc moved 0.7% higher to close at the €2.92 level on volumes of just over 8,000 shares. The Bank generally publishes its half-year results by the end of April.

On the other hand, further selling pressure was evident in Middlesea Insurance plc possibly due to last week’s announcement of a resolution to offset the accumulated losses against the share capital and share premium of the company. This will result in a reduction of the nominal value of the shares from €0.60 to €0.21 per share. Middlesea’s equity retreated by a further 5.9% to a fresh 11-month low of €0.80 on three deals amounting to just over 3,100 shares.

MaltaPost plc also eased minimally lower to €1.089 on a single trade of just 760 shares. Low volumes also transacted in MIDI plc amounting to only 200 shares with the share price unchanged at the €0.45 level.

On the bond market, benchmark 10-year Eurozone yields climbed higher for the fifth consecutive session, reaching a high of 3.507% today, following last week’s announcement by the European Central Bank of a 25 basis point rise in its intervention rate. As a result, the Central Bank of Malta Stockbroker further reduced its Malta Government Stock bid prices thus forcing the Rizzo Farrugia MGS Index to drop by another 0.2% to a fresh 22-month low of 970.537 points.