MSE Share Index hits a 5-week high
The MSE Share Index climbed 0.7% during this morning’s trading session to a new 5-week high of 3,120.92 points as most of the active equities trade higher amid increased volumes. In fact, €223,928 worth of shares changed hands today.
New bids lifted Bank of Valletta plc’s share price for a fourth straight session ahead of Monday’s bonus issue deadline. Equity trades up 0.8% to €2.58, the highest level since mid-September 2011, across twenty eight trades amounting to 42,236 shares. BOV ends the week 3.2% higher. The cut-off date for entitlement to the bonus share issue is Monday 9th January.
HSBC Bank Malta plc shares back into positive territory as the equity gains 1.9% to €2.60. Volumes remain very low at only 1,910 shares. HSBC Malta shares registered a weekly rise of 0.8%.
High volumes recorded in MIDI plc with 62,800 shares changing hands at the €0.39 level representing a 2.6% rise over the previous close. Similarly, just over 55,000 International Hotel Investments plc shares were exchanged today with the share price closing at the €0.845 level – a minimal increase over the previous close. Meanwhile, Malta International Airport plc closed today’s session unchanged at the €1.70 level across 14,000 shares.
GO plc partially recovered from a new all-time low of €0.90 to close 3.1% lower at the €0.95 level on volumes of 11,300 shares. This week’s 3.1% drop compounds to GO’s 49.4% plunge during 2011 as investors remain wary of the Group’s indirect investment in the Greek telecommunications firm Forthnet. The latter is scheduled to hold an Extraordinary General Meeting to ask shareholders to approve a number of resolutions including a €30 million rights issue.
On the bond market, the Rizzo Farrugia MGS Index edged marginally higher today to 986.043 but still ended the week 0.3% lower.