MSE Equity Price Index climbs to 7-week high

 

 The MSE Equity Price Index climbed 0.47% higher to a fresh 7-week high of 3,638.489 points as the gains in BOV, MIA, Hili Properties and LifeStar Holding outweighed the declines in APS and PG. In addition, three other equities closed unchanged as total trading activity amounted to €0.12 million. Download today’s Equity Market Summary.

Bank of Valletta plc rebounded from an intra-day low of €1.00 to close today’s trading session at a more than 2-year high of €1.04 representing a 1% increase over the previous’ day’s closing price. A total of 33,300 shares changes hands today across eight deals.

A single trade of 10,000 shares pushed the share price of Hili Properties plc 2% higher to a two-week high of €0.204.

Malta International Airport plc advanced by 0.9% to the €5.60 level across two trades totalling 1,050 shares. MIA is scheduled to hold its AGM on 10 May.

LifeStar Holding plc moved sharply higher from €0.30 to the €0.90 level on trivial volumes.

On the other hand, APS Bank plc shed 2% as it slipped to a 7-week low of €0.605 over three trades totalling 33,685 shares. Last week, APS published a Quarterly Financial Update providing information about its performance in Q1 2023 when compared to the same period in 2022. Net interest income surged by 24.9% to €18.4 million as the increase in absolute terms in gross interest income amid the continued strong growth in the loan book, supported by the higher interest income from treasury assets, outweighed the increase in interest expenses. APS also registered a 2.6% increase in non-interest income to €2.28 million and recognised a net gain on financial assets of €0.67 million, compared to the net loss of €3.62 million in 2022 amid the considerable adverse movements across financial markets which had negatively impacted the performance of the APS Funds SICAV. Overall, APS reported a quarterly profit before tax of €7.91 million compared to €1.85 million in Q1 2022. APS registered a strong growth in its loan book which outweighed the increase in customer deposits, leading to a higher loan-to-deposit ratio of 89% compared to 87% as at the end of 2022. Shareholders’ funds increased by 3.1% to €258.2 million, which translates to a net asset value per share of €0.704 (31 December 2022: €0.683). Furthermore, APS is expected to hold its AGM on 16 May.

PG plc (-0.5%) and Loqus Holding plc (-8.26%) dropped to the €1.98 and €0.20 levels respectively on muted activity.

HSBC Bank Malta plc traded flat at €1.00 despite being today’s most actively traded equity as 50,000 shares changed hands over five deals.

GO plc also closed unchanged at the €2.94 level across two deals totalling 1,759 shares. GO is scheduled to hold its AGM on 11 May.

VBL plc held the €0.24 level over a single trade of 500 shares.

The RF MGS Index increased by 0.32% to 877.516 points. Inflation in the Eurozone as of April increased slightly to 7.0% compared to 6.9% in March as the marginal decrease in the inflation rate for food, alcohol and tobacco inflation was offset by an increase in energy prices. Moreover, consumer prices on a monthly basis have risen for the third consecutive month by 0.7% in April. Within the Eurozone, Germany’s retail sales have dropped unexpectedly by 2.4%, representing the fourth consecutive monthly decline and contrasting a forecasted 0.4% increase. Meanwhile, in the US, manufacturing activity continued to contract for the sixth consecutive month.

 

This report contains public information only and is not to be construed as investment advice or an offer to buy or sell any securities. Information contained herein is based on data obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but no representations or guarantees are made with regard to the accuracy of the data. Stock markets are volatile and subject to fluctuations which cannot be reasonably foreseen. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Rizzo, Farrugia & Co. (Stockbrokers) Limited is a company licensed to undertake investment services in Malta by the MFSA under the Investment Services Act, Cap. 370 of the Laws of Malta and a member of the Malta Stock Exchange.