Daily Market Highlights (03.05.12)

  • Local equity market in negative territory for the first time this week as the MSE Share Index dropped by 0.3% to 2,973.796 points. Today’s downturn was due to the declines in the share prices of BOV and GO which offset the increase in HSBC and MIA. Download a copy of the Equity Market Summary.
  • On the bond market, the Rizzo Farrugia MGS Index moved another 0.1% higher to a new 3-month high of 989.580 points as Eurozone yields retested its all-time low of 1.6%. This afternoon, the European Central Bank (ECB) maintained its interest rates at the historically low 1% level as the region’s economic troubles deepen.
  • BOV’s equity reversed this week’s earlier increases as increasing demand at lower levels was matched by incoming supply. The shares lost 2.4% during this morning’s session to close at the €2.10 level across 27 trades amounting to over 131,600 shares. The equity will trade with the entitlement to the gross interim dividend until Monday 7 May. Further details on half-year results available here.
  • Meanwhile HSBC shares gained 1.2% to close at a one month high of €2.55 across 20,400 shares. Best bids still in the market at €2.50 whilst lowest offers now pitched at the €2.579 level.
  • New sell orders forced GO’s equity to slide 4% to a new all-time low of €0.72 on high volumes of 500,000 shares ahead of the Group’s Annual General Meeting scheduled to be held on 9 May. GO’s share price, which plunged by 49.4% and 7.9% in 2011 and 2010 respectively, currently lies 26.5% below its value at the beginning of the year.
  • MIA inched minimally higher to close at the €1.72 level across five trades totalling 20,000 shares. Other offers unsatisfied at the closing price whilst best bids placed at the €1.65 level. The airport operator is shortly expected to publish the April traffic statistics.