Daily Market Highlights (07.05.12)

  • Following last week’s 0.6% rise, the MSE Share Index advanced by a further 0.4% today to an 8-week high of 2,990.547 points on the back of increases in the share prices of HSBC, MIA and GO. Meanwhile BOV and Middlesea closed unchanged. Download a copy of the Equity Market Summary.
  • On the bond market, the Rizzo Farrugia MGS Index, following last week’s 0.3% jump, edged a further 0.1% today to a new 6-month high of 990.895 points as Eurozone yields tumbled to a new all-time low of 1.55%. The downturn in yields reflects the negative reactions towards the outcome of the elections in France and Greece.
  • BOV failed to hold on to an intra-day high of €2.15 as it closed this morning’s session unchanged at the €2.12 level across fourteen trades totalling 38,550 shares. Today was the last day for investors to gain entitlement to the recently declared gross interim dividend of €0.06 per share. Further details on half-year results available here.
  • Meanwhile, HSBC’s share price, following last week’s 2% rise, edged another 1.2% higher during today’s session to close at the €2.58 level. Increased volumes of over 53,600 shares traded today with lowest offers now at the €2.60 level with highest bids at €2.501.
  • MIA also continued to build on last week’s 4.2% increase with another 0.6% gain during this week’s first trading session to regain the €1.73 level (close to its 2012 high of €1.75) across 29,000 shares. Last Friday, the airport operator published the April traffic statistics revealing a 1.4% increase in passenger movements when compared to the same month last year to 304,198 – a record for the month of April. This rise was achieved in spite of a 3.3% decline in seat capacity which was more than offset by the 3.5 percentage point increase in the average seat load factor from 73% in April 2011 to 76.5% during the month under review. Nonetheless, passenger traffic during the first four months of 2012 is still 2.6% below that recorded in the comparable period last year. Further details available here. MIA’s Annual General Meeting will be held on Thursday 10 May.
  • Also in positive territory today was GO with a 1.1% increase to the €0.72 level on a single trade of 4,000 shares. The quad-play telecom operator is scheduled to hold its Annual General Meeting on Wednesday.
  • The only other active equity during this morning’s trading session was Middlesea Insurance with 1,818 shares changing hands at the €0.69 level, unchanged from the previous close. Middlesea will pay the recently approved gross dividend of €0.01 per share on 20 May.