Daily Market Highlights (08.04.11)

  • Subdued investor sentiment still weighing on local equity market both in terms of performance and trading activity. MSE Share Index retreats by a further 0.3% today to yet another 5-month low of 3,437.375 points as BOV and Middlesea slip back. Share Index down for the tenth successive week with another 0.8% decline as no equity performed positively this week. Download a copy of today’s Equity Market Summary.
  • Eurozone yields continue to recover following yesterday’s 25 basis point rise in interest rates by the European Central Bank to 1.25%. The Rizzo Farrugia MGS Index sheds a further 0.1% to a new 22-month low of 972.114 points which also represents a 0.2% weekly decline (third consecutive week in negative territory) and a 2.1% drop since the beginning of the year.
  • BOV share price down a further 0.7% this morning to close at €2.901 across fourteen trades totalling just below 16,300 shares. Equity closes the week 1.7% lower as it closed in negative territory four times during the last five sessions. The Bank is expected to publish its half-year results to 31 March by the end of April.
  • Meanwhile HSBC shares remain inactive today to end the week unchanged at the €2.93 level. Bids already placed higher at €2.955 whilst lowest offers still pitched at the €2.96 level. Yesterday the Bank held its Annual General Meeting during which shareholders approved all the items on the agenda including a final gross dividend of €0.077 which will now be paid on 21 April.
  • GO again closed unchanged at the €1.49 level on volumes of 2,700 shares. Nonetheless, the equity ended this week 1% lower – the eleventh consecutive week of declines. Further offers unsatisfied at the closing price whilst best bids still outstanding at the €1.46 level. The equity will turn ex-dividend as from 5 May.
  • Share price of Middlesea Insurance slumps 5.6% to a new 10-month low of €0.85 on low volumes of 697 shares. The company this morning announced details of the proposed set-off between the accumulated losses on the Profit & Loss Account and parts of the Share premium Account and the Issued Share Capital. The set-off will result in a reduction of the nominal values of the shares from €0.60 to €0.21 per share. Further details available here.
  • Simonds Farsons Cisk this morning announced that its Board of Directors is scheduled to meet on 20 April.  During the meeting the Directors will consider and approve the financial results for the year ended 31 January 2011 and also consider the declaration of a final dividend. Equity closed the week 5.1% lower.
  • Yesterday, FIMBank plc announced that FIM Holdings plc, the new parent of the FIMBank Group, published a Prospectus in connection with an Exchange offer to all shareholders of FIMBank plc. FIMBank plc shareholders on the share register as at 30th March 2011 will be offered an equal amount of shares in the new holding company, thus effectively replacing the FIMBank plc shares which are currently listed on the Official List of the Malta Stock Exchange. The change in the Group’s structure is primarily aimed at optimizing the tax burden of the FIMBank Group. Further details and copy of the prospectus available here. Separately FIMBank plc also announced an attribution price of USD0.85 per share for those shareholders opting to receive new shares rather than a cash dividend.
  • Last week 6pm Holdings plc announced that it published a Prospectus with respect to a rights issue of 10,788,000 new ordinary shares at the price of £0.25 per share. Shareholders are entitled to subscribe to 1.4384 new shares for every share held. The rights issue opens on Monday 11 April and closes on Friday 29 April at 14.00 hours. Further details available here.