Daily Market Highlights (08.08.2017)

  • The MSE Share Index jumped by 0.56% today to 4,637.472 points amid heightened activity across the local equity market amounting to a total value of €3.87 million. Download a copy of today’s Equity Market Summary.
  • On the bond market, the RF MGS Index trended marginally higher for the third consecutive session as eurozone yields remained at near 1-month lows in view of further disappointing data. The latest statistics revealed that in June exports and imports in Germany fell and the trade deficit in France widened.
  • Most of today’s activity was registered in Tigné Mall plc as more than 3.14 million shares, representing 5.56% of the company’s total issued share capital and 75% of the value traded across local equites, were exchanged across a total of five deals. The share price dropped by 4.1% back to the €0.93 level ahead of the interim results publication on Thursday 10 August.
  • Bank of Valletta plc and HSBC Bank Malta plc also registered negative movements. BOV trended below the €2.00 level for the first time since late 2015 as the equity slid back to the €1.99 level before partially rebounding to close today’s session at the €1.998 level representing a marginal drop from the previous day’s closing price. Trading activity amounted to a total of 92,367 shares.
  • Similarly, HSBC shed 1% to drop back to the €1.98 level across four deals totalling 14,432 shares. The Bank’s equity will turn ex-dividend as from tomorrow.
  • The only other negative performing equity was Plaza Centres plc with a 4.3% drop back to the €1.10 level across two deals totalling 45,000 shares.
  • On the other hand, Medserv plc rallied to a 3-month high of €1.399 before easing marginally lower to close today’s session at the €1.37 level – representing an increase of 14.2% from the previous closing price. A total of 159,000 shares were exchanged across nineteen deals.
  • Malita Investments plc also trended in positive territory with a 2.7% increase to regain the €0.76 level on heightened volumes of 165,000 shares. The company is expected to publish its 2017 interim results imminently following a Board of Directors meeting scheduled for today.
  • Likewise, healthy volumes were registered in FIMBank plc with a total of 220,000 shares changing hands. The equity also rallied to the USD0.85 level for the first time since late last March before easing to a close of USD0.80 which still represents an increase of 12.7% from the previous close. The trade finance specialist is scheduled to reveal its 2017 interim results tomorrow.
  • The only other positive performing equity was PG plc with a marginal 0.7% increase to regain the €1.399 level (its all-time closing high) on shallow volumes of 1,400 shares. The company is scheduled to publish its preliminary full-year results for the financial year ended 30 April 2017 on Thursday 10 August.
  • Meanwhile, Malta International Airport plc held on to the €4.22 level across five deals totalling 29,231 shares. This afternoon, the airport operator announced its July traffic results revealing a 15.5% increase in passenger movements to an all-time monthly record of 675,111 movements on the back of continued growth in seat capacity coupled with a seat load factor of 86.7% (down 1.3 percentage points from July 2016).
  • Similarly, RS2 Software plc held on to the €1.789 level after recovering from an intra-day low of €1.75 on volumes of 25,000 shares.