Daily Market Highlights (08.10.12)

  • MSE Share Index dropped by 0.4% today to 3,129.650 points – the lowest level since 27 September. Today’s downturn was mainly due to the 1.8% drop in BOV. MaltaPost shares also traded lower whilst Farsons reached a new 4-year high. Meanwhile, MIA, GO and Medserv ended this morning’s session unchanged. Download a copy of the Equity Market Summary.
  • On the bond market, the Rizzo Farrugia MGS Index eased marginally lower for the third successive session to 996.692 points as Eurozone yields traded just below the 1.50% level ahead of a meeting of EU finance ministers later on today. Amongst the items on the agenda, the finance ministers are expected to discuss the possible bailout request from Spain although many commentators are already predicting that no significant progress will be achieved in this respect.
  • Volatility across BOV shares was evident during this morning’s trading session ahead of the bank’s full-year results publication later on this month. BOV’s share price opened today’s session unchanged at €2.19 before dropping to this morning’s low of €2.15. The equity then recovered to the €2.20 level but this was short-lived as BOV’s share price slid back to the €2.15 level representing a 1.8% drop from the previous close. A total of 43,403 shares changed hands today across sixteen trades.
  • Elsewhere in the local equity market, Simonds Farsons Cisk reached yet another 4-year high reflecting the renewed demand for the equity on the back of record profits of €3.78 million for the first six months of the current financial year ending 31 January 2013. Farsons’ share price advanced by a further 0.9% to the €2.32 level on volumes of 4,128 shares.
  • Meanwhile, MaltaPost eased 0.1% lower to €.709 across three trades totalling 4,100 shares. The postal operator generally publishes its full-year results in early December.
  • MIA shares again traded at the €1.73 level on volumes of 1,100 shares. Last Friday, the airport operator published the September traffic results showing a 6.6% increase in passenger numbers to 407,917 movements – a record for the month under review and the sixth consecutive month of record passenger movements.
  • Medserv also held on to the €3.99 level across two trades totalling 10,000 shares.
  • GO’s equity maintained the €0.97 level on volumes of 5,525 shares. The quad-play telecoms operator advanced 2.1% over the week in spite of the postponement of the decision by the Directors on whether or not to participate in Forthnet’s €30 million rights issue until Forthnet publishes the respective documentation.