BOV and MIA drag the MSE Equity Price Index lower

 

The MSE Equity Price Index lost 0.14% to 3,642.833 points as the declines in BOV and MIA outweighed the gain in VBL. Overall trading activity in equities amounted to €0.07 million. Download today’s Equity Market Summary.

Malta International Airport plc moved 0.8% lower to the €5.95 level across two trades totalling 7,500 shares. On Wednesday, MIA announced that during the month of August, passenger movements increased by 3.3% over the previous month to 712,122 which, in turn, is 13.5% lower than the amount of 823,653 passengers welcomed in the same period in 2019. In this respect, MIA explained that the strong momentum reflects the recovery of 84.2% in seat capacity. Moreover, the seat load factor reached an all-time high of 90.4% which is 2.4 percentage points higher than the level of 88% recorded in August 2019. During the eight-month period to August 2022, MIA welcomed just under 3.75 million passengers which is 23.1% lower than the amount of 4.87 million handled in the same period in 2019. On the other hand, this amount of traffic is nearly 11% superior to the volumes handled between January and August 2016.

Also among the large companies by market value, Bank of Valletta plc eased by 0.6% to the €0.895 level on a single deal of 20,000 shares.

VBL plc advanced by 1.9% to the €0.216 level on one trade of 50,000 shares.

The RF MGS Index shed 0.83% to an all-time low of 907.065 points. Yesterday, the ECB raised its key interest rates by 75 basis points, thus lifting the benchmark deposit rate from zero to the highest level since 2011 at 0.75%. ECB President Christine Lagarde also stated that further rate hikes are to be expected in the coming months, although not necessarily of the same scale. Meanwhile in the US, Fed Chair Jerome Powel also reiterated the central bank’s commitment to tame inflation through further rate hikes.

 

This report contains public information only and is not to be construed as investment advice or an offer to buy or sell any securities. Information contained herein is based on data obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but no representations or guarantees are made with regard to the accuracy of the data.  Stock markets are volatile and subject to fluctuations which cannot be reasonably foreseen. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Rizzo, Farrugia & Co. (Stockbrokers) Limited is a company licensed to undertake investment services in Malta by the MFSA under the Investment Services Act, Cap. 370 of the Laws of Malta and a member of the Malta Stock Exchange.