Daily Market Highlights (1 April 2011)

  • Ninth consecutive week of declines. Despite edging minimally higher today to 3,464.129 points, the MSE Share Index dropped by 0.4% this week after touching a 4-month low in mid-week. Subdued investor sentiment persists with most equities closing lower. BOV was this morning’s only positive performer as it edged 1.6% higher during the final minutes of the day with MIA unchanged at €1.77 despite trading ex-dividend. Download a copy of today’s Equity Market Summary.
  • Bond market also continues to decline. The Rizzo Farrugia MGS Index eased minimally lower this morning to yet another 21-month low of 972.981 points as the benchmark Eurozone yields hit the 3.39% level on concern of Europe’s economic stability. The MGS Index is down 1.98% since the start of 2011.
  • Renewed demand for BOV’s equity during the final stages of today’s session helps the share price rise by 1.6% to close at €2.95 on weak volumes totalling 8,007 shares. Despite this week’s 1.2% improvement, BOV slumped 9.6% during the first quarter of 2011. Half-year results to 31 March expected to be issued by the end of April.
  • HSBC reversed most of this week’s gains as it shed a further 0.5% to t €2.93 across six trades totalling 12,250 shares. Similar to BOV, HSBC’s equity retreated by 9.5% during the first three months of 2011 thus wiping out most of the gains recorded during the three months ended 31 December 2010.
  • Middlesea Insurance plc plunged 5.3% this morning to close at yet another 9-month low of €0.90 on weak volumes of 2,030 shares. Few other bids remain unsatisfied at the closing price whilst lowest offers now placed at the €0.95 level. Details on the 2010 financial results of Middlesea available here.
  • MIA closed this morning’s session unchanged at €1.77 over 14,852 shares despite trading without the entitlement to the final dividend. MIA’s share price ranks amongst the best performing equities with a year-to-date increase of 6.6% on the back of a record number of passenger movements in 2010 which mainly drove the Group to record profitability and dividend levels.
  • GO’s share price continued its downward trend. Equity eases by a further 0.3% to close at €1.505 across seven trades amounting to 7,705 shares. Following today’s decline, the equity closed the week 2.9% lower. GO’s share price is now 22.2% below its value at the beginning of the year reflecting shareholders’ disappointment with respect to the €19.2 million loss for 2010 and the 50% cut in net dividends to €0.05 per share. GO’s equity will trade with the entitlement to the recommended dividend until 4 May. Further details on results available here.
  • A single trade of 480 GlobalCapital shares was executed at the €1.00 level, unchanged from the previous close. This equity ranks as one of the worst performers during the first quarter of 2011 with a 33.3% plunge. GlobalCapital will be announcing its 2010 results on 20 April.
  • Simonds Farsons Cisk’s equity trades for the first time in over a month. Just 67 shares exchanged today with the share price dropping by 1.7% to €1.77. Offers already placed lower at €1.75.
  • Last Wednesday 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.