Trading in BOV takes centre stage

 

The MSE Equity Price Index dropped by 0.13% to 3,953.149 points as the decline in MIA outweighed the gain in BOV. Meanwhile, MPC closed unchanged as overall trading activity improved to just under €0.2 million. Download today’s Equity Market Summary.

Bank of Valletta plc advanced by 0.6% to the €0.89 level across six deals totalling 148,939 shares, representing over 67% of today’s trading value.

Meanwhile, Malta International Airport plc lost 1.6% to the €6.05 level on two trades totalling 3,600 shares.

Malta Properties Company plc remained at the €0.57 level after opening at an intraday low at €0.565 (-0.9%) as 73,500 shares changed hands.

Following the IPO process which started in July, VBL plc announced that its share capital increased to 244,471,217 ordinary shares, following the subscription of 14,471,217 new shares. All the ordinary shares were admitted to the Official List of the Malta Stock Exchange and trading is expected to commence tomorrow.

The RF MGS Index moved lower for the third consecutive session as it lost 0.06% to a fresh 34-month low at 1,079.693 points. The International Monetary Fund (‘IMF’) published its updated World Economic Outlook, marginally downgrading global economic growth for 2021 by 0.1 percentage points to 5.9%. The global economy is expected to grow by a further 4.9% in 2022. According to the IMF projections, the Eurozone is anticipated to grow by 5.0% this year and an additional 4.3% in 2022. The IMF warned central banks to remain vigilant and take action to tighten monetary policy should price pressures persist.

Yesterday, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana presented the Government’s Budget for 2022 in parliament. The Government deficit is expected to amount to 11.1% of GDP in 2021 while debt will reach 61.3% of GDP. For 2022, the deficit is forecasted to drop to 5.6% of GDP while debt is to increase marginally to 61.8% of GDP. Furthermore, the Minister warned that in the context of ongoing inflationary pressures, should the Government need to provide further financial support to families and businesses, next year’s deficit may increase by an additional 1.4 percentage points to 7.0% of GDP.