Daily Market Highlights (16.10.09)

  • MSE Share Index gains 0.5% today to end the week 0.6% higher at 3,179.388 points. Share prices of BOV and GO close higher today helping offset the sharp drops in Simonds Farsons Cisk and Lombard on low volumes. Download a copy of today’s Equity Market Summary.
  • BOV’s share price continues to recover from last Wednesday’s 6.2% decline. Equity advances a further 3.1% today to regain the €3.35 level and closing the week just 0.3% lower. Just over 6,000 shares change hands today with lowest offers now placed at the €3.37 level.
  • Meanwhile HSBC fails to register any trades today with best bids in the market at €2.77 whilst lowest offers placed at the last closing price of €2.80. Equity classified as the best performing equity this week with a 2.2% gain thereby reversing last week’s 2.2% decline.
  • GO also trades 1.3% higher to regain the €1.58 level and record a weekly rise of 1.9%. Just over 2,000 shares exchanged this morning with best bids still at €1.551 whilst lowest offers now placed at the €1.60 level.
  • Simonds Farsons Cisk slumps 5.2% to drop back to €1.61 on two miniscule trades totalling 232 shares. Few other bids at this level with lowest offers still placed at €1.70.
  • Lombard Bank also slips 2% to close at €2.45 – marginally above its 2009 low of €2.43. Two trades amounting to only 38 shares transacted this morning.
  • Low volumes also in MIA, as the equity closes unchanged at the €2.25 on volumes of just over 700 shares. Few offers remain outstanding in the market at the closing level with best bids now placed at €2.15.
  • Share price of close-ended investment scheme Santumas Shareholdings slides 16.7% to a 3-year low of €2.50 on two trades totalling just 110 shares. This latest decline pushed Santumas a staggering 17.8% lower this week despite the publication of the Annual Report for the year ended 30 April 2009 which showed that pre-tax profits climbed to €2.3 million from a loss of €0.8 million registered in the previous year. The main reason behind this significant improvement was due to the profit on sale of property of €3.5 million (announced on 25 July 2008). However the Directors explained that the performance of the equity portfolio was poor, in line with the decline in the local and international equity markets during the period under review. The current share price is at a discount of 32.6% to the latest net asset value of €3.711.