Daily Market Highlights (17.12.10)

  • Local equity market in positive territory for the tenth successive session – the longest positive streak this year.  MSE Share Index this morning edged a further 0.2% higher to 3,557.173 points as increases in the share prices of BOV and Middlesea outweighed the declines in Lombard and Island Hotels Group. Meanwhile HSBC, MIA and FIMBank close unchanged. The positive performance in the two large banks during this shortened week helped the Index register a 1.5% rise to a 4-month high. Download a copy of today’s Equity Market Summary.
  • Intensified demand lifts BOV’s share price higher in the run up to the 1 for 5 bonus share issue effective to those shareholders as at close of trading on Friday 7 January 2011. BOV share price up 1.1% today to close at a new 2010 high of €3.81 level across 25 trades totalling 28,699 shares. During yesterday’s Annual General Meeting shareholders approved all the resolutions on the agenda with the final net dividend of €0.104 per share paid today.
  • Meanwhile HSBC holds on to the strong gains registered in the previous 3 sessions (+5.8%) as a further 28,000 shares trade at the €3.10 level.  Over 98,000 HSBC shares trade this week on renewed demand ahead of the full-year results publication by the end of February 2010.
  • Middlesea Insurance recovers some of yesterday’s 4.3% drop to regain the €1.02 level on volumes totalling 10,810 shares. Despite today’s recovery, the share price of MSI closes this shortened week 2.4% lower.
  • FIMBank ends the week 1.1% higher at the USD0.95 level with a further 50,909 shares changing hands during this morning’s session. Best bids still placed at US$0.93 whilst lowest offers in the market at the US$0.975 level.
  • Lombard Bank edges marginally lower today to €2.561 on just two trades amounting to 3,273 shares. Bids already placed higher at €2.57 whilst lowest offers now pitched at the €2.80 level.
  • Share price of Island Hotels Group slumps a further 11% to a new all-time low of €0.80 on lack of support for the equity. IHG ranks as the worst performing equity of the week with a 15.7% decline.
  • MIA unchanged at the €1.65 level on increased volumes totalling 21,450 shares with few other offers remaining outstanding at the last traded price. The airport operator recently published its November traffic results revealing yet another double digit growth in passenger numbers lifting the growth in passengers during the first eleven months of the year to 13% compared to the forecasted 8% rise. Further details available here.
  • Earlier this week MaltaPost announced that its Board of Directors is scheduled to meet on 5 January 2011 to consider and approve the financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2010. Equity still inactive with bids already placed higher at the €0.93 level and lowest offers placed at the €1.00 level.
  • Last Wednesday, MIDI announced that following its recent share issue, the company’s total issued share capital now amounts to €42,831,984.40 divided into 214,159,922 ordinary shares of a nominal value of €0.20 each. The Company explained that 35.32% of its total issued share capital is held in public hands. The MIDI shares will be admitted to the Official List of the Malta Stock Exchange next Monday 20 December with trading expected to commence the following day. Further details available here.