Daily Market Highlights (19.11.10)

  • Local equity market up for the ninth successive session – the longest positive streak this year with a gain of 3.1% over the past 2 weeks. MSE Share Index closes marginally higher today at 3,522.244 points as HSBC’s 0.6% decline was outweighed by increases in the share prices of MIA and Middlesea. Meanwhile BOV, GO, and FIMBank close unchanged. This week’s Interim Directors’ Statements lifted local investor sentiment helping the Index rise by 1.6% across the last five sessions. Download a copy of today’s Equity Market Summary.
  • Pre-placement of MIDI plc’s share issue to be held on Friday 26 November. The Company is issuing 44,444,444 shares at a price of €0.45 per share with an over-allotment option of up to a further 22,222,222 shares. Further details available here.
  • Earlier this week, the Treasury announced the allocation policy with respect to the recent Malta Government Stock issues. Applicants of the 3.75% MGS 2015 will be satisfied in full while applicants in the 5.25% MGS 2030 will be allotted the first €20,000 in full plus 36% of the balance rounded up to the nearest €100. Further details available here. Meanwhile on the secondary market, further declines in the Malta Government Stock bid prices as the 10-year Eurozone yield reached the 2.7% level.
  • BOV again maintained the €3.70 level on lower volumes of 3,220 shares. For the third consecutive week, BOV closed the week in positive territory (+1.1%). Since the Bank’s full-year results publication on 29 October the share price rose by 10.4% on high volumes of 500,000 shares. Investors acquiring BOV shares until 7 January 2011 will be entitled to the 1 for 5 bonus issue. Details of September 2010 financial results available here.
  • HSBC share price down 0.6% this morning to €2.98 on low volumes of 4,000 shares. Depsite today’s downturn, the equity still closed the week 3.5% higher. Last Friday the Bank published its Interim Directors’ Statement explaining that the positive trend of the first half of the year was maintained during the subsequent months. Further details available here.
  • MIA share price climbs 3% to regain the €1.648 level on increased volumes of 17,170 shares. This week the Company reached the 3 millionth passenger mark for the second time in its history. This confirmed the positive trend being experienced by the Company in terms of passengers with double digit growth recorded in the first three quarters of 2010. The airport operator is expecting to surpass its forecasted financial performance. Further details available here.
  • Middlesea recovered from an intra-day low of €1.00 to close 1.9% higher at the €1.05 level and rank as the best performer of the week with a 5% rise. Yesterday, the Insurance Group published its Interim Directors’ Statement revealing that the third quarter performance was in line with that reported at the half year stage when the Group registered a pre-tax profit of €3.4 million. Further details available here.
  • GO holds on to the €1.90 level on volumes of 8,000 shares. The telecoms Group closed the week 0.8% higher.
  • FIMBank also closed unchanged at the US$0.94 level across three trades amounting to 12,000 shares. FIMBank issued its Interim Directors’ Statement this week revealing that the positive performance of the first half of the year when the Group reported a 16.4% increase in profits US$3.39 million is expected to be maintained during the remainder of the year. Further details available here. Meanwhile FIMBank reported this afternoon that the voting and other rights over 35 million shares in the Bank held by Massaleh Investments shall be exercisable exclusively by Burgan Bank of Kuwait.