Three equities push the MSE Equity Price Index higher

 

The MSE Equity Price Index offset most of yesterday’s losses as it went up by 0.53% to 3,732.111 points reflecting the gains of APS, HSBC and GO. Meanwhile, five other equities closed unchanged, as the total trading activity amounted to €0.1 million. Download today’s Equity Market Summary.

HSBC Bank Malta plc climbed 3.4% to the €1.20 level across five trades totalling 6,000 shares.

GO plc advanced by 2.1% to the €2.96 level across three deals totalling 700 shares.

One trade of 1,600 shares pushed the share price of APS Bank plc 0.8% higher to the €0.615 level.

Most of today’s trading activity took place across the shares of Bank of Valletta plc as it held the €1.23 level on seven deals totalling 41,000 shares. Since the start of the year, more than €7 million worth of BOV shares changed hands, which is higher than the annual trading value for BOV shares in any of the previous two years.

Also among the largest equities by market value, Malta International Airport plc closed unchanged at the €5.50 level after failing to hold to an intraday high of €5.60 (+1.8%) across volumes totalling 5,415 shares.

International Hotel Investments plc remained at the €0.53 level on two trades totalling 1,050 shares.

AX Real Estate plc stayed at the 0.45 level across two trades totalling 18,000 shares.

One trade of 50 shares left the share price of FIMBank plc at the USD0.19 level.

Today, Harvest Technology plc provided an update on the outlook for its business for the current financial year. The company explained that over the past months, the ‘Payment Processing Services’ segment, operated through the Group’s payment gateway ApcoPay, has undertaken significant investment to upgrade its payment gateway system to a cloud-based gateway. From this segment, the Group anticipates a marginal increase in revenue compared to the previous year, primarily due to the renewal of a contract for payment and gateway provision services with the Government of Malta. However, profitability is expected to be lower due to the impact of the additional investment in the platform as well as higher marketing expenses. The ‘Retail and IT Services’ segment is also expected to generate higher revenues due to new contract wins in Malta. Harvest is also aiming to continue the internationalisation of the IT Services segment. Based on the current forecasts, the Group is expecting to achieve higher revenues of €20.4 million in 2023 compared to €16.3 million in the previous year.

The RF MGS Index declined by 0.12% to 871.742 points. Data published today showed that German produce prices increased by just 1% in May compared to a year earlier, the lowest producer inflation since January 2021, principally reflecting lower electricity prices when compared to last year. Elsewhere in China, as the economic growth continues at a weak pace, policymakers reduced the country’s one-year loan prime rate by 10 basis points to 3.55% in an effort to stimulate the economy.

 

This report contains public information only and is not to be construed as investment advice or an offer to buy or sell any securities. Information contained herein is based on data obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but no representations or guarantees are made with regard to the accuracy of the data. Stock markets are volatile and subject to fluctuations which cannot be reasonably foreseen. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Rizzo, Farrugia & Co. (Stockbrokers) Limited is a company licensed to undertake investment services in Malta by the MFSA under the Investment Services Act, Cap. 370 of the Laws of Malta and a member of the Malta Stock Exchange.