Daily Market Highlights (20.09.10)

  • Further declines in local equity market at the MSE Share Index slips a further 0.5% to 3,371.238 points. Most of the eight active equities, including BOV and GO, closed lower today whilst Middlesea traded unchanged at the €1.00 level. On the other hand Lombard edged 0.4% higher. Download a copy of today’s Equity Market Summary.
  • BOV in negative territory for the third successive session. Equity sheds another 0.8% to drop back to the €3.185 level on volumes of just over 4,000 shares. Best bids now placed at €3.18 whilst lowest offers still pitched at the €3.22 level.
  • Meanwhile HSBC again inactive today with further offers in the market at the last traded price of €2.84 compared to best bids at the €2.82 level.
  • GO closes 2.1% lower to retreat back to the €1.85 level on a single trade of 1,900 shares. Few other bids at the closing price whilst lowest offers now placed at the €1.89 level. Recently the Group published its 2010 interim results revealing an operating profit of €11.24 million – a significant improvement over last year’s €0.25 million loss. The Group however, incurred a €7.03 million loss from its share of results of its investment in Forthnet SA. Further details available here.
  • MIA also down 1.3% to €1.54 on volumes of 6,300 shares. Best bids still in the market at €1.521 whilst lowest offers now pitched at the €1.559 level.
  • FIMBank plc reverses recent gains to drop back to its 2010 low of US$0.95 level across four trades amounting to 5,210 shares. No bids in sight whilst further offers outstanding at the US$0.95 level.
  • MaltaPost and IHG Holdings also in negative territory. The postal operator shed 5.6% to drop back to the €0.85 level on a single trade of 5,000 shares. IHG Holdings edges 0.7% lower to its all-time low of €0.99 on one deal of 2,000 shares.
  • Single trades also executed in Middlesea Insurance and Lombard. Middlesea unchanged at the €1.00 level on just 600 shares while Lombard closes 0.4% higher to the €2.74 level as 884 shares changed hands.
  • Medserv this afternoon announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with T.E.A. Shipping to create a joint-venture company procuring services to the oil & gas industry in Italy. Further details on announcement available here. Equity has been inactive since 9 August with no bids in the market and offers pitched at the last traded price of €4.28.
  • Last week, Mediterranean Bank plc announced a new €15 million bond issue. The new five-year bonds will carry a coupon of 6.25%. Further details on this bond issue and copy of the Prospectus available here.