Daily Market Highlights (22.03.2021)

GO share price rises to 9½ month high

 

The MSE Equity Price Index resumed its downward trend as it shed 0.28% to 3,786.992 points. The declines in BOV, Harvest and Trident outweighed the gains in GO and MIA whilst BMIT, RS2, Farsons and Malita all closed unchanged. Download today’s Equity Market Summary.

GO plc added a further 1.1% as it climbed to a fresh 9½ month high at the €3.60 level across 5,000 shares. GO is recommending a record net dividend of €0.16 per share to all shareholders as at the close of trading on Friday 23 April 2021. The final dividend will be paid out on Monday 31 May 2021.

Bank of Valletta plc slipped by 2.7% to a fresh 4½ month low of €0.876 as 11,368 shares changed hands. BOV’s Board of Directors is scheduled to meet on Tuesday 30 March 2021 to consider and approve the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2020. Furthermore, today the bank announced that its forthcoming Annual General Meeting will be held remotely on Thursday 20 May 2021.

A single trade of trivial volumes forced Trident Estates plc to drop by 12.1% to a 5-week low at the €1.45 level. 

Meanwhile, Malta International Airport plc rose by 1.7% as it regained the €5.85 level across 4,084 shares.

GO’s data centre subsidiary – BMIT Technologies plc – failed to hold onto an intraday high of €0.535 (+0.9%) as it closed unchanged at the €0.53 level across 33,800 shares.

In the same sector, RS2 Software plc traded flat at the €1.80 level as 2,500 shares changed hands whilst Harvest Technology plc eased by 1.4% to the €1.46 level across 4,000 shares. Harvest will be publishing its annual financial statements on Friday 26 March 2021. The Board of Directors will also be considering the recommendation of a final dividend.

Malita Investments plc retained the €0.90 level across a single deal of 3,000 shares. Malita’s Board of Directors is recommending the payment of a final net dividend of €0.0142 per share to all shareholders as at the close of trading on Wednesday 7 April 2021. The final dividend will be paid on Tuesday 18 May 2021 subject to shareholders’ approval at the upcoming Annual General Meeting scheduled to be held on Tuesday 11 May 2021.

Elsewhere, Simonds Farsons Cisk plc traded unchanged at the €7.85 level as 1,383 shares changed hands.

The RF MGS Index rebounded by 0.37% to 1,117.524 points. Tensions between the EU and the UK continued to rise as the 27-member bloc considers restricting exports of COVID-19 vaccines across the English Channel. EU officials are worried that any future issues with respect to the distribution of vaccines could undermine its vaccination targets. Speaking to a group of newspapers over the weekend, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “We have the possibility to forbid planned exports. That is the message to AstraZeneca, ‘you fulfil your contract with Europe before you start delivering to other countries’.”