Daily Market Highlights (22.12.09)

  • MSE Share Index edges marginally higher to close at another fresh 2009 high of 3,443.460 points. Index in positive territory today as most active equities trade higher. Only FIMBank traded lower with a 6% slump to a fresh 2009 low of US$1.09. Download a copy of today’s Equity Market Summary.
  • Volatile session for HSBC as it closes marginally higher at the €3.235 level. Equity rises to an intraday high €3.249 but fresh sell order push the share price down to €3.22 before recovering to the €3.235 level. Increased volumes of over 15,600 shares changed hands this morning with few bids at €3.10 whilst offers already placed marginally higher at €3.23.
  • Meanwhile BOV closes unchanged at €3.80 after recovering from an intra-day low of €3.78. Low volumes of just over 7,846 shares traded today with best bids now placed at €3.79 whilst further offers pitched at the closing price. Equity trading with the entitlement to the 1 for 4 bonus issue (approved at the last Annual General Meeting) until 12 January 2010.
  • Continued positive investor sentiment towards GO helps the equity reach another fresh 2009 high. Share price closes 0.5% higher at the €2.11 level over three trades amounting to 2,000 shares. Best bids still in the market at €2.05 whilst lowest offers now placed at the €2.14 level. GO’s CEO Mr David Kay explained in an interview which was published in the local media last Sunday, that following the acquisition of exclusive local broadcasting rights for England’s Premier League and the Italian Serie A, the company expects a big increase in its TV subscriber base.
  • Lombard’s positive run continues as the share price rises by 0.7% to a fresh 2009 high of €2.97 on a single-5,000 share transaction. Following today’s upturn, equity has recovered by 22.2% from its 2009 low of €2.43 recorded in April 2009. The Bank yesterday announced that its Board of Directors is scheduled to meet on 11 March 2010 to approve the Group’s 2009 full-year results and to declare a final dividend.
  • Middlesea Insurance trades limit up for the fourth consecutive session. Share price jumps by 6.1% to €0.796 on volumes totalling 5,700 shares. Equity now trading 32.7% higher than its rights issue price of €0.60. Further bids remaining unsatisfied at the closing price with lowest offers now pitched at the €0.80 level. Last week the insurance group announced the results of the €40.2 million rights issue. The 3 largest shareholders took up their entitlement whilst the remaining shareholders owning circa 37.5% only took up a small part of their entitlement. As a result the shareholding of BOV and Mapfre, as underwriters of the rights issue, increased to 30.8% each. Further details available here. The 67 million new shares were listed today with trading expected to commence tomorrow.
  • Meanwhile a single trade of just 86 FIMBank shares exchanged at a new 51-month low price of US$1.09 despite last week’s announcement stating that Fitch confirmed FIMBank’s rating at BB. Further details available here. Other bids in the market at the last trading price whilst lowest offers placed substantially higher at the US$1.175 level.
  • Single trades executed in Simonds Farsons Cisk and GlobalCapital. Simonds Farsons Cisk closes unchanged at the €1.70 level whilst GlobalCapital continues to recover by a further 4.2% to close at the €1.25 level.