MSE Equity Price Index rises amid subdued activity

 

The MSE Equity Price Index climbed 0.16% to 3,881.104 points as BMIT, GO, Lifestar and Santumas moved higher while MIA closed unchanged. Overall trading activity remained muted at €0.08 million. Download today’s Equity Market Summary.

BMIT Technologies plc added 1.7% to the €0.488 level after retracting from an intraday high of €0.49 (+2.1%) across two trades totalling 100,000 shares.

BMIT’s parent company, GO plc gained 1.2% to the €3.40 level across three deals totalling 2,200 shares.

Elsewhere, Santumas Shareholdings plc advanced by 4.5% to the €1.15 level on a single trade of 920 shares.

LifeStar Holding plc traded for the first time in 7 months and moved 1.7% higher to the €0.61 level on negligible volumes.

Meanwhile, Malta International Airport plc traded flat at the €6.00 level as 3,400 shares changed hands. A legal notice published last Monday which came into force today placed an additional nineteen countries in the travel ‘red list’. Vaccinated travellers from these red list countries can enter Malta without a requirement to quarantine.

The RF MGS Index edged higher for the third consecutive session as it advanced by 0.05% to 1,091.624 points. The Eurozone Composite PMI for August was lower than expected and indicated the slowest growth in private sector activity in five months. Meanwhile in the UK, the Bank of England reduced GDP growth projections for the third quarter to 2.1% from 2.9%. UK’s central bank also warned that inflation could remain above 4% into the second quarter of next year. Yesterday, the US Federal Reserve downgraded the growth projections for US GDP to 5.9% compared with a 7% forecast in June. Federal Open Market Committee members also signalled for a rate hike in 2022 and further increases to interest rates in 2023.

Yesterday, Trident Estates plc published its interim financial results covering the six-month period ended 31 July 2021. The company reported an operating profit of €0.12 million. Despite the challenging environment, Trident reiterated its commitment towards the Trident Park project as the company is working tirelessly to secure its full completion to the highest standards and quality which are expected to prevail over the short to medium term.

Meanwhile, the Treasury announced that it received 76 bids from institutional investors for the recently offered three fixed-rate Malta Government Stocks for a value totalling €290.3 million (nominal) compared to the €220 million on offer when including the over-allotment option. The statistics published by the Treasury indicate that €79.7 million were allotted in the 0.40% MGS 2027 (IV) FI at a weighted-average price of 102.15%, which corresponds to a yield-to-maturity of 0.0493%. In the 1.00% MGS 2033 (II) FI, the Treasury allotted €66.8 million at a weighted-average price of 100.29%, which corresponds to a yield-to-maturity of 0.9774%. In the 2.00% MGS 2051 (II), the Treasury allotted €73.5 million at a weighted-average price of 103.52%, which corresponds to a yield-to-maturity of 1.8458%.