Daily Market Highlights (26.11.10)

  • MSE Share Index slips a further 0.3% during this morning’s trading session to close below the 3,500-points level on the back of declines in HSBC, BOV, FIMBank and Lombard. Meanwhile IHI, GO and MIA close unchanged. Index erased a large part of last week’s 1.6% rise as the local equity benchmark slid 0.9% lower this week mainly due to the negative performances of BOV and HSBC. Download a copy of today’s Equity Market Summary.
  • General Public Offer of MIDI plc share issue opens next Monday 29 December. The Company is issuing 44,444,444 shares at a price of €0.45 per share with an over-allotment option of up to a further 22,222,222 shares. Further details available here.
  • BOV edges 0.2% lower today to close at the €3.68 level, representing a 0.5% weekly drop – the first weekly negative performance in six weeks. Fourteen trades amounting to just over 13,300 shares transacted today with further offers unsatisfied at the closing price whilst best bids still pitched at the €3.65 level. Investors acquiring BOV shares until 7 January 2011 will be entitled to the 1 for 5 bonus issue. Details of September 2010 financial results available here.
  • HSBC also down 0.3% today to close at the €2.94 level, thus also ending the week 1.3% lower.  Only 3,600 shares exchanged today with few other offers outstanding at the closing price. Recently the Bank published its Interim Directors’ Statement explaining that the positive trend of the first half of the year was maintained during the subsequent months. Further details available here.
  • Lombard fails to hold onto the gains registered earlier in the month following the publication of the Interim Directors’ Statement. Lombard’s equity down another 3% this week as its share price slumped back to the €2.57 level this morning across three trades amounting to 7,930 shares. On November 1, the Directors reassured investors that Lombard Bank is expected to remain on course towards the attainment of another positive set of financial results for the year ending 31 December 2010.
  • The other active financial equity, FIMBank, also closed in negative territory today as its share price dropped back to the US$0.93 level on a single trade of 1,682 shares. Earlier this week, FIMBank announced that the transfer of certain rights over 35 million shares from Massaleh Investments to Burgan Bank has been reversed with immediate effect. Further details available here.
  • GO again unchanged at the €1.90 level across ten trades totalling 14,050 shares. Further offers remained unsatisfied at the last traded price whilst best bids still in the market at the €1.87 level. No announcements have been by Forthnet as yet on the significant volumes traded in the past few days amounting to almost 14.5 million shares which comprise 9.3% of the Company’s total issued share capital.
  • IHI and MIA also unchanged. A further 3,300 IHI shares change hands at the €0.77 level with the share price of the airport operator maintaining the €1.625 level across 2,000 shares.
  • MaltaPost inactive today thereby closing the week as the only positive performer following yesterday’s 2.5% increase to a new 32-month high of €0.95 – just below its all-time high of €0.968. The postal operator is expected to publish its full-year results in January.