Daily Market Highlights (27.08.09)

  • Subdued trading activity persists as results fail to generate trades. MSE Share Index sheds a further 0.4% to drop back to 3,085.852 points as all active equities today trade lower. Download the latest copy of the Equity Market Summary.
  • Yesterday’s slide in HSBC rekindles selling pressure in BOV during today’s session. Share price slips 1.7% lower to €2.95 but volumes remain low with under 3,000 shares changing hands. Further bids remaining unsatisfied at this level with lowest offers now placed at the €2.99 level.
  • Meanwhile HSBC fails to trade today with some bids still in the market at the last closing price of €2.70 whilst lowest offers pitched at the €2.74 level.
  • MIA reverses almost half of yesterday’s rise as the share price eases 1.8% to €2.40. Three trades totalling 2,585 shares transacted today with best bids now at €2.05 whilst further offers remain unsatisfied at the closing price.
  • Medserv’s share price also trimmed by 1.3% as 8,000 shares are exchanged at €3.50. No further bids in the market with lowest offers still placed at the €3.545 level ahead of the Group’s full-year results next Monday 31 August.
  • Santumas Shareholdings slumps 5% to the €3.04 level as the security trades for the first time since 20 January. 6,600 shares exchanged today across five trades. Best bids now placed at the €2.50 level whilst lowest offers placed substantially higher at the €4.659 level.
  • Lombard announced its 2009 interim results showing a 17% drop in pre-tax tax profits to €6.44 million. The decline in profitability was solely due to lower performance at the Group’s subsidiary MaltaPost plc. In fact, the banking operations of the Lombard Group saw its pre-tax profits rise by 5.7% to €5.41 million. Further details of results available here.
  • Middlesea Insurance on Tuesday published its 2009 interim results showing a net loss for the period of €17.2 million mainly due to the continued material impact from the Group’s Italian subsidiary, Progress Assicurazioni Spa. In this regard, the Directors announced that they are determined to significantly curtail the level of business undertaken by this subsidiary. Following this loss, the Directors feel that it would be appropriate to strengthen the Group’s balance sheet through the raising of additional capital. Further details of results announcement available here.
  • Yesterday, 6pm also announced its financial results for the first half of 2009 showing a net loss of GBP38,011 compared to a net profit of GBP99,788 registered in the same period last year. Although the Group registered higher revenues and managed to control administrative costs, these were offset by considerable increases in cost of sales and finance costs. Copy of half-year results available here.