BOV climbs to a six-year high

 

The MSE Equity Price Index rose by 0.22% to a fresh eight-month high of 3,882.201 points as the gains in BOV outweighed the declines in AX Real Estate, MIA and BMIT. Meanwhile, HSBC Bank Malta plc traded flat at the €1.66 level as 7,100 shares changed hands. Download today’s Equity Market Summary.

Also in the banking sector, Bank of Valletta plc was today’s most actively traded equity as it rose by 1.8% higher to a six-year high of €1.68 across seventeen trades with a total market value of €0.1 million.

On the other hand, Malta International Airport plc shed 0.8% to the €6.10 level over three trades amounting to 3,517 shares. Last Monday, MIA announced that it welcomed a record 951,861 passengers during July 2024, an increase of 12.2% compared to July 2023 and 8.4% higher than the previous record in August 2023. In fact, July 2024 was the airport’s first month to ever surpass 900,000 movements. The seat load factor for July 2024 was 89.7%, 0.6 percentage points more than July 2023. Additionally, total seat capacity was 11.5% higher when compared to the corresponding month in 2023. Recently, the Board of Directors declared a net interim dividend of €0.06 per share, double the interim dividend paid in 2023. The dividend is payable by not later than Friday 13 September 2024 to all shareholders as at the close of trading on Tuesday 20 August 2024.

BMIT Technologies plc slumped by 4.5% to the €0.34 level on a single trade of 30,000 shares.

AX Real Estate plc moved 0.4% lower to the €0.45 level on one deal of 25,000 shares.

Today, Santumas Shareholdings plc announced that its Board of Directors is scheduled to meet on Wednesday 28 August 2024 to consider the approval of the company’s audited financial statements for the year ended 30 April 2024.

Today, Main Street Complex plc announced that its Board of Directors is scheduled to meet on Wednesday 21 August 2024 to consider the approval of the interim financial statements for the six-month period ended 30 June 2024. The Directors will also consider the payment of an interim dividend to shareholders as at the close of trading on Wednesday 28 August 2024.

The RF MGS Index snapped a three-day winning streak falling by 0.24% to 904.346 points. Data released yesterday showed that retail sales in the US, surged by 1.0% month-over-month in July which was much larger than the forecasted 0.3%, and marked the largest gain since January 2023. Moreover, the number of Americans filing for unemployment last week was less than anticipated, reaching the lowest amount in the previous five weeks. Next week the Jackson Hole conference is set to take place, where the Chair of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell is set to give an updated stance regarding a potential interest rate cut next September.