The MSE Equity Price Index moved higher for the fourth consecutive day as it added a further 0.06 per cent to a near seven-month high of 4,515.969 points.
Most of the gains recorded in seven equities were however erased by the over 2 per cent drop in the share price of BOV. Trading activity improved further to the highest level this month of €0.68 million, largely reflecting encouraging volumes in MIA and MIDI.
MIDI plc added 2.9 per cent to the €0.71 after partly retreating from a new record high of €0.72. A total of 164,738 shares traded. Last week, the company clarified that discussions with Tumas Group related to the potential development of Manoel Island are still ongoing and that any material updates will be communicated in accordance with regulatory requirements.
Within the same sector, Malta Properties Company plc surged by 5.6 per cent to its highest level since January 2017 of €0.565 across 132,598 shares.
Trident Estates plc also performed positively with a gain of 0.8 per cent to the €1.29 level after opening at a high of €1.35 (+5.5 per cent). Activity in Trident was, however, shallow as only 6,500 shares changed hands.
The equity of FIMBank plc continued to rally as it advanced by a further 1.9 per cent to a fresh fourteen-month high of $0.785 across 37,500 shares.
Similarly, GO plc climbed 0.5 per cent to yet another fresh 12-year high of €4.10 on activity totalling 20,706 shares. GO will be convening an extraordinary general meeting on Monday December 3, 2018 in relation to the proposed sale of up to 49 per cent of its shareholding in BMIT Technologies plc through an Initial Public Offering. In this respect, shareholders of GO as at close of trading on October 31, 2018 will be receiving notice of the EGM as well as a circular containing further details on the proposed partial sale of BMIT.
Simonds Farsons Cisk plc moved 0.6 per cent higher to a nine-month high of €7.95 across 2,500 shares while Mapfre Middlesea plc regained the €1.94 level (+1 per cent) on three deals totalling 28,762 shares.
In contrast, Bank of Valletta plc slipped 2.2 per cent back to the €1.35 level across 64,733 shares. The European Banking Authority is scheduled to publish the results of its various stress tests on major European banks including BOV by November 2, 2018.
A single deal of 12,645 shares forced the equity of MaltaPost plc to move 1.8 per cent lower back to the €1.61 level.
Meanwhile, HSBC Bank Malta plc held on to its two-month high of €1.81 across 9,890 shares.
Malta International Airport plc also closed unchanged at the €6.15 level after opening at a low of €6.10 (-0.8 per cent). A total of 27,326 shares traded.
The RF MGS Index opened the week in positive territory as it rebounded by 0.09 per cent to 1,079.774 points. The positive movements in the prices of MGS were mostly driven by the sharp drop in the benchmark German Bund yields amid an escalation in diplomatic relations between the US and Saudi Arabia following the reported disappearance of a Saudi journalist in Turkey that works for the Washington Post.
In contrast, bond yields of peripheral countries trended mostly higher today ahead of the completion of the final draft budget in Italy before being sent to the European Commission for scrutiny and approval. The budget envisages a deficit of 2.4 per cent of GDP in 2019 which, in turn, is three times as much as had been anticipated by the prior government.
Stock markets are volatile and subject to fluctuations which cannot be reasonably foreseen. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.