Following declines in the previous three days, the MSE Equity Price Index rebounded by a minimal 0.06% to 4,823.297 points, largely driven by the upsurge in the share price of RS2 which, coupled with the positive performances of BOV and Malita, slightly outweighed the declines in five other companies.
Meanwhile, trading activity increased notably to €0.62 million on the back of higher volumes transacted in RS2, MIA and MIDI.
RS2 Software plc soared by 6.1% to the €1.56 level (the highest since mid-September 2017) on high volumes totalling 108,875 shares.
Also among the large companies, Bank of Valletta plc regained the €1.21 level (+1.3%) on activity totalling 27,730 shares.
In the property segment, Malita Investments plc added 1.1% to the €0.88 level across 18,384 shares.
In contrast, MIDI plc retained the €0.64 level after recovering strongly from an intra-day low of €0.58 (-9.4%). A total of 191,500 shares changed hands.
Main Street Complex plc and Trident Estates plc also closed the day unchanged at €0.61 and €1.94 respectively albeit on shallow volumes.
Low trading activity also took place in the equities of International Hotel Investments plc and MaltaPost plc which ended flat at €0.86 and €1.49 respectively. On Thursday, the equity of IHI started to trade without the entitlement to a net dividend per share of €0.02.
BMIT Technologies plc retained the €0.535 level across 169,483 shares.
Meanwhile, Malta International Airport plc fell by 2.8% to the €7.00 level on activity totalling 19,036 shares.
HSBC Bank Malta plc retracted back to the €1.62 level (-0.6%) on light trading activity. HSBC is due to publish its interim financial results on August 5.
Three deals totalling 11,500 shares forced the equity of PG plc to move 1.2% lower to the €1.62 level. The board of directors of PG is scheduled to meet on Monday July 1 to consider and approve the payment of the second interim dividend for the financial year ended April 30, 2019.
Among the smaller companies by market capitalisation, Loqus Holdings plc and Santumas Shareholdings plc posted significant declines to €0.041 and €1.45 respectively on thin volumes.
The RF MGS Index retracted by 0.16% from its over two-year high of 1,140.499 points to 1,138.689 points as euro sovereign bond yields moved higher today amid heightened expectations that the US and China will finally reach an agreement over trade in the coming days.
Meanwhile, economic data in Europe continued to be largely negative as a preliminary rebound in inflation in Germany was overshadowed by considerable drops in business, consumer and industrial sentiment.
Stock markets are volatile and subject to fluctuations which cannot be reasonably foreseen. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.