The MSE Equity Price Index moved marginally higher today to 4,777.029 points largely driven by the 1.8% rebound in BOV. BMIT and Medserv also trended in positive territory whilst five equities, including MIA and GO, drifted lower. A further four equities ended the day unchanged with trading activity remaining at healthy levels of just under €0.5 million albeit less than the €0.67 million worth of shares that changed hands last Friday.
Following last Friday’s 2.7% drop to a near 10-year low of €1.10, Bank of Valletta plc rebounded during today’s trading session by 1.8% to recapture the €1.12 level across twenty deals totalling 188,400 shares.
New bids also lifted the share price of BMIT Technologies plc by 0.95% to €0.53 on volumes of 44,278 shares.
The only other positive performing equity today was Medserv plc as it moved 5.3% higher to close at the €1.20 level on shallow volumes of 3,300 shares.
On the other hand, Malta International Airport plc trended in negative territory for the third consecutive session with a further 0.7% decline back to the €6.90 level across 11,508 shares. This afternoon, MIA announced that the interim results covering the first six months of 2019 will be published on Thursday 25 July. The Directors will also consider the payment of an interim dividend.
Similarly, GO plc eased 0.4% to €4.58 on low volumes of 3,500 shares.
In the property segment, Tigné Mall plc shed 2.2% back to €0.88 on a single deal of just 625 shares and Trident Estates plc slipped 3% to €1.92 across 15,762 shares.
A single deal of 2,000 shares of Mapfre Middlesea plc was transacted at the €2.20 level representing a 2.7% drop from the previous closing price. Last Friday, the insurance group published its 2019 interim results revealing a 14.5% increase in net profit attributable to shareholders to €4.3 million mainly reflecting the improvement registered within the Group’s non-life business.
Meanwhile, HSBC Bank Malta plc initially rebounded from an intra-day low of €1.52 but failed to hold to an intra-day high of €1.56 to end the session unchanged at the €1.53 level. A total of 19,103 shares changed hands today.
Likewise, International Hotel Investments plc retained the €0.82 level on volumes of 31,450 shares.
Malita Investments plc traded unchanged at the €0.86 level across three deals totalling 38,800 shares.
Also, no changes in PG plc as a further 24,605 shares changed hands at the €1.60 level. The interim net dividend of €0.0259259 per share will be distributed tomorrow.
Following last week’s 0.9% drop, the RF MGS Index eased by a further 0.15% today to 1,138.229 points despite a renewed decline across eurozone yields. In fact, the 10-year
German Bund yield has fallen to -0.287% by this afternoon compared to last Friday’s closing level of -0.245%.