The MSE Equity Price Index extended Wednesday's gains as it advanced by 0.17% to 3,732.076 points. The uplift in the share price of HSBC outweighed the drops in Farsons and Trident whilst another five companies closed the day unchanged. Trading activity in equities remained muted as only €0.09 million worth of shares changed hands.
HSBC Bank Malta plc rebounded by 4.7% to the €0.785 level across 9,250 shares.
Within the same segment, APS Bank plc (49,000 shares) and Bank of Valletta plc (36,743 shares) remained at €0.66 and €0.92 respectively.
Two deals totalling 675 shares left the share price of Malta International Airport plc at the €5.95 level. Yesterday, MIA announced that during the month of June passenger movements increased by 8.8% from the previous month to 603,532 which, in turn, is 16.4% lower than the amount of 721,565 passengers welcomed in the same period in 2019.
MIA explained that the rate of recovery in passenger movements was marginally stronger than the rebound in seat capacity (-17.7% when compared to June 2019).
On the other hand, the seat load factor of 85.5% achieved in June 2022 was superior to that recorded in May 2022 (81.4%) and June 2019 (84.1%). Meanwhile, the total number of passenger movements since the start of 2022, amounting to 2.35 million, was 7.7% short of the level of traffic of 2.54 million recorded in all of 2021.
Moreover, the total number of passengers welcomed in the first half of 2022 was just 11% lower than the total traffic of 2.64 million recorded in H1 2017, and also represents a recovery of 72.1% of the volume of traffic recorded in the first half of 2019.
In its announcement, MIA also noted that its Board of Directors is scheduled to meet on Wednesday 27 July to consider and approve the interim financial statements for the six-month period ended on 30 June 2022.
MIDI plc traded flat at the €0.34 level across 40,000 shares.
Likewise, AX Real Estate plc held on to the €0.55 level albeit on trivial volumes.
Low trading activity also took place in the equities of Simonds Farsons Cisk plc and Trident Estates plc which dropped by 0.7% and 5.6% to €7.45 and €1.35 respectively.
The RF MGS Index erased most of the gains recorded in the previous two days as it slid by 0.36% to 940.760 points. Sovereign bond yields in the euro area moved notably higher as political uncertainty resurfaced in Italy after the weakened Five-Star Movement (which is part of Mario Draghi’s national-unity government) said that it would boycott a vote of confidence in the government reflecting its disagreement over how Italy is managing the effects of high energy prices.
Meanwhile, the European Commission issued its updated economic forecasts showing that GDP in the euro area is now expected to grow by 2.6% in 2022 and by 1.4% in 2023. Furthermore, inflation is anticipated to be 7.6% in 2022 before easing to 4.3% in 2023. Elsewhere in the US, yesterday the Federal Reserve published its ‘Beige Book’ providing a picture of the current state of the world’s largest economy.
The survey showed that although overall economic activity continued to expand at a modest, several Federal Reserve Districts reported increased signs of slowdown in demand (also reflecting the impact of high inflation on discretionary spending) and higher risk of recession. Furthermore, as manufacturing activity continued to be mired by supply chain disruptions and labour shortages, most districts noted that their outlook for the next six to twelve months is negative. In contrast, the ‘Beige Book’ provided a more upbeat view of the US labour market as overall conditions remained tight resulting in robust wage growth although nearly all districts reported modest improvements in labour availability amid weaker demand for workers particularly in the manufacturing and construction sectors.