The MSE Equity Price Index trended higher for the third consecutive day on Thursday as it added a further 0.13% to 4,040.011 points. The uplift was due to the positive performances of MIA and HSBC which outweighed the declines in the share prices of BOV, Mapfre Middlesea and Tigné Mall whilst RS2, Malita and MPC closed unchanged. Overall trading activity remained muted as only €0.12 million worth of shares changed hands.
Malta International Airport plc added 0.8% to regain the €6.15 level across 6,323 shares.
HSBC Bank Malta plc rallied 3% to the €0.87 level on two deals totalling 31,500 shares.
In contrast, Bank of Valletta plc eased 0.4% to the €0.946 level across 26,407 shares.
BOV’s insurance associate – Mapfre Middlesea plc – dropped by 1.9% back to the €2.10 level on 4,102 shares.
In the property segment, Tigné Mall plc lost 3.5% to €0.82 albeit on trivial volumes whilst Malita Investments plc (10,000 shares) and Malta Properties Company plc (10,960 shares) traded flat at €0.90 and €0.50 respectively.
RS2 Software plc retained the €1.98 level across 3,499 shares.
The RF MGS Index erased most of the losses recorded in the previous two days as it rebounded by 0.28% to 1,131.138 points.
The uplift in MGS prices contrasted sharply with the strong upward movement in euro peripheral sovereign bond yields after Matteo Renzi pulled his party’s support within the ruling coalition in Italy over the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and related relief funding to be received from the EU. In the meantime, several European countries announced stricter lockdowns in an attempt to slow the spread of infections.
Elsewhere, in the US, the House of Representatives made Donald Trump the first president to be impeached twice (before the vote will now move on to the Senate in the coming days) as President-elect Joe Biden is expected to provide indications about of his plans for additional fiscal stimulus including increased direct payments to most Americans, an extension to higher unemployment benefits, as well as additional support to state and local governments.