The MSE Equity Price Index fell by 0.17% to a one-week low of 3,737.518 points on Wednesday as declines in BOV, HSBC, and Mapfre Middlesea outweighed the gains in the ordinary shares of RS2. Meanwhile, two other equities closed unchanged as trading activity in local equities amounted to €0.13 million.
Malta's largest airline operator Ryanair announced its largest ever summer schedule to a total of 67 routes. The airline will also have an additional aircraft based in Malta for a total of seven. In his comments to the media, Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary said that Ryanair’s passenger movements in Malta will reach 4.5 million between April 2024 and March 2025, which is almost 25% more passengers when compared to the same period a year earlier.
Almost half of Wednesday's value traded in local equities was across the shares of BMIT Technologies plc. BMIT traded flat at the €0.38 level over eight deals amounting to 171,567 shares.
APS Bank plc held the €0.55 level as 16,000 shares changed hands. Today, APS announced that its Board of Directors is scheduled to meet on Thursday 7 March 2024 to consider and approve the financial statements for the financial year ended 31 December 2023. The directors will also consider the declaration of a dividend, subject to regulatory approval.
HSBC Bank Malta plc shed 1.5% to the €1.28 level across five trades totalling 24,172 shares.
Also in the banking sector, Bank of Valletta plc moved 1.5% lower to the €1.30 level on four deals totalling 11,265 shares.
BOV’s insurance associate, Mapfre Middlesea plc dropped by 2.7% to the €1.46 level across five trades amounting to 4,380 shares.
The ordinary shares of RS2 plc recovered some of Tuesday's losses as they closed the session 6.5% higher at €1.15 after recovering from an intraday low of 1.05 (-2.8%) across three deals totalling 1,525 shares. The volume-weighted average price for the day was €1.05.
The RF MGS Index snapped a four-day losing streak as it rose by 0.12% 892.108 points. Today, German policymaker Isabel Schnabel said that despite weak growth and fading price pressures in the Eurozone, the ECB must remain cautious about reducing deposit rates.
In this respect, Ms Schnabel commented that maintaining current interest rates for longer will help to tame services inflation and loosen the tight labour market. Meanwhile, Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari suggested that US monetary policy conditions may not be as tight as they seem. Furthermore, Kashkari stated that the recent reduction in inflation was also a result of the remediation of supply-side problems.
The Treasury Department announced that the amount of issuance of Malta Government Stocks (MGS) during 2024 will not exceed €1.7 billion. The funds raised will be principally used to finance the estimated government deficit of €992.1 million, equity acquisitions of €215 million, and the redemption of four MGS issues and the 62+ Malta
Government Saving Bonds issued in 2019 which, in aggregate, amount to €489 million. The Treasury explained that the conventional fixed rate MGS will be the primary financial instrument used to fund the Government’s borrowing plan. The Treasury is aiming to spread its issuance programme for 2024 over five to six issues whilst the maturity structure will be a mix of short and medium to long MGS.