The MSE Equity Price Index decreased by 0.25% to 3,546.919 points on Wednesday as declines in PG and VBL outweighed gains in BOV, Malita and Santumas. Six other equities closed unchanged as total trading activity amounted to €0.06 million.
Bank of Valletta plc advanced by 0.5% to a 2-month high of €0.94 level across five deals totalling 17,225 shares, as it remained the most actively traded equity for the fourth consecutive session.
A single trade of 22,551 shares pushed the share price of Malita Investments plc 6.5% higher to the €0.66 level.
Santumas Shareholdings plc advanced by 0.8% to the €1.28 level on one deal of 2,500 shares.
PG plc shed 2% to the €1.95 level on a single trade of 1,215 shares.
VBL plc was Wednesday's worst-performing equity as it plunged 16.7% to an all-time low of €0.20 across one deal of 10,000 shares.
Also in the property sector, AX Real Estate plc held the €0.49 level as 18,000 shares changed hands.
Malta International Airport plc traded flat at €5.55 across two trades totalling 1,180 shares.
GO plc closed unchanged at the €2.86 level after opening at a low of €2.84 (-0.7%) across two deals totalling 960 shares.
HSBC Bank Malta plc (3,000 shares) and M&Z plc (6,160 shares) held the €1.02 and €0.61 levels respectively.
The ordinary shares of RS2 Software plc kept the €1.14 level on trivial volumes.
Trident Estates plc announced that its Board of Directors is scheduled to meet on Friday 19 May 2023 to consider and approve the financial results for the year ended 31 January 2023. The directors will also consider the declaration of a dividend to be recommended to the Annual General Meeting which is scheduled for 16 June 2023.
The RF MGS Index dropped for the seventh consecutive session as it eased by a further 0.15% to a 5-week low of 871.590 points. Data published by Eurostat showed that the eurozone annual inflation rate in March dropped to 6.9% compared to 8.3% in the previous month. The decline was driven by the lower energy costs. Indeed, the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices excluding the energy component increased to a record of 7.9% as the ‘food, alcohol and tobacco’ costs increased by 15.5% when compared to the previous year.
In this respect, media highlighted that the ECB is concerned that food inflation impacts spending behaviour and wage demands. Meanwhile in the UK, the annual inflation rate in March eased to 10.1% compared to 10.4% in February, but remained higher than the
expected rate of 9.8%, despite several previous interest rate hikes by the Bank of England. Furthermore, food inflation in the UK has hit a 45-year high of 19.1%.