Index turns positive as IHI shares surge by 7.6 per cent

Following a shortened week due to Wednesday’s Public holiday the Malta Stock Exchange (MSE) Index managed to re-position itself in winning grounds with a gain of 0.4 per cent, despite trading notably lower in three sessions. In fact, the remarkable gain of 1.6 per cent recorded in Tuesday’s session proved determinant in off-setting the loss of 1.1 per cent registered in the said three sessions. Bulls re-emerged within International Hotels Investments plc, as the hoteliers equity jumped considerably over two sessions, while Malta International Airport plc managed to snap back last week’s losses. Conversely, investors turned bearish towards the banking sector with Lombard Bank plc plunging lower and HSBC Bank Malta plc edged lower for the third consecutive week.

In the week activity was on lower volumes of 429,899 shares which were dealt over 14 equities. As opposed to the previous week, gainer prevailed over losers as six edged higher, five slid lower, while three closed the week on a flat note.

Meanwhile, from the local sovereign debt market, most of the active stocks saw their yields extending their downward trend, following the interest rate cut announced on Thursday by the European Central Bank. Clearly, the said news impacted positively sovereign borrowing costs, with Spanish 10-year Government debt falling towards the four per cent level for the first time since 2010. Total turnover for the week increased to EUR8.9m which were dealt over 23 stocks.

From the equity segment, sellers re-affirmed control over the banking sector with the exception of FIMBank plc. In fact, the dollar denominated equity managed to capture a one per cent gain in the last trading minutes of the week to move back towards the $1.01 price level. Meanwhile, yesterday the company announced that at its Annual General Meeting which was held on the previous day, all resolutions were approved by its shareholders, among which the net dividend of $3.69 cents per share.

On the contrary, Lombard Bank plc experienced its worst decline this year with a remarkable loss of 7.7 per cent after reaching yearly highs of EUR2.00 in the initial days of April. In fact, sellers got the upper hand as the equity price plummeted by the said loss over the last two sessions of the week to move towards the EUR1.80 price. A total of 47,765 shares were traded over 17 transactions.

Likewise, Bank of Valletta plc halted its three subsequent weeks of gains with a 0.7 per cent loss. Lack of conviction reigned, as the banking equity moved lower in three sessions, thus notching the price down to EUR2.285. In line with its peer, HSBC Bank Malta plc upheld its recent blurred momentum with a sharp pull back of 2.2 per cent. The equity was active in all four sessions in which it had the lion’s share as a total of 105,191 shares changed hands to close the week at EUR2.601.

On a more convincing mode, investors displayed impetus towards International Hotels Investments plc. The hotels operator surged by 7.6 per cent over two sessions to end the week at EUR0.85, thus up by just below 15 per cent from its lows of EUR0.74 recorded in the last week of April. A total of six transactions worth EUR23,482 were struck.

Similarly, Malta International Airport plc reversed last week’s loss with a gain of 2.1 per cent on Monday to regain the EUR1.92 value. On the same grounds, GO plc inclined higher by a 0.6 per cent over the first two sessions of the week to close at EUR1.59, while Simonds Farsons Cisk plc managed to register an appreciation of 0.8 per cent in yesterday’s session to close at EUR2.56. In the former’s case, a total of 13,100 shares were traded over nine deals, while the latter was active over a single transaction worth EUR2,987.

The other gainer for the week was RS2 Software plc which advanced by two per cent over five trades of 11,030 shares to re-touch the EUR1.02 price value.

Conversely, both Santumas Shareholdings plc and Malita Investments plc ended the week notably lower. The former lurched lower by just below six per cent to close the week at EUR1.60, while the latter marked a depreciation of 3.8 per cent to re-position itself at the EUR0.50 price level.

Meanwhile, Maltapost plc closed the week unchanged at EUR1.05 after trading at an intra-week low of EUR1.049. On Wednesday the company announced that it had been granted a new licence by the Malta Communications Authority for the provision of postal service within the scope of Universal Services.

The other non-movers for the week were Medserv plc and Island Hotels Group plc which closed unchanged at EUR3.95 and EUR0.60 respectively.

Finally, on Monday Midi plc disclosed its financial statements for the year ending December 31, 2012, in which the Group reported a loss before tax of EUR2.5m, when compared to the profit before tax of EUR3.0m in the same comparable period last year. In addition, during the week the company also announced that following the admission of Tigne Mall plc to the official list of the Malta Stock Exchange, the said company no longer forms part of Midi Group plc.