MSE Weekly Round-Up Report: 30th April – 4th May 2007

Malta Weekly Round-Up Report: 30th April — 4th May 2007

The Malta Stock Exchange Index advances 1.3%

Weekly gains in five of the eleven traded equities helped the local bourse close in positive territory. Activity was fairly strong during the week, with trading in Bank of Valletta shares picking up following the announcement and issue of the Bank’s interim financial results yesterday week. The Malta Stock Exchange (MSE) Index advanced 65 points to close 1.3% higher at 4,968.15.

The total value traded on the exchange was over the Lm3.1 million mark, with 308 transactions being executed in all. The equity market accounted for 198 of these trades, while 108 were performed in the bond market and another 2 were executed in Treasury Bills. Value traded in these sectors amounted to Lm623,250, Lm1.97 million and Lm569,959 respectively.

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Bank of Valletta (BOV) was the most actively traded equity in this four day week, with 119,686 shares changing hands across 105 transactions. The equity added 19c9 on Monday and 0c1 on Wednesday to drop 3c on Thursday and a further 0c2 on Friday’s session. The issue of the Bank’s interim financial results thus spurred a 4.6% gain in the equity, on a week-on-week basis, to close at Lm3.798.

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BOV’s interim dividend of 6.75 cents per share (4.39 cents net of tax) will be paid on 30th May 2007, to those Members appearing on the Bank’s register as at close of business on 10th May 2007.

Within the same sector, HSBC Bank Malta ended the week on a negative note. The equity gained 1c1 on Wednesday’s session and a further 1c9 on Thursday to move just 1c below the Lm2.00 level. The last trading day of the week however proved to be detrimental to its share price, as the equity dropped 4c to close at Lm1.95. This represented a 0.51% loss on a weekly basis.

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In the same industry, FIMBank closed the week at the stable level of US$1.95. Volume traded amounted to 31,400 shares, with 10 transactions being executed in the equity in all. FIMBank shares had gained US$0.01 in Monday’s session, however this was lost on Thursday to close the week at the same level.

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Maltacom was also a positive equity performer on weekly basis, rising by 1.36% to close at Lm1.49. Over 25,000 shares were transacted across 13 deals, with the high and low prices traded at during the week being Lm1.49 and Lm1.45 respectively.

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GlobalCapital’s share price climbed 3.72% on low activity, with 8,400 shares changing hands across 4 transactions. The equity thus closed 7c higher at Lm1.95. Trading in Malta International Airport was also quite low with 8,149 shares being traded across 7 deals. The equity however managed to gain 2.42% and close at Lm1.395.

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In addition, Medserv was amongst the positive equity performers of the week as it gained 2c on Friday’s session to close at Lm1.49. This represented a 1.38% gain on a weekly basis, with 14,000 shares being traded across 4 transactions.

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On the other hand, International Hotel Investments (IHI) as well as Plaza Centre closed in the red on a week-on-week basis. IHI shed 0.9% to close the week at Eur1.09 while Plaza edged marginally lower following its 0c5 decline. The latter equity thus closed at the Lm0.70 level, this representing a 0.7% drop.

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The other two active equities during the week were Middlesea Insurance and Grand Harbour Marina, however, both closed unchanged from the previous week at the prices of Lm1.85 and Lm0.755 respectively.

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With regards to the local bond market, 14 corporate bonds and 20 government stocks were traded throughout the week. In the corporate bond market 25 deals were performed for a value traded of Lm70,477 while 83 deals were executed in the government stocks for a value Lm1.82 million.

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This article which was compiled by Jesmond Mizzi Financial Services Limited (JMFS) does not intend to give investment advice and the contents therein should not be construed as such. JMFS is licensed to conduct investment services by the MFSA. The directors or related parties, including the company, and their clients are likely to have an interest in securities mentioned in this article. For further information please contact JFMS at 67/3 South Street Valletta or on tel:  21224410 or email [email protected]