MSE Trading Report

for week ending March 30, 2012

MSE Index falls 2.3

per cent in March

The advance made by the local Index last week

proved unsustainable, as the Malta Stock Exchange (MSE) Index re-positioned

itself in negative territory by registering a significant loss of 1.1 per cent

to end the week at 2,938.906 points. This performance enhanced the loss

suffered during March which totalled 2.3 per cent, mainly conditioned by the considerable

losses by highly capitalised equities as selling pressure increased.

Meanwhile, in the week the tone on the local

market turned uneasy, as the index succumbed to

the barrage of selling that sank the broader market in four out of five

sessions. In the week, banking equities headed the list of losers with Bank of Valletta plc shares being

marked as the main laggard, while GO plc

managed to snap a remarkable gain in the last trading minutes on Friday. Activity

in the week was characterised by 11 equities being active, in which gainers and

non-movers tallied to three, while losers totalled to five. Meanwhile, turnover for the week reached EUR696,617 traded

over a total of 627,447 shares which were executed across 102 transactions.   

In the local Government Stocks investors enthusiasm seems to have dampened as

from the 21 active stocks 14 declined in value, while seven posted minimal

gains as long dated issues reversed some of the recent losses. Turnover in the

week decreased to just over EUR9.3m traded across 273 transactions of more than

8.7m in nominal terms. Meanwhile, in the Corporate

Bonds Market turnover reached EUR761,833 traded over 22 issues in which

gainers and non-movers balanced at 10, while losers amounted to two. For the

second week in a row the 4% AX

Investments 2013 headed the list of gainers by recording an additional gain

of 1.6 per cent.

In

the equity market, Bank of Valletta plc

tumbled by 4.5 per cent, thus wiping-out all the gains recorded in the previous

week to re-touch the EUR2.12 price levels. The bank was active throughout the

week as it traded lower in four sessions with Wednesday and Thursday being the

main draggers as the equity edged lower by 2.2 per cent and 1.4 per cent

respectively. Total turnover in the week amounted to 62,291 shares which were

traded over 40 trades. In March, the equity was marked as the main loser among

financials with a loss of 3.6 per cent; while year-to-date it registered a loss

of 4.6 per cent. On Monday, the Bank will accept applications from the public

the EUR40m, 4.25% Notes maturing in 2019.

Despite,

the rally experienced by FIMBank plc

in March which resulted in a sharp gain of just below 14 per cent, the equity

declined by 2.3 per cent on Monday to close the week at $0.85. Once again the

equity had the lion’s share of trading as over 306,000 shares which were dealt

across eight transactions. Similarly, Lombard

Bank plc extended its negative stance to three sessions in a row by

registering a further loss of two per cent. The equity was active in two

sessions, having traded in positive territory in the mid-week session, while it

than headed southwards on Friday to end the week at EUR2.45.

Conversely,

HSBC Bank Malta plc managed to

partially cancel last week’s loss by gaining 0.5 per cent. The equity was

active in all sessions as it closed unchanged in three, posted a gain in one,

while it recorded a minimal loss on Thursday to end the week at the EUR2.515

price levels.

From

the hotelier’s sector, International

Hotels Investments plc depreciated by 1.3 per cent on Wednesday to reach

the EUR0.74 price level. This week’s loss was topped up to the recent negative

sessions which black shadowed the equity both from a monthly performance

viewpoint and also on a year-to-date basis. In fact, on the month the equity

headed the list of losers as it closed markedly lower by just over five per cent,

while from the initial days of January it plunged by 12 per cent.

Grand

Harbour Marina plc

was also present on the list of losers with the equity registering a loss of

2.7 per cent over a single session to close at EUR1.898.

On a positive note, GO plc shares climbed by 4.9 per

cent to secure a 10 per cent gain over the past 15 days, thus ending the week

at EUR0.839

over a total of 29,600 shares. However, the equity is still 15 per cent down

year-to-date. Likewise, Maltapost plc

shares clicked another notch higher by gaining 3.3 per cent over two sessions

in which 6,433 shares changed hands to close the week at EUR0.94.

Meanwhile, both Malta International Airport plc and RS2 Software plc closed the week flat, with the former maintaining

the EUR1.70 over 17,700 shares after trading at an intra-week high of EUR1.72,

while the latter closed at EUR0.55 over three trades worth EUR27,000.

Finally, following weeks of inactivity the

other non-mover for the week was Medserv

plc which closed the week unchanged at EUR3.95 over four trades of 2,800

shares.

This article which was compiled by Atlas JMFS Investment

Services Limited, does not intend to give investment advice and the contents

therein should not be construed as such. Atlas JMFS is licensed to conduct

investment services by the MFSA and is a Member Firm of the Malta Stock

Exchange. 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 contact Atlas JMFS at 67, Level 3, South Street,

Valletta, or on Tel: 21224410, or email [email protected]