The Malta Stock Exchange was down again on Friday, losing 0.2 per cent, to end the week at the 3414.739 level. The index has fallen almost 13 per cent since its recent high of 3919.719 witnessed in January.
The biggest move on the day occurred in shares of Lombard Bank Malta plc, which gained 18c, or 6.4 per cent, to close at €2.98 in moderately heavy volume of 53,000 shares across 10 trades.
Crimsonwing plc, whose shares lost 6.9 per cent on Thursday, regained some of those losses on Friday, adding 2c1, or 5.0 per cent, to close at €0.44 in a single trade of 21,600 shares. Yesterday the company announced that it had been awarded a three-year contract to provide IT services and solutions, estimated to generate approximately €3,000,000 per year.
HSBC Bank Malta plc, whose shares have been in a steady decline since reaching a recent high of €4.00 in January, shed another 2c5, or almost 0.9 per cent, to close at €2.82, in seven deals of 9,500 shares.
Shares in Bank of Valletta plc also fell, for the third session in a row, closing off 1c5, or almost 0.5 per cent lower, in relatively light volume of 4,512 shares across seven trades.
Shares in the local telecommunications provider, GO plc, also suffered significant losses yesterday, dropping 3c, or 1.5 per cent in six deals of 13,200 shares, to end the session at €2.00.
Middlesea Insurance plc traded in positive territory as well on Friday, registering the second consecutive day of gains, gaining 0c2, or 0.2 per cent, in five deals of 30,000 shares, to close at €0.90.
MaltaPost plc, meanwhile, managed a slight gain on the day, trading up 0c1, or 0.1 per cent, to close at €0.90.
The sole other issuer to finish down on the day was RS2 Software plc, which was off slightly, dropping 0c1, or almost 0.2 per cent, to close at €0.529.
Other stocks to trade on the day but failed to register a change in their closing prices were International Hotel Investments plc which closed at €0.825, and Medserv plc, which ended the session at €4.28.
Trading in the fixed income market was light on Friday as €252,556 nominal were exchanged across 30 deals. Six corporate bond issues and six government stocks were traded during the session. The 4.8% Bank of Valletta plc 2020 series made the biggest move on the day, gaining €0.25, or 0.25%, to close at €101.75 in seven trades of €45,500 nominal.
In the government stock market, the 5.00% MGS 2021 I series closed down €0.32, or 0.3 per cent to end at €107.52 in four trades of €31,307 nominal.
This article has been prepared by Bank of Valletta p.l.c. (the Bank) for your general information only and is not intended to address your particular requirements. This information is not a solicitation or offer by the Bank to acquire or sell securities. Nor does it constitute any form of advice or recommendation by the Bank. Appropriate independent advice should be obtained before making any such decision. The price of investments can go down as well as up, and investors may not get back the amount they invested. Past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance.
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