The Malta Stock Exchange Index gained almost nine points on Friday, to close at 3,395.689 points, in light trading volume of 39,917 shares across 27 trades.
The sole mover on the day was HSBC Bank Malta plc, whose shares closed 2c5, or 0.9 per cent higher, to finish at €2.855 in four trades of 4,093 shares.
Other stocks to trade in the session were Bank of Valletta plc, International Hotel Investments plc, Malta International Airport plc, and Middlesea Insurance plc, all of which closed unchanged in light volume.
Trading in the corporate bond market finished mainly lower as €206,414 nominal across 30 deals were traded, with two of the 15 bonds to trade finishing higher while nine closed lower. The bond to make the biggest move on the day was the 5.35% Izola Bank 2015 bond, which closed €1.49, or 1.50 lower, to end at par, or €100.00, in a single deal of €10,000 nominal. The 5.60% GlobalCapital 2014-2016 issue also closed lower, dropping €0.50 or 0.6 per cent, to close at €85.00, in two trades of €5,300 nominal. Other bonds to finish lower were the 6.00% Gasan Finance 2014-2016 issue and the 6.25% Corinthia Finance 2016-2019 issue, both of which fell €0.50 in trading, to close at €101.50 and €102.00, on volume of €9,400 nominal and €27,400 nominal, respectively. Meanwhile, the 6.20% Tumas Investments 2017-2020 bonds also performed poorly, dropping €0.50, or 0.5 per cent, in four trades for a total of €35,000 nominal, to finish at €103.00. Finishing on the upside were the 8.00% Bay Street Finance 2012 and 6.00% Simonds Farsons Cisk 2017-2020 bonds, each closing up €0.50, or 0.5 per cent, to close at €100.50 and €103.50 respectively. Both bonds traded in light volumes during the session.
Trading in the government stocks market also finished down, as all but one of the 19 government issues to trade in the session finished in negative territory. Volume was, like most sessions in the week, very heavy, as €3,750,145 nominal across 92 deals exchanged hands. The 5.10% MGS 2014 III issue had the day’s worst performance by losing €1.60, or 1.4 per cent, to close at €109.70 in five deals of €62,464 nominal, losing more than the gains it managed in the previous session. On Thursday, the 5.10% 2014 III issue rose by €1.19 on robust volume of €103,870 nominal. The other government stock to suffer considerable losses on the day was the 5.70% MGS 2012 III bond, which fell €0.65, or 0.6 per cent, to close at €107.35 in two deals for a total of €9,319 nominal.