The Malta Stock Exchange gained just under a single point on Wednesday to close trading at the 3,330.468 level. Although several equities witnessed action, trading volume was slight as just 26,355 shares for a total 18 deals were dealt across nine stocks.

HSBC Bank Malta plc added a single cent to manage a gain of 0.3% and closed at €2.960 on volume of just 315 shares across two deals.

Bank of Valletta plc shares, meanwhile closed unchanged at €2.820 as just four deals for a total of 3,300 shares were executed.

In the telecommunications sector, GO plc shares added a marginal 0c5, or 0.4%, to finish the day at €1.380, also on low volume as just 1,500 shares across three deals changed hands.

Middlesea Insurance plc, whose shares have been climbing steadily of late, saw them retrace on Wednesday as the stock dropped 2c, or 1.9% to end the session at €1.030.

Yet, the big mover on the day was 6pm Holdings plc, whose stock plummeted 34.8% as a single deal of 5,000 shares forced the price of the software provider’s stock to close at £0.300. This price decline mainly reflects the recent rights issue price adjustment.

Also closing lower, albeit marginally, was MaltaPost plc, which dropped 0c1, or less than 0.1%, to end the day at €1.083 in a single deal of just 130 shares.

Other equities to trade on Wednesday were International Hotel Investments plc, Malta International Airport plc, and RS2 Software plc. All three equities traded in low to moderate volume and closed out the day at share prices of €0.700, €1,700 and €0.500 respectively.

The corporate bond market was also very quiet yesterday as just €40,720 nominal across 13 trades were dealt. Investor sentiment for bonds of some of Malta’s largest companies was indecisive as two out of the eight issues to trade on the day closed lower while just a single bond ended higher. The 7.15% Mediterranean Investments Holding plc Euro 2015-2017 bond suffered the biggest loss, dropping €4.980, or 6.2%, to close at €75.000 in a single deal of €2,000 nominal. The 6.5% Island Hotels Group Holdings plc € 2017-2019 issue, meanwhile, added €1.010, or 1.0% to finish at €102.000 in two trades for a total of 3,000 nominal.