Trading activity for the last day of the week on the Malta Stock Exchange ended on a positive note as the Index extended gains when it rose by 0.2 per cent to close at the 3,334.039 level. This occurred when a single banking equity ended the session with gains. However the other three equities which were active during the day registered no change in their respective share prices. Trading volume was relatively subdued as investors exchanged 36,169 shares across an aggregate of 24 deals.

The day’s sole gainer was HSBC Bank Malta, as the equity rose by 2c or 0.7 per cent to close the session at €2.920. Activity was however muted as investors transacted only 2,360 shares across 3 deals.

On the contrary, Bank of Valletta shares were the most actively traded during the session as a volume of 26,105 shares were dealt across 16 deals for a market value of €70,505.50. The Bank’s share price closed unchanged at €2.700.

Likewise, GO and MaltaPost ended the session without registering any changes to their closing prices at €1.380 and €1.015 respectively. In GO, investors dealt 2,779 shares across 4 deals, while two investors in MaltaPost negotiated an aggregate of 4,925 shares over one deal.

In the fixed interest sector of the market activity was spread across seven corporate bonds and four government stocks. In the corporate bond market sentiment was mixed, as two bonds closed in positive territory, three closed lower and two were unchanged. The day’s best performer was the 7% FIMBank 2012-2019 euro bond which appreciated by 1.5 per cent, when €2,500 nominal were transacted across a single deal to close at €102.00. Meanwhile, the session’s biggest loser was the 6.2% Mizzi Org. Finance 2016-2019 euro bond, which declined by 1.2 per cent on a single deal of €1,000 nominal, to close at €102.50.

Likewise, in the sovereign debt market, investor sentiment was negative as three stocks closed lower, while a single stock ended with a marginal gain.