MSE | Wednesday, 23 January 2008

Session dominated by weak volumes

Yesterday, the Maltese equity market saw sluggish trading predominantly in the red. The Malta Stock Exchange dropped 0.30% or 14.67 points to close at 4948.72 points. Large-caps Bank of Valletta p.l.c. and HSBC Bank Malta p.l.c. weighed on the index as they finished in negative terrain. The shares of GlobalCapital p.l.c. followed suit, whereas GO p.l.c. had the best performance of the day.
On the banking front, Bank of Valletta p.l.c. stock saw a Eur4c0 (MTL0.017) of its value being shaved off by thirteen trades to the Eur6.71 level (MTL2.881). The price shifted in a very tight range of Eur6.56 (MTL2.816) to Eur6.71 (MTL2.881) across 9,491 shares. At market close, best unsatisfied bids stood at Eur5.81 (MTL2.494) for 2,473 shares against best offers of 4,680 shares at Eur6.71 (MTL2.881). The turnover of the week amounted to 31,354 shares and exchanged across fifty-one trades.
Remaining on the banking front, HSBC Bank Malta p.l.c. also contributed to the downward move. This equity had a rather slow session with just 1,700 shares changing hands in four transactions. The share price traded Eur0c4 (MTL0.002) lower at Eur4.866 (MTL2.089). The lowest traded price during the session was Eur4.865 (MTL2.089), whereas the highest traded price of the day was Eur4.866 (MTL2.089). Week on week, HSBC Bank Malta p.l.c. lost 2.49% from its closing price of Eur4.99 (MTL2.142) on Tuesday, 15th January 2008.
The share price of GlobalCapital p.l.c. was the dawdler of the day as the shares tumbled by Eur45c2 (MTL0.194) to close the second session of the week at Eur5.15 (MTL2.211). The turnover was extremely low as 100 shares were swapped across a single transaction.
On a positive note, GO p.l.c. was the only stock to show any strength. The share price registered a Eur1c0 (MTL0.004) gain to finish at the Eur3.03 (MTL1.301) level. This equity was the most liquid stock of the day as a total of 16,889 shares were swapped across eight deals. At the end of trading, the best demand for 4,000 shares stood at Eur3.01 (MTL1.292), whereas the best supply for 3,940 shares stood at Eur3.121 (MTL1.34). On Friday, 18th January 2008, GO p.l.c. announced that together with Emirates International Telecommunications Limited (the majority shareholders in GO p.l.c.) is currently evaluating the possibility of acquiring a shareholding of a Greek Telecoms Company. GO will make further announcements in due course.
Elsewhere on the board, Grand Harbour Marina p.l.c. traded sideways without effecting its previous session close at Eur1.70 (MTL0.73) across 500 shares.
On Tuesday 22nd January, Datatrak Holdings p.l.c. announced that the directors have approved a re-structuring plan for the business of the Datatrak Group (the “Group”) and a new strategy for the Group which should see the business of the Group shift its prime focus to the provision of IT Services and solutions, two areas of the Group’s business that have been successful over the past few years and which the directors believe are strong growth areas in the future development of the Group. Following a number of years experience in their attempt to develop and sell Datatrak networks in foreign jurisdictions, the directors are of the view, based on the developments that have been made in tracking technology, that the focus of the Company should shift from the sale of networks to the sale of IT systems and solutions connected to the tracking industry, a business which is far less capital intensive and more adaptable to changes in technology going forward and perceived by the directors as an area that can sustain more rapid growth. The plan will be recommended by the directors to shareholders in an extraordinary general meeting scheduled to be held in the last week of February.
In the fixed interest market, a total of €348,761.94 (MTL149,723.50) (3 Deals) were transacted in Government Bonds whilst a total of €73,298.75 (MTL31,467.15) (5 Deals) were transacted in Corporate Bonds.