Today marks the last trading session for 2011 with the MSE Share Index closing the year in negative territory after two years of gains.
In 2009, the local equity market had advanced by 7.9% and climbed by a further 9.3% in 2010. The MSE Share Index tumbled 18.2% during the last 12 months to 3,094.799 points mainly due to the double-digit declines in the three largest capitalised companies.
In fact, HSBC Bank Malta plc shed 20.8% and the share price of Bank of Valletta plc slid 22.24% this year as the prevailing eurozone sovereign debt crisis and the challenging global economic and political climate resulted in a downward pressure on profits.
The political uprising in Libya triggered a sell-off across International Hotel Investments plc shares during the first quarter. Although the equity has recovered some of these declines in line with the improved operational performance reported by the IHI Group at its Tripoli Hotel and its European properties, IHI's equity still ended 2011 with a loss of 10.7%.
GO plc ranks as the worst performer with a 49.4% plunged to 98c reflecting investors' concerns over the substantial investment in Forthnet...
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