eBusiness Weekly
Enacy Mapakame
A bearish sentiment persisted on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) as three of the market’s indicators closed the week pointing southwards.In the week to Wednesday, the ZSE total market capitalisation let go of a hefty 9,5 percent or nearly $2 billion or to close pegged at $17,9 billion compared to $19,8 billion recorded in the previous week as investors profit take. The primary indicator, the ZSE All Share Index lost 8,9 percent to 168,32 points while the ZSE Top 10 Index fell the heaviest with a 11, 42 percent decline to 167,8 on heavy battering of the market’s most capitalised counters.
The Industrial Index succumbed 9,06 percent to 549,81 points compared to 604,57 points recorded in the previous week. At 217,34 points, the Mining Index rose by a marginal 0,38 percent lifted by a 1,43 percent increase in Bindura.
Turnover for the week slumped 61 percent to $12,4 million from $32,5 million while volumes also fell 42 percent after 29,8 million shares exchanged compared to 52 million shares achieved in the previous week. Generally, bears dominated the market in the week with 24 stocks closing in the negative territory against 10 risers to set a negative breadth.
Weighing down the market were property firm, Mashonaland Holdings that fell 35 percent to 2,4 cents followed by beverages maker, Delta which slumped 22 percent to close pegged at $2,99 from $3,84 achieved in the previous week.
Clothing retailer, Edgars let go of 20 percent to close at 12,75 cents while sugar processor- Hippo also eased by 20 percent to $2,24. First Mutual Properties wrapped the top fallers for the week with a 19 percent decline to 7,02 cents. At 70,27 cents, Simbisa traded 17 percent lower than previous week’s price of 85 cents.
Banking group, NMB eased 15,4 percent to close pegged at 20 cents while telecoms giant, Econet succumbed 14,4 percent decline to $2,08 from prior week’s $2,43. Econet, which is the market’s biggest stock by capitalisation recently launched a new product Vaya Lift ride services, which is a Uber-like taxi service, to provide the market with safe and affordable passenger service. Industrial conglomerate, Innscor lost 10 percent of value to close pegged at $1,78 from previous week’s $2. Other losses were recorded in FML and African Sun that fell 9,93 percent to 19,5 cents, and 7,81 percent to 14,75 cents respectively.
Seed maker Seed Co lost 8,31 percent to $2,20 in a week prices of maize seed halved following an outcry over exorbitant price increase of the key agriculture input a week earlier. On average, a kilogramme of maize seed had been set at $10.
Also on the downside, resources group, RioZim eased a marginal 0,25 percent to close pegged at $1,99. The diversified mining group has stopped operations at three of its mines, Cam & Motor, Renco and Dalny mines due to foreign currency shortages that crippled operations. The mining concern indicated difficulties in importing key consumables for its operations due to unsustainable foreign currency shortages.
Loss mitigation in the week was led by Art which put on 26,33 percent to close pegged at 9,5 cents followed by FBC which added 12,65 percent to 35 cents.
Willdale and Padenga added 12,5 percent to 0,8 cents and 10,71 percent to 99,55 cents respectively. GetBucks wrapped up the week’s top five gainers with an 8,33 percent increase to 7,02 cents.
Also on the upside, insurance firm, Fidelity rose 8 percent to 7,02 cents while Seed Co International added 6,62 percent to $1,61. Other gains were recorded in NTS and RTG that put on 3,31 percent to 1,25 cents and 2,84 percent to 1,45 cents respectively. Afdis and FCB maintained prior week levels of $1,50 and 12 cents respectively. FCB, formerly Barclays, recently approved to unbundle its non-banking properties in Makasa Sun and separately list on the local bourse.
Lafarge, Powerspeed, Hwange and Zimpapers also remained flat at $1,53, 14 cents,4,25 cents and 2,4 cents in that order.
At Hwange, Government reined in by placing the coal miner under administration to allow it to recover and return to the black. The company has been performing dismally in the past years and changing management without yielding positive results.
Meanwhile prospects for economic growth in Zimbabwe remain high as the country showed signs of improving the ease of doing business. The latest World Bank’s Doing Business 2019 Report shows Zimbabwe has improved by four places to settle at 155 out of 190 economies on ease of doing business.
