The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) witnessed a positive week for the period between Wednesday, January 31, and Wednesday, February 7, 2024.
The main indices closed higher, with the ZSE All Share Index rising 3.01 percent to 559,065.53, the ZSE Top 10 Index up 1.07 percent to 248,833.87, and the ZSE Top 15 Index gaining 0.19 percent to 330,969.81. However, the positive sentiment wasn’t reflected across all sectors.
The Small Cap Index fell 1.40 percent to 9,807,750.94, indicating that smaller companies underperformed their larger counterparts.
This could be due to investors seeking refuge in larger, more established companies during times of uncertainty. The total market capitalisation also rose 3.72 percent to $45,077,253,246, suggesting that investor confidence in the market is gradually improving.
The top five risers for the week were Econet (+17.59 percent), SeedCo (+7.11 percent), Proplastics (+6.31 percent), ZHL (+5.06 percent), and GB Holdings (+4.95 percent). These gains were likely driven by positive company news or specific sector performance.
On the flip side, the biggest fallers for the week were Zimpapers (-20.96 percent), CBZ (-13.04 percent), NMB (-13.04 percent), TSL (-13.04 percent), and Art (-12.82 percent).
These declines could be attributed to various factors, such as company-specific issues, sector-wide challenges, or profit-taking by investors.
There was mixed performance among listed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) during the period under review.
Three of the five ETFs gained ground, while two declined. The biggest gainer was the Datvest MCS ETF, which saw its price surge by 24.25 percent to $1 929.61. This was followed by the Morgan&Co Made in Zim ETF, which gained 31.26 percent to $1437.34.
The Morgan&Co Multi-Sector ETF also posted a solid gain of 3.63 percent to $53 050. On the downside, the Cass Saddle Agric ETF saw its price decline by 3.31 percent to $780.
The OM ZSE Top 10 ETF also fell, by 10.45 percent to $9 905.38.
The decline in the Cass Saddle Agric ETF may be due to concerns about the agricultural sector, which has been facing challenges such as drought and rising input costs.
The OM ZSE Top 10 ETF, which tracks the performance of the ZSE’s top 10 companies, may have been affected by the weak performance of some of those companies during the week.
Source: Business Weekly
