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Overall sentiment on African equity markets was mixed. Among the markets we cover, 9 of them advanced during this short week while 8 retreated. Zimbabwe led the pack as equities in Harare gained 4.75%. Conversely, Kenya was the laggard as equities in Nairobi lost 4.84% over the four days.
West Africa
BRVM – Equities on the Western Africa regional exchange rallied this week. Overall, the Composite Index advanced 1.15% and was back above the 140 points mark. Market activity dropped by 45% as XOF 313m (USD 0.56m) worth of shares changed hands every day on average. The market is now down 2.86% year-to-date and the total market capitalization stands at XOF 4,249bn (USD 7.6bn). Ecobank Côte d’Ivoire is among the top performer this week. The stock jumped 7.16% as the bank announced an 18% increase in the dividend per share to be distributed (383 XAF). The counter is down 7.83% since the start of the year. The market heavyweight, Sonatel, closed the week at XOF 12,800, up 2.40% over the week. Shares in the telecom operator are down 5.19% year-to-date.
NGSE – Bears were back in Lagos. The benchmark index of the Nigerian stock exchange shed 0.96% WoW closing on Thursday at 38,916.74. Stocks are now down 3.36% YTD. Activity remained strong this week as NGN 4.8bn (USD 12.49m) worth of shares was traded on average over the last four days. The total market capitalization stands at NGN 20.4tn (USD 53.4bn). Guiness Nigeria is a notable performer this week. Shares in the brewer jumped 19.67% and are now up 88.95% YTD. Dangote Cement, on the other hand, closed at NGN 255 (-4.44% WoW). The shares in the cement producer are down 12.21% YTD.
North Africa
BVC – Morrocan equities advanced for another week. The MASI gained 0.64% in a week that saw MAD 86m (USD 9.5m) worth of shares change hands every day on average. Total market capitalization stands at MAD 599bn (USD 66.19bn), up 2.53% YTD. Sothema is once again one of the top performers of the week. The shares in the pharmaceuticals company soared another 10.23%. The counter is now up 66% YTD. The heavyweight, Maroc Telecom, closed at MAD 139.25 on Friday. The stock is down 3.97% YTD.
EGX – The Egyptian market declined further this week. The EGX 30 dropped 2.81% and closed at 10,564.88 points on Thursday. Compared to the previous week, average daily turnover rallied 8.71% to EGP 1.01bn (USD 64.4m) and the total market capitalization amounts to EGP 652.5bn (USD 41.5bn). The benchmark index is now down 2.59% YTD. Egyptians for Housing & Development Co is a notable performer this week. The stocks of the $45m market cap real estate developer jumped 40.6% over the week but remain down 30.36% YTD. The Egyptian heavyweight, CIB, closed at EGP 57.8 on Thursday, down 3.40% YTD. Note that Fawry, the listed fintech company, closed lower on Thursday at EGP 33.24, down 4.73% from last week. The counter is now down 0.84% this year.
East Africa
NSE – Kenyan equities significantly dropped this week as the Nairobi Securities Exchange’s benchmark index shed 4.84% WoW. The average daily turnover jumped 65% to KES 795m (USD 7.3m) and the total market capitalization amounts to KES 2,468bn (USD 22.7bn). The market is now up 5.63% YTD. I&M Holdings is the top performer this week. The shares in the financial services group jumped 13.56% WoW despite it announced a 21% drop in after-tax profit in 2020. The counter is now up 8.89% YTD. Safaricom advanced this week as shares in the telecom operator closed at KES 37.05 on Thursday, down 4.39% WoW. The counter is still up 8.18% so far this year.
Southern Africa
JSE – South African equities advanced for another week. The JSE tracked firmer global markets that benefited from US President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan, outlined on Wednesday, with money earmarked for roads, railways, broadband, clean energy and semiconductor manufacture. The JSE ASI closed at 67,236.31, up 3.79% WoW. South African equities are now up 13.18% YTD. The JSE heavyweight, Prosus, closed at ZAR 1,729.52 on Thursday (+3.62% WoW). It is now up 7.68% YTD.
ZSE – Bullish sentiment prevailed in Harare. The ASI jumped another 4.75%. Daily average turnover significantly declined a bit to around ZWL 80.6m (USD 0.96m) from ZWL 93m the week before. Total market capitalization amounts to ZWL 530bn (USD 6.29bn), up 70.29% so far this year.
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