The Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) once again led African equity markets as the local bourse gained 5.24 percent returns this week. Generally, bullish sentiments prevailed on African equity markets for this week. Among the 17 markets covered, only the Nigerian Securities Exchange (NSE) retreated.
West Africa
BRVM – Bulls remained in control in Abidjan as equities on the Western Africa regional exchange advanced for the sixth week in a row. Overall, the Composite Index gained another 2.53% WoW to close at 154.18. Market activity quintupled as XOF 897.8m (USD 1.65m) worth of shares changed hands every day on average compared to XOF 184m the week before.
The market is now up 6.06% year-to-date and the total market capitalization stands at XOF 4,640bn (USD 8.54bn). Nestle Cote d’Ivoire SA leads the performance chart for the second consecutive week. The shares in the consumer goods company jumped another 32.35%. Investors are enticed by the good performance and the strong dividend (58% dividend yield, then) announced 2 weeks ago. The counter has now more than quadrupled since the start of the year (+353.13%). The market heavyweight, Sonatel, closed the week at XOF 14,500, up 4.73% over the week. Shares in the telecom operator are now up 7.41% year-to-date.
NGX – Equities in Lagos tumbled this week. The benchmark index of the Nigerian exchange lost 1.60% WoW closing on Friday at 39,198.75. Stocks are now down 2.66% YTD. Activity jumped 80% as NGN 4.0bn (USD 10.46m) worth of shares were traded on average over the last five days compared to NGN 2.2bn the week before.
The total market capitalization stands at NGN 20.4tn (USD 53.7bn). Access Bank Plc was among the top performers this week. Shares in the financial institution rallied 12.33% and are now up 3.55% since the start of this year. Dangote Cement, on the other hand, declined to close at NGN 211.6. The shares in the cement producer are down 13.60% YTD.
North Africa
BVC – Morrocan equities advanced for the 9th consecutive week. The MASI gained another 1.70% in a week that saw MAD 304m (USD 34.4m) worth of shares change hands every day on average. The total market capitalization stands at MAD 621bn (USD 70.3bn), up 6.42% YTD. SONASID is among the top 5 performers of the week. Shares in the steel producer rose 11.02%. The counter is now up 40.0% YTD. The heavyweight, Maroc Telecom, closed at MAD 139.6 on Friday. The stock is down 3.72% YTD.
EGX – Egyptian equities rallied this week. The EGX 30 gained 1.08% and closed at 10,588.09 points on Thursday. Compared to the previous week, average daily turnover remained relatively stable at EGP 0.90bn (USD 57.5m) and the total market capitalization amounts to EGP 658.9bn (USD 42.1bn). The benchmark index is now down 2.37% YTD.
Ajwa for Food Industries is the top performer this week. Shares in the food and edible oils producer jumped 29.59% and is now up 40.88% YTD. The Egyptian heavyweight, CIB, closed at EGP 59.42 on Thursday and is now up 0.73% since the start of the year. Note that Fawry, the listed fintech company, closed the week at EGP 20.34.
East Africa
NSE – Kenyan equities advanced for the fourth week in a row. The Nairobi Securities Exchange’s benchmark index gained another 1.15% WoW. The average daily turnover remained roughly stable at KES 534m (USD 5.01m) and the total market capitalization amounts to KES 2,629bn (USD 24.64bn). The market is now up 11.48% YTD. KCB is among the top performers this week.
The shares in the financial services group rose 4.22% WoW. The counter is now up 10.10% YTD. Safaricom closed at an all-time high of 40.80 KES, up 1.12% WoW. Investors are rushing to buy on news that the telecom operator is close to securing an operating licence in Ethioppia. The counter is up 19.12% so far this year.
Southern Africa
JSE – Bulls were back in South Africa as the JSE ASI rallied 2.36% to close at 68,519.53, about 250 points of a record closing high. The South African benchmark index is now up 15.34% YTD. The JSE heavyweight, Prosus, closed at ZAR 1,506 on Friday (-4.86% WoW). Shares in the tech investor are now down 6.24% YTD.
ZSE – Equities in Harare advanced for another week as the ASI gained 2.88% over the 5 days. Daily average turnover dropped to around ZWL 96m (USD 1.14m) from ZWL 188m the week before. The total market capitalization amounts to ZWL 557.7bn (USD 6.60bn), up 81.11% so far this year.
