Overall sentiment on African equity markets was mixed. Among the markets we cover, 9 of them retreated this week while 8 advanced. Uganda led the pack as equities in Kampala jumped 2.83% and are up 6.58% so far this year. Conversely, Zimbabwean equities lost 3.35% over the 5-day period but remain up 69.23% YTD.
West Africa
BRVM – Bears set the tempo on the Western Africa regional exchange. The Composite Index lost 0.88% in a thinly traded week that saw only XOF 277m (USD 0.50m) worth of shares change hands every day on average. This is in line with the daily average turnover of the week before. The market is down 4.84% year-to-date and the total market capitalization stands at XOF 4,163bn (USD 7.6bn). The top performer this week is the BOA Senegal . The stock jumped 12.92% over the 5-day period is up 0.33% since the start of the year. The market heavyweight, Sonatel , closed the week at XOF 12,200, down 5.24% over the week. Shares in the telecom operator are down 9.63% year-to-date.
NGSE – Bears maintained their hold on equities in Lagos. The benchmark index of the Nigerian stock exchange declined for the sixth-straight week closing on Friday at 38,648.48, down 1.74% WoW. YTD returns moved further into negative territory in local currency (-4.03%). Rising yields in the fixed income space continued to weigh on investor sentiment. Activity remained strong this week as NGN 4.7bn (USD 12.36m) worth of shares was traded on average over the last five days. The total market capitalization stands at NGN 20.2tn (USD 53.1bn). The top performer this week is Champion Breweries . Shares in the brewer jumped 42.86% and are now up 183.72% YTD. Dangote Cement , on the other hand, remained flat and closed the week at NGN 220. The shares in the cement producers are down 10.17% YTD.
On the other hand, the Nigerian Stock Exchange has finally completed this week its demutualization process , following approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC); This empowers the NGSE to activate its Transition Plan to a new operational structure and holding company, paving the way for its listing. A new non-operating holding company known as The Nigerian Exchange Group Plc (NGX Group) was formed. It has three operating subsidiaries, namely: Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX Limited), NGX Regulation Limited (NGX REGCO), and NGX Real […]
