Market Insight: August 04, 2015

Nigeria

•  ASI +22bps, $17.7mill
•  A better start to the week than what we have seen in recent times

Despite a decent start to the week in Lagos the market still remains uneventful and is clearly lacking direction. Yesterday saw a slow start although a couple of crosses went through as the day progressed and we expect this trend to continue today as there are still no specific catalysts on the horizon.

Kenya

•  NSE20 -113bps, $7.1mill
•  Foreign dominance continues as locals stay on the sidelines

The market has opened on a losing streak, but with pockets of upside. Volumes are generally decent for this hour ($ 850m) with Kenya Power being the largest mover on a foreign investor trade. Equity Bank has climbed 3.3% after releasing 1H15 numbers, which when combined with the recent price weakness encouraged investors to relook at the counter. KCB and Co-op Bank are looking weak, retreating 2% and 1.5% respectively. Safaricom was also trending 0.4% lower after 1Q15 industry reports which showed a bit growth slowing in the telco. The regulator separately posted information in the Kenya gazette, indicating that Safaricom had requested for a television broadcast license. The thinking in the market is that this is unlikely to have a major impact on bottom-line near-term.

Botswana

•  DCI +4bps, $329k

Mauritius

•  Semdex -9bps, $1.69mill

Zimbabwe

•  Ind +22bps, $138k

African Currencies