Movers & Shakers: January 31, 2013

Botswana: DCI +0.88%, USD 1.36m

Gaborone starting to show signs of turnover getting to reasonable levels as $1.36m changes hands. Somewhat surprisingly, the most action was in Barclays Botswana with the name accounting for 84% of the day’s turnover, closing at 690t. The next most active names were Letshego, Turnstar and Stanchart.

Egypt: EGX 30 +0.55%, USD 72m

Well, surprisingly for second consecutive day the EGX30 index managed to end the green at its day high 5,606.49pts up 0.55% on above average volume of USD 72m. Seems like investors are getting relatively comfortable with the situation in Egypt and anticipating a quiet weekend as there are various initiatives from many political powers to put the recent uprising to rest. The market started the day weak yet into the second half of today’s session and as we approached the close, increased buying interest was evident in our usual suspects ORTE, OCIC, HRHO and COMI which sparked a buying wave across the board, mainly seen in high beta stocks just name a few, PHDC( last traded +3.83% and led the market in terms of value), TMGH(+2.88%), and ESRS(+4.29%).

Investor mix:
•  Foreigners were net Buyers by 3.98 mn EGP and were 18.51% of the market.
•  Egyptians were net Sellers by 7.75 mn EGP and were 70.02% of the market.
•  Arabs were net Buyers by 3.77 mn EGP and were 11.47% of the market.
•  Institutions were net Buyers by 10.04 mn EGP and were 33.79% of the market.
•  Retail were net Sellers by 10.04 mn EGP and were 66.20% of the market.

Kenya: NSE 20 +0.09%, USD 4.4m

Equity turnover declined 11.7% to KES 4.4m as foreign investor participation fell to 32.5% from 61% in the previous session. The benchmark NSE 20 share index was broadly unchanged for the day. Whereas in the previous session foreign investors participated on both buying and selling, they were mainly buying during today’s activity. Improved appetite on Safaricom led the counter higher but volumes traded remained thin. Tightly held NMG and ARM Cement were among the large movers of the day, making marginal gains. KCB was unchanged as position taking picked up ahead of FY12 results, with local investors appearing comfortable to exit on profits. Most of the leading gainers and losers were generally on thin volumes. At the close of trading, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics released January 2013 inflation figures which showed an increase to 3.67%y/y from the December 2012 lows. Whereas food and non-alcoholic beverage components remained under control, most of the other items showed a marginal increase.

Mauritius: Semdex +0.19%, USD 3.41m

Foreign trading helping boost volumes in Mauritius as the Semdex and Sem-7 both closed in the positive. Good two-way flow in both major banks took place, with both names closing flat for the day, MCB at Rs179 and SBM at Rs92. On the Sem-7, Alteo Limited rose by 2.17% (Rs32.90) while Terra fell by 26bps to Rs39. NMH was also actively traded yet closed unchanged at Rs71. Air Mauritius continues its impressive form, closing up 5.34% at Rs13.10.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE MARKET WILL BE CLOSED FOR A PUBLIC HOLIDAY TOMORROW.

Nigeria: ASI +0.12%, USD 22.68m

Much of the same to end the month in Lagos with the ASI strong and volumes good thanks to a number of crosses. Banking stocks dominated volumes while the consumers also saw some decent activity. Banks were a mixed bag (BNK10 -29bps) with most names not substantially positive or negative although Unity Bank closed limit down and on net offer. In the consumers, NB and Nestle both saw good volumes closing at N160.80 (+1.77%) and N840 (-1bp) respectively. UACN got a hiding, closing down 6.56% at N47. Flourmills announced their Q3 2013 results not long before the session close which at first glance seemed weak. The name ended up +5.7% for the day at N89.90 although the name did start to trade down after the results.

South Africa: Top 40 +0.06%, USD 2.08bn

The JSE ended the day slightly higher with the Top 40 Index gaining 0.06% to close at 36,103 while value traded amounted to USD 2.08bn. Industrials were the day's biggest gainers with the Index gaining 0.40% followed by Resources which gained 0.12% while Financials fell 0.67%. The Rand was trading at 8.93 and 12.13 to the USD and EUR respectively by the time local markets closed.

Zambia: LuSE -0.25%, USD 35k

Quiet day in Lusaka with value traded amounting to USD 35k. The names that traded included BATA, CEC, SCZ, ZMBF and ZSUG. ZMBF was the biggest contributor towards turnover with value traded in the name amounting to USD 12k. SCZ was the second biggest contributor towards turnover with value traded in the name amounting to USD 11k.

Zimbabwe: Industrials +2.48%, Mining +4.25%, USD 2.93m

The equities market showed no signs of thawing as it concluded the month in solid performances recording its best monthly return since dollarization. By close of trade the industrial index was 2.48% higher at 179.34points bringing its monthly gain to 17.68% having lost only twice since the turn of the year. The current rally which, has been selective has seen a number of stocks set all-time highs: Delta (126.01c), Econet (560c), Innscor (90.51c), TSL (12.51c), BAT (500c) and Ok (17.03c). Volume dropped 4.30% to 8.57m while improved trades in higher value counters Delta, Innscor, Econet and BAT saw total value traded jump 150% to $2.93m. Foreign investors dominated the session accounting for 85% or $2.476m of the purchases and 44% or $1.278m in sales. Notable among the day’s riser, BAT rose 30c or 6.38% to 500c, ECONET advanced 2.75% or 14.99c to 560c and DELTA climbed a further 3.29% to trade at 126.01c. INNSCOR rose 3.44% to an all-time high of 90.51c; DZLH was 9.52% firmer at 23c. Investors welcomed TSL’s October financials with an 8.78% return to close at 12.51c. TSL reported a 437% improvement in PAT to $5.5m boosted by cost rationalization as the group moves to concentrate on agriculture, logistics and property and declared a final dividend of 0.43c. The mining index gained 4.25% to close at 84.07 points on gain in Hwange and Bindura despite Rio trading below yesterday’s bid. HWANGE advanced 8.33% to 19.5c, Bindura rose 14.81% to 3.2c while Rio traded at 50c, 5c lower than yesterday’s bids on concerns about the disruption of operation at its Renco mine.

African Currencies