Movers & Shakers: May 10, 2012

Botswana: DCI -0.01%, Vols USD 111k

Another fairly subdued day wil value traded amounting to USD 111k while the market closed very flat with the DCI shedding 0.01% to close at 7,147.04. There were no names that closed higher or lower today.

Egypt: EGX 30 -0.33%, Vols USD 46m

The market ended the day slightly lower, leaving the EGX30 to end the day down 0.33%, to close at 5014.91 points. Volumes were weak relative to resent market volumes , market traded a total turnover of USD 46m. Volatility continued throughout the day today in Egyptian blue-chips as institutional investors (International) continue to book profits, on the back of political instability as Yesterday news that an Egyptian court ordered a halt to Presidential balloting which created a massive confusion among investors, yet the presidential election committee stated that this will not happen and the election will proceed on time. Names such as COMI, TMGH and ESRS traded against the general market sentiment, each ending the day up 0.27%, 1.86% and 1.40% respectively.

Investor mix:
•  Foreigners were net Sellers by 36.40 mn EGP and were 25.16% of the market.
•  Egyptians were net Buyers by 41.56 mn EGP and were 67.38% of the market.
•  Arabs were net Sellers by 5.16 mn EGP and were 7.45% of the market.
•  Institutions were net Sellers by 18.41 mn EGP and were 38.77% of the market.
•  Retail were net Buyers by 18.41 mn EGP and were 61.22% of the market.

Kenya: NSE 20 +0.09%, Vols USD 7.28m

A large cross in SCAN, with both sides of the trade foreign, punctuated an otherwise quiet day. Most eyes were focused on Safcom after the company announced their 2012 results before the session opened. The name was quiet for most of the day but saw some activity just before the close with the name closing +2.99% at KES3.45. The SCAN cross was for 7mill shares and traded at KES53. EABL saw some activity early on at the KES215 level with the name closing up 47bps at KES215. The banking sector was relatively muted with EqBnk -2.44% and KNCB unchanged on thin volumes. Diamond Trust Bank released their Q1 numbers, showing profits up 53% as earnings from loans grew while Longhorn Publishers received approval from the CMA for listing, although no dates were specified.

Mauritius: Semdex -0.26%, Vols USD 840k

Fair amount of activity in Mauritius today with value traded amounting to USD 840k. Bramer Banking was once again active today with 885k shares traded in the name with the counter closing down 5% at 9.50. Another rather quiet day in banking stocks MCB and SBM with 15k shares and 38k shares changing hands in the names respectively. NMH closed the day 0.70% higher at 72.00 with 10k shares traded. The market closed the day lower with the Semdex falling 0.26% to close at 1,799.56.

Nigeria: ASI -0.11%, Vols USD 14.88m

Today felt eerily quiet in Nigeria, particularly after the recent higher activity on the bourse. It feels like investors wary of (a) global concerns particularly surrounding euro debt issues and (b) recent big movements on the NSE. Banks once again finished in the red (BNK10 -80bps) with Fidelity (-2.2%), Zenith (-1.19%) and GTB (-1.21%) among the poor performers while UBA (-4.97%) and IBTCCB (-4.35%) the worst on the day. Consumer names were uninspiring with NB and Guinness unchanged on thin vol. Dangote Sugar released their 2012 Q1 results which looked decent and the name found buyers in the market closing up 56bps at N3.60.

In other news the National Bureau of Statistics forecast economic growth to slow to 6.5% in 2012 (2011: 7.4%), an outlook that is softer than budget target of 7.2%. The reason is partially attributed to external shocks from the US, Euro area and China which they believe to hamper demand for oil.

South Africa: All Share +1.54%, Vols USD 1.19bn

The JSE ended the day higher with the Top 40 index gaining 1.54% to close at 29,897 while value traded amounted to USD 1.19bn. Resources were the day's biggest gainers with the Index gaining 2.25% followed by Financials and Industrials which gained 1.62% and 0.72% respectively. The Rand was trading at 8.01 and 10.37 to the USD and EUR respectively by the time local markets closed.

Zambia: LuSE +0.80%, Vols USD 556k

Good day in Zambia today with value traded amounting to USD 556k thanks to a cross of 340k LAFA. The names that traded included CECZ, LAFA, SCBL, ZNCO, and ZSUG. LAFA was the biggest contributor towards turnover with value traded in the name amounting to USD 544k. SCBL was the second biggest contributor towards turnover with value traded in the name amounting to USD 6k.

Zimbabwe: Industrial +0.30%, Mining unch, Vols USD 726k

Relatively quiet in Zimbabwe today with value traded amounting to USD 726k. Econet once again accounted for the bulk of value traded with 107k shares trading at 4.00. Delta reported FY 2012 results late yesterday evening which saw profit after tax fall 4% which is better than what the market was expecting (expectaions: -19%). The name traded flat at 0.70 with 165k shares changing hands. Industrials ended the day higher with the Index gaining 0.30% to close at 130.20 while the Mining Index closed unchanged at 89.03.