Shares lose ground on ZSE

Losses characterised the equities market for the fourth consecutive day on lack of buying impetus in a market with selling pressure.
Week-on-week the mainstream industrial index lost 4,09 percent to close the week at 139,90 points while the resources index was the most affected, shedding a hefty 19,95 percent to end at 81,00 points.
All the four companies, which constitute the mining index, traded at previous levels.
Performance on the market continues to be weighed down by both global and local macro-economic policies as the market turned over just US$3,9 million for the week.
Heavyweight counters have continued to trade in the negative territory in a market lacking news for impetus for a strong positive direction.
On Friday, insurance giant Old Mutual was leading on the downside, retreating US5c to US115c.
Hotel and retail group Meikles was also down US0,50c to trade at US14,50c and ABC slipped US0, 21c to settle at US79,79c.
The biggest loser in the last year, starafrica, lost US0,10c to close at US0,90c.
On the upside was Innscor, which was a cent firmer at US55,01c, OK Zimbabwe gained US0,50c to trade at US10c while clothing retail giant Edgars advanced US0,11c to US9,11c while ZHL pushed up US0,10c to US1,20c.
Cairns Holdings had no trades after finally releasing its full year results to August 2011. As expected, the business failed to justify its continued stay on the bourse with less than inspiring results.
The business made another full-year operating loss of US$3,77 million, a 20 percent improvement from the prior year. Losses for the period stood at a staggering US$8,19 million, as revenues slumped by 23 percent to US$18,93 million.
Finance cost was again a big issue for the business, coming in at US$3,28 million for the year.
Going forward, the fate of the equities market for 2012 hangs precariously on political developments, principally the uncertainty concerning timeframes for the holding of elections and the implementation of empowerment laws.