ZSE bullish ahead of polls

While investors tend to get less active ahead of a national election, resulting in cautious trading and positions that weigh down on stocks, the prevailing tranquillity seems to have helped their appetite.

With only two weeks before the watershed polls, Zimbabwe has remained generally peaceful with no incidences of political violence, creating a peaceful environment expected by investors worldwide.

Directionless trading on the domestic bourse was expected ahead of a major election due to the often cautious foreign investors who dominate trading on the ZSE as local investors were constrained by tight liquidity pervading the entire economy.

Yesterday the industrial index surged 0,4 percent to close the week’s opening trading session stronger at 224,9 points – its highest tally since dollarisation – after gains in NTS, Astra, ZHL and Edgars.

NTS was the biggest gainer of the day, jumping 13,6 percent to close at US2,50c while starafrica rose 9,1 percent to US1,20c, ZHL moved 7,7 percent to US1,40c and Edgars pushed 7,1 percent to US15c.

These gains had enough weight to counter the weigh down effect of losses in CFI, ZPI, RTG and Zimplow.
CFI shed 14,3 percent to US6c as ZPI lost 11,5 percent to US1,15c, RTG was 6,2 percent weaker at 1,10c and Zimplow softened 2 percent to close at US5c.

However, the mining index lost 3,2 percent to start the week softer at 69,1 points after being weighed down by a 3,9 percent loss in nickel producer Bindura.
This was despite a big gain in coal miner Hwange, which added a significant 16,7 percent at US17,5c.

Bindura was traded at US2,5c while RioZim and its fellow gold producer Falgold were unchanged at previous price of US40c and US12c, respectively.
While the volume of shares traded on ZSE was 12 percent higher at 7,7 million, the value declined by 42,3 percent from last Friday’s levels to just US$1,355 million.

Beverages maker Delta dominated the value after US$337 851 of its shares exchanged hands, followed by Innscor at US$234 263, Hippo US$229 204, OK US$157 820 and CBZ US$154 791.

The value of shares traded in June plunged 35 percent to US$25,6 million while volumes that changed hands also nosedived 33,5 percent to 100 billion shares.
Analysts cited the forthcoming harmonised election scheduled for the end of this month as influencing, mostly, the foreign investors’ activities.