ZSE indexes decline in January

via ZSE indexes decline in January February 3, 2014 By Victoria Mtomba NewsDay

THE industrial and mining indexes declined by 6% and 23% respectively in the first month of the year due to the low seasonal nature of the month of January.

The industrial index closed the month of January at 189,25 points from 202,12 points in December while the mining index ended the month at 35,40 points from 45,79 points in the previous month.

Market index provides the aggregate value produced by combining several stocks or other investment vehicles together and expressing their total values against a base value from a specific date.

However, the turnover of the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) increased in the first month of the year to $63,9 million buoyed by SeedCo’s $23,3 million special bargain transaction.

The share price for SeedCo shares was 99,25 cents.

A special bargain is where shares are acquired a higher or lower price than their market value. The price is negotiated between the buyer and the seller
The turnover increased from the December total of $49,2 million. SeedCo is among the top 10 companies on the ZSE and its market capitalisation stood at $186 million as at Friday last week. Total market capitalisation for the market stood at $4,8 billion by the end of January indicating a decline from the December figure of $5,2 billion.

The total number of shares stood at 105 847 212 during the period under review.

A local analyst attributed the decline of the industrial index to the slow start to the new year and the tightening of liquidity within the economy.

“The mining index was down 23% as funding remains an issue to mining companies. Despite the fact that the market is down, appetite for stocks remained high as foreign investors were net buyers mainly focused on heavyweight counters,” the analyst said.