THE Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) turnover and volumes declined in the month of November compared to the previous month as investors held on to their stocks in anticipation of gains after the presentation of the National Budget, statistics from the local bourse have shown.
Report by Victoria Mtomba
In the month of November, total turnover for the ZSE went down to $34 970 666 from $44 581 769 in the month of October. Volumes declined to 188 969 052 in November from 602 947 421 in October.
According to the ZSE figures, the mining index declined to 47,02 from 52, 68 in October. The industrial index on the other hand went up to 213, 04 from 209, 74. The total number of shares in November went up to 60 453 811 from 50 785 969 in October.
A local analyst working for a brokerage and advisory firm who requested anonymity on professional grounds said while the figures show that there is renewed interest in blue chip counters, the number of sellers remains low compared to prior month.
Finance and Economic Development minister Patrick Chinamasa has since postponed the presentation of the National Budget to either this month or next year resulting in investors holding onto their breath. The budget is traditionally presented to Parliament in November.
“The shares of blue chip counters are in limited supply as people are holding their shares and are not willing to sell their shares despite the fact that the appetite for the shares is there. The bids are high, but the actual scrip is not there,” the analyst said.
Market capitalisation rose to $5,48 billion in November from $5,40 billion in October. The market capitalisation reached $6 billion in July this year only to retreat to $4,6 billion in August then rose to $5,1 billion in September and $5,4 billion in October.
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By November 14, ZSE heavyweight Delta was leading the pack with a total market capitalisation of $1,8 billion, followed by Econet at $554,6 million, Innscor $470 million, OK Zimbabwe $288 million, British American Tobacco $258 million, Hippo Valley $222 million, Seed Co $175 million, Old Mutual $151 million and National Foods $147 million.
According to the MMC Capital weekly report, the market capitalisation of the ZSE last week went down by 1,9% to end the week at $5,82 billion, while the industrial index retreated to 1,83% to close at 213,04 points as a result losses in large counters.
“Weekly volumes, however, took a 60% dip to 31,46 million shares. Foreign investors were net buyers of Delta, Econet, CBZ and Seedco in the week as the foreign purchases to total turnover ratio rose to 39% from the prior week’s 24%,” reads the report in part.
“Foreign sales to total turnover ratio also rose from 8% in the prior week to 18% this week. The overall foreign investor participation in the week was 57%, relative to last week’s 32%, of the total trades on the local bourse.”
