Market Comment - 03.05.2023

Market records steady gains... The market recorded steady gains in the midweek session as the primary All share Index added 1.00% to 43026.94pts while, the Blue-Chip Index surged 1.18% to 24836.68pts. The Agriculture Index inched up 1.04% as the Mid Cap Index rose 0.54% to 93607.88pts. CBZ Holdings headlined the winners of the day on a 15.00% jump to settle at $253.0000, followed by TSL Limited that stepped up 14.93% to $117.8000. Ariston ticked up 9.24% to close at $11.0000 while, retailer OKZim Limited advanced 6.32% to end the day pegged at $61.9641. Bankers First Capital completed the top five gainers’ pack on a 0.95% uplift to $36.9314. Proplastics led the laggards of the day on a 3.98% dip to $169.9500, trailed by First Mutual Properties that retreated 2.53% to close at $19.5493. Star Africa dropped 2.19% to $2.3004 while, milk producers Dairibord slipped 0.93% to settle at $139.0900. Fintech group Ecocash Holdings capped the top five fallers of the day on a 0.73% slump settle at $69.9985. The market closed with a positive breadth of seven as twelve counters recorded gains while, five lost their ground. Activity aggregates enhanced in the mid-week session as volumes traded ballooned 156.39% to 3.45m shares while, value traded soared 82.78% to $279.45m. OKZIM (47.90%) claimed the lion’s share of the total volume traded. Other notable volume drivers were Star Africa (21.62%), SeedCo (6.66%) and Ariston (6.56%). The top value drivers of the day were OkZim, Delta and SeedCo Limited that claimed a combined 88.39% of the total outturn. The Datvest MCS jumped 11.84% to $1.9701 while, the Old Mutual ETF added 6.19% to $9.2750. The Tigere REIT traded 233,036 units worth $11.76m and closed the day at $50.4510.