Market Comment - 08.03.2023

OKZIM gleams in mid-week trades... Giant retailer OKZIM anchored the activity aggregates after 14.91m shares worth $835.31m exchanged hands. The trade represented 93.47% of the total volumes traded and 67.71% of the value outturn. Delta was the other notable value driver with a contribution of 25.56% to the aggregate. Volume of shares traded soared 594.23% to 15.95m while, turnover surged 337.65% to $1.23bn. The primary All Share Index advanced 0.16% to 29281.10pts while, the Mid Cap Index stepped up 1.03% to 65467.66pts. The Agriculture Index rose 2.31% to 125.76pts while, the Blue-Chip Index tumbled 0.36% to 125.76pts. Headlining the gainers of the day was Ariston that jumped 11.11% to settle at $11.0000, followed by tea producers Tanganda that grew 10.29% to $299.6471. TSL Limited added 3.11% to $65.0094 as the selling season opened today while, apparel retailers Edgars gained 2.42% to $178.0745. Telecoms giant Econet completed the top five winners’ list on a 1.76% uplift to $178.0745. Star Africa led the shakers of the day on a 6.26% drop to $1.6968 while, fintech group Ecocash Holdings trimmed 5.75% to $65.9091. Brickmaker Willdale retreated 1.41% to $3.5000 as General Beltings slipped 1.20% to end pegged at $1.9000. Retailer OKZIM Limited capped the top five losers’ list on a 1.18% slid to $56.0298. The market closed with a positive breadth of two after thirteen counters advanced against eleven that lost their grip. Top decliner on the VFEX was Simbisa that shed 6.62% to $0.4202, trailed by Innscor that lost 3.68% to $0.7031. Padenga and Axia tripped 0.56% and 0.14% apiece. SeedCo International was the only gainer amongst its kind as it improved 0.27% to $0.2620. The Datvest MCS went up 8.60% to $1.9548 while, the OMTT ETF fell 2.04% to $7.8372. Cass Saddle and MIZ ETF were stable at $2.0500 and $1.4000 apiece. The Tigere REIT inched up 0.50% to $47.6863 on 1,610 units. Elsewhere Meikles declared a second interim dividend of USD$0.0060 per share payable on the 28th of March.