The 16-counter Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE) registered a positive return on index in January as reflected in the upward movement of the Malawi All Share Index (Masi) buoyed by price gains in two counters.
The MSE Market Report for January 2021 indicates that the shares market was bullish as Masi moved from 32 392.84 points in December to 32 988.58 points in January on account of price gains in FDH Bank plc and Standard Bank plc.
FDH Bank plc recorded a 22.87 percent jump in its share price whereas Standard Bank plc share price gained by 14.67 percent.
These movements impacted the domestic share index, the gauge of domestic counter’s performance, which increased to 28 090.02 points from 27 755.46 while the foreign share index (FSI), anchored by FMB Capital Holdings plc, owners of First Capital Bank, increased to 1 613.58 points from 1 363.88.
“The market, however, registered a decrease in both total traded volume of shares and value,” reads the report.
In terms of trade performance, the MSE report shows that in the review period, a total of 2.2 million shares changed hands raising K62.7 million ($81 211.68) in 147 trades.
In contrast to the prior month, the market transacted a total of 161.2 million shares at a total of K3. 86 billion ($5 million) in 221 trades, reflecting a 98.59 percent decrease in terms of share volume and a 98.37 percent decrease in value traded.
The average daily turnover for January, according to the report, was K3.1 million ($4 060.58) compared to K183.8 million ($241 010.94) in December 2020, a decrease of 98.25 percent (98.32 percent in dollar terms).
Commenting on the performance, MSE operations manager Kelline Kanyangala in an interview indicated that the performance could be attributed to earnings expectations.
