Seven counters sink MSE in April—report

The 14-counter Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE) registered a negative return on index in April as reflected in the downward movement of the Malawi All Share Index (Masi) as a result of share price losses in seven counters.

The latest MSE Market Report for  April 2020 indicates that the shares market was bearish as Masi moved from 29 176.23 points in  March to 28 857.39 points in April on account of price losses in FMB Capital Holdings (FMBCH) plc, TNM plc, Nico Holdings plc, Sunbird Tourism  plc, Icon Properties plc, Mpico plc and NBS Bank plc.

FMBCH plc recorded a 15 percent drop in its share price whereas TNM plc, Icon and NBS Bank plc share prices decreased  by 2.15 percent, 0.38 percent and 12.50 percent, respectively.

Mpico, Nico Holdings and Sunbird on the other hand shed off 0.04 percent, 0.10 percent and 0.01 percent, respectively.

These movements impacted the domestic share index, the gauge of domestic counter’s performance, which decreased to 24 097.69 points from 24 138.22 while the foreign share index (FSI) anchor by FMBCH fell to 1 993.51 from 2 290.78 points.

In terms of trade performance, the MSE report shows that in the review period, 14.4 million shares changed hands, raising  K2.38 billion ($3.2 million) in 177 trades.

In contrast to the prior month, the market transacted of 36.74 million shares at of K791 million ($1.06 million) in 279 trades, reflecting a 60.81 percent decrease in terms of share volume and a 201.42 percent increase in value traded.

“Daily average share trades exhibited similar trends where the market registered an average daily volume of 685 753 shares compared to 1.74 million shares traded in March 2020,” reads the report in part.

The average daily turnover for October, according to the report, was K113.55 million ($154 130.43) compared to K37.67 million ($50 593.90) in March 2020, an increase of 201.42 percent (204.64) percent in dollar terms).

In an earlier interview, a Blantyre-based market analyst said the decline in interest rates has impacted the local shares market.