Market Intelligence - Equities

During the week of 20 – 24 September 2010, African stock markets showed a mixed performance. On the one hand, markets in Egypt gained the most, recording a rise of 2.9%, followed by those in Kenya, South Africa, and Côte d’Ivoire, all of which registered gains of around 1%. Moderate gains of between 0.3% and 0.8% were posted by those in Uganda, Morocco, and Ghana. On the other hand, three African stock markets remained bearish. The Nigerian stock market recorded a loss of 1.3%, while those of Tunisia and Mauritius registered marginal losses of 0.1% and 0.6%, respectively.

Equity Focus

South Africa: The All Share Index rose by 1.1%, tracking the gains in the U.S. market which rallied after a rebound in demand for capital goods. The rise of the All Share Index was helped by the data on retail sales growth of 7.9 % year-on-year in July and the appreciation of financial sector and gold miners’ counters. In particular, Nedbank, which is currently the target of an acquisition bid from HSBC, gained nearly 2 %, hitting its highest in nearly three years.

Nigeria: The NGSE All Share Index fell by 1.3% over the week, reflecting heightened instability in the market after the Security Exchange Commission intervened in the governance of the Stock Exchange through a series of directives and reformation including sacking of a substantial number of staff. This partly resulted in investors remaining less active.

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