Industrials close the month of February in the positive

Published: 03 March 2014

The number of risers on the ZSE outnumbered fallers by 10 to 2 on Friday to help Industrials end the week and the month of February in the positive territory.

The Industrials Index added 0.44 points or 0.23% to 189.45 largely on gains in Econet, Hippo and Old Mutual but remains 6.27% down on the January 1 level of 202.12.

In the week to date the mainstream index is however 0.42% in the red as it treaded in the negative territory for the better part of the week. The Minings Index snapped its 4-day rising streak closing unchanged at 39.24 as RioZim traded unchanged at 25c. The resources index is however a significant 14.60% up on last Friday's closing level of 34.24.

Month on month the Industrials has done 0.11% while the Minings is 11.99% in the positive on January 31 levels. The mainstream Index is 3.73% up on a year earlier while the Minings is a massive 45.51% down year on year.

By this time last year the Industrials Index was 19.84% up in the year while the Minings Index had done 10.58%.

Daily volumes remained subdued with turnover closing lower at S645 132 on 13.42 million shares down from yesterday's $779 628 on a volume of 10.39 million shares.

Weekly turnover dropped to $5,296 million on a volume of 39.23 million shares compared with S6.519 million from a volume of 26.21 million shares.

Monthly volumes dropped compared with January's with 135.5 million shares worth $25.81 million exchanging hands in the month of February down from 170.1 million shares worth $63.97 million that passed through the market in January.

In today's trades Cottco led the day's risers after adding 0.42c or 70% to 1.02c after a parcel of 8 million shares was challenged upwards.

Heavyweights Econet and Hippo closed in the positive after adding 0.05c and 1c each to 65.3c and 72c respectively. Dual listed Old Mutual was 1.11c up at 245.11c.

Art added 0.10c to 0.4c after announcing the disposal of 198 023 400 Art shares by Equivest Nominees and Interim Nominees to Cranbal Investments and Silvermine Investments and the provision of S18 million trade finance by Taesung Chemical Co Limited. Art is the only counter to have gained 100% since January.

Other notable risers were Arlston which advanced 0.10c to 1c while Willdale added 0.01c or 20% to 0.06c. Padenga scaled to another fresh high after adding 0.10c to 9.5c. Turnall closed 0.50c better at 5c.

The 2 counters to trade in the red were CBZ which eased 0.02c to 15.55c in paltry trades worth about $39 and Star Africa which lost 0.10c to 0.9c.

6 of the 8 sectoral indices that recorded activity on the Zfn board closed in the positive while only 2 were in the negative with the Datvest All Share Index recovering 0.33 points or 0.26% to 128.12 and the FBC ZSE-10 Index adding 0.11 points or 0.08% to 135.14.
- zfn