|
The Malawi All Share Index (Masi), a measure of trading activity on the Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE), rose by 30 points following prize gains in share prices on three counters.
MSE said in its weekly trading report that the Masi rose from 553.16 to 583.33 points last week due to a rise in both the Domestic Share Index and the Foreign Share Index.
Price-gainers during the week were National Bank of Malawi, whose shares traded at K9.75 from K9.50, and Sucoma (from K8.10 to K8.40) on the domestic counters while Old Mutual, the only foreign counter, gained K10 to trade at K190 per share.
During the week, the stock market also recorded trading activity on Stanbic Bank Malawi Limited, Press Corporation Limited (PCL) and Packaging Industries Malawi Limited counters.
In total, 2.5 million shares exchanged hands at K54 million with PCL being the most traded counter accounting for 2.4 million.
Stockbrokers have attributed recent gains on MSE to the 10 percentage points fall in interest rates effected in October last year and a similar cut in June this year.
As at the end of the third quarter in September this year, the average price movements of domestic counters had risen 31 percent from 308.18 points to 399.76 points during the same corresponding period last year.
However, the National Investment Trust Limited, a collective investment vehicle, said in its annual report released last month that it does not see the stock market gains continuing if there are no further reductions in inflation and interest rates.
The bank rate is currently at 25 percent while the National Statistical Office reported last week that the annual inflation rate rose to 12.2 percent in October from 10.9 percent in September.
The Reserve Bank of Malawi projects that inflation will over the current fiscal year range between 18 and 20 percent before dropping to 10 percent next June.
|
