Profit takers weigh on BSE

Isaac Pinielo | Wednesday October 14, 2015 14:44

Motswedi Securities analysts, Tlotlo Ramalepa and Garry Juma indicated in the weekly financial markets highlights that this year’s second week of the fourth quarter did not provide much captivating activity.

However, they said prospects and developments from the property industry were some of the highlights during the week.

“Despite a subdued week with no deluge of data to bring excitement to the market, the volumes were very high relative to the other weeks,” said the analysts.

During the week, 17.8 million shares worth P96.7 million exchanged hands with First National Bank of Botswana (FNBB) and Turnstar Holdings being the major traded counters. On a daily average, 3.5 million shares traded compared to a daily average of 1.5 million during the prior week.

The Domestic Company Index (DCI) gave up 39 basis points to close with 10,584.86 points while the Foreign Company Index (FCI) barely moved as there was not much activity on the foreign board. Only two counters participated.

On the Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), BettaBeta advanced by five percent trading at 4060 thebe per unit while NewGold plummeted by two percent to trade at 11320 thebe a unit. Lucara Diamond Corp had a two-week rallying streak as it surged by 10.5% to trade at 1300 thebe. On the main board, Sefalana Group soared by 4.2 percent to close the week at 1355 thebe.

The retail consortium has stretched its year -to-date gains to almost 50% as investors remain sanguine about its outlook following the entrance into the Namibian retail market and growth on its manufacturing segment.

Barclays Bank of Botswana edged up by 0.9 percent as investors shrugged off the 30% decline on their profit after tax year-on-year for their half-year results. “The retail bank is the major gainer within the banking industry for the year thus far,” said the researchers.

On the property space, New African Properties which is expected to release its year-end results, pocketed 0.4 percent to trade at 240 thebe, its 12 month high. RDC Properties rose by 0.4 percent as well on optimism about its outlook going forward following plans to further expand its portfolio outside Botswana.

The property company is expected to do a right issue in order to raise about P235 million for potential projects in Cape Town, Mozambique and Namibia.

On the losing end, Standard Chartered Bank Botswana had a two-week losing streak as it softened by 0.2 percent to close the week at 1173 thebe.

Despite the low interest rate environment, which has not only contributed to the compression of margins within the banking space but also discouraged depositors, the bank managed to grow its deposits by 21% year-on-year to about P11.5 billion.