Market witnesses heavy trading during the week

The local stock market was marked by heavy trading during the week.67 million shares were exchanged for a total value of Rs 465 million.

The SEMDEX and the SEMTRI dropped -0.45% and 0.44% respectively at the end of the days under review (22-29 February 2016). The top five traded securities were: Rockcastle Real Estate Com. Ltd (ROCK), MCB Group Ltd (MCBG), Green Flash Properties Ltd (GFP), SBM Holdings Ltd (SBMH) and New Mauritius Hotels Ltd. They were exchanged for a total value of Rs 207.6 million, Rs 76.8 million, Rs 48.2 million, Rs 26.9 million and Rs 25.1 million respectively. The shares of ROCK, MCBG, GFP, SBMH and NMHL closed at USD 2.32, Rs 206.25, EUR 0.08, Rs 0.68 and Rs 21.40 on Monday 29 February 2016.

The Total Return Index, SEMTRI, closed the session of Monday 29 February 2016 at 6,127.66 points against 6,154.94 points a week earlier. The All-share index, SEMDEX, closed the same session at 1,810.69 points, losing 8.14 points in one week. The SEM-10 Index, which comprises the ten largest and most liquid stocks, closed at 346.87 points. The SEM sustainability index, SEMSI, ended the same day at 98.41 points. The market capitalisation stood at Rs 204.79 billion at market close on Monday.

An analysis of the evolution of the prices of listed stocks indicates that out of the 57 stocks figuring on the Official List, 9 moved up during the week, 27 remained stable and 21 went down. The best performing stocks for the week were: Air Mauritius Ltd (+9.23%), Lottotech Ltd (+4.29%), Delta Africa Property Holdings Ltd (+2.86%), Rogers & Co. Ltd (+2.14%) and SBM Holdings Ltd (+1.49%). The worst performers were: CMPL Ltée (-10.79%), Alteo Ltd (-6.35), Innodis Ltd (-4.65%), ENL Commercial Ltd (-3.78%) and CIM Financial Services Ltd (-3.10%).

The following data highlights the ten best performing stocks in terms of annualised total returns since their listing on the stock exchange.

On the Development & Enterprise Market (DEM), at market close on Monday, the two indices, the DEMEX and the DEMTRI, closed at 197.87 points and 251.52 points respectively. Market capitalisation stood at Rs 45.02 billion. A total volume of 5.4 million shares for a total value of Rs 103 million has been traded during the week. The ten best performers in terms of annualised return since listing are: Margarine Industries Ltd, Associated Commercial Ltd, United Bus Service Ltd, ABC Motors Ltd, Phoenix Investment Company Ltd, Swan Life Ltd, Livestock Feed Ltd (O), Morning Light Ltd, The Bee Equity Partners Ltd and United Investments Ltd. The total return varies from 21.21% to 36.69%.

On the international front, the financial markets ended the week in positive territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the NASDAQ went up 1.51% and 1.91% respectively in one week. In Europe, Germany DAX, London FTSE-100 and France CAC-40 registered a gain of 1.33%, 2.45% and 2.17% respectively during the same time frame.