Local market posts important gains

The local stock market posted important gains during the week. The SEM-ASI and the SEMTRI-ASI gained 0.86% and 1.24% respectively at the end of the days under review (10 - 17 July 2017).

The total return index, SEMTRI, reached a new high during the session of Monday 17^th July 2017. The SEMTRI ended Monday’s session at 7,664.38 points, gaining 152.98 points in one week. On a year-to-date basis, the SEMTRI has grown by 21.48%. The SEMDEX ended the same session at 2,163.37 points, growing by 19.63% since the start of 2017. The SEM-10 Index, which comprises the ten largest and most liquid stocks, closed at 421.16 points. The SEM sustainability index, SEMSI, ended the same day at 119.77 points. At market close of Monday, the total market capitalisation of the SEM-ASI constituents stood at Rs 405.63 billion.

Total transactions amounted to Rs 304 million during the week. The top five trading securities were: Sanlam Africa Core Real Estate Investments (SARE), MCB Group Limited (MCBG), SBM Holdings Ltd (SBMH), CIEL Limited (CIEL) and Sun Limited (SUN). They were exchanged for a total value of Rs 132.7 million, Rs 98.2 million, Rs 30.2 million, Rs 17.9 million and Rs 7 million respectively. The shares of SARE, MCBG, SBMH, CIEL and SUN closed at USD 3.49, Rs 277.00, Rs 7.60, Rs 7.44 and Rs 43.00 on Monday 17^th July 2017.

An analysis of the evolution of the prices of listed stocks indicates that out of the 65 stocks figuring on the Official List, 18 moved up during the week, 37 remained stable and 10 went down. The best performing stocks for the week were: IBL Ltd (+4.75%), Vivo Energy Mauritius (+4.71%), Sun Limited (+4.37%), United Docks Ltd (+3.28%) and MCB Group Ltd (+2.59%). The worst performers were: New Frontier Properties (-8.33%), Fincorp Investment (-3.57%), Caudan Development Ltd (-2.80%), CIEL Limited (-2.11%) and Promotion and Development (-1.70%).

On the Development & Enterprise Market (DEM), at market close on Monday, the two indices, the DEMEX and the DEMTRI, finished at 213.37 points and 284.21 points respectively. A total volume of 940,642 shares for a total value of Rs 26.8 million has been traded during the week. The ten best performers in terms of total return since the start of 2017 are: COVIFRA Ltée, Quality Beverages Ltd, The Bee Equity Partners Ltd, ABC Motors Company Ltd, Medical & Surgical Centre Ltd, EUDCOS Ltd, Les Moulins de la Concorde Ltée (O), Ciel Textile Ltd, Soap & Allied Industries Ltd and Associated Commercial Ltd. The total return varies from 13.18% to 175%.

On the international front, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the NASDAQ went up 1.04% and 2.59% respectively in one week. In Europe, the DAX, the CAC and the FTSE-100 gain 1.96%, 1.75% and 0.37% respectively during the same period.

The following data highlights the ten best performing stocks in terms of total returns since the start of 2017 on the stock exchange.