Local market slides during the week

The local stock market slid during the week (18-25 January 2016). The SEMDEX and the SEMTRI went down -0.49% at the end of the days under review.

The Total Return Index, SEMTRI, lost 30.32 points during the week, closing the session of Monday 25 January 2016 at 6,108.70 points. The All-share index, SEMDEX, ended the same session at 1,808.07 points. The SEM-10 Index, which comprises the ten largest and most liquid stocks, finished at 344.47 points. The SEM sustainability index, SEMSI, ended the same day at 96.62 points. The market capitalisation stood at Rs 201.36 billion at market close on Monday.

Total transactions amounted to Rs 142.6 million during the week. The top five traded securities were: SBM Holdings Ltd (SBMH), MCB Group Ltd (MCBG), New Mauritius Hotels Ltd (NMHL), United Basalt Products Ltd - Bond (UBP Bond) and Rogers & Co. Ltd. They were exchanged for a total value of Rs 37.9 million, Rs 32.2 million, Rs 20.1 million, Rs 11.6 million and Rs 9.5 million respectively. The shares of SBMH, MCBG, NMHL, UBP Bond and ROGE closed at Rs 0.66, Rs 203.50, Rs 19.75, Rs 100.98 and Rs 28.00 on Monday 25 January 2016.

An analysis of the evolution of the prices of listed stocks indicates that out of the 56 stocks figuring on the Official List, 13 moved up during the week, 30 remained stable and 13 went down. The best performing stocks for the week were: BlueLife Ltd (+21.62%), Mauritian Eagle Insurance Co. Ltd (+5%), Promotion and Development Ltd (+5%), Fincorp Investment Ltd (+4.19%) and ENL Land Ltd (P) (+3.06%). The worst performers were: Lottotech Ltd (-5.71%), SBM Holdings Ltd (-5.71%), Lux Island Resorts Ltd (-3.33%), POLICY Ltd (-2.14%) and Gamma-Civic Ltd (-2.04%).

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, ended at 198.92 points and 252.82 points respectively. Market capitalisation stood at Rs 48.48 billion. A total volume of 3.9 million shares for a total value of Rs 55.72 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, The Bee Equity Partners Ltd, Swan Life Ltd, Livestock Feed Ltd (O), Morning Light Ltd and United Investments Ltd. The total return varies from 22.08% to 37.12%.

On the international front, the financial markets ended the week in positive territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the NASDAQ went up 0.66% and 2.29% respectively in one week. In Europe, Germany DAX, London FTSE-100 and France CAC-40 registered a gain of 2.30%, 1.65% and 3.01% respectively during the same time frame.