Market posts gains during the week

The local stock market ended on a positive note the week under review (13-20 July 2015). At the end of these days, the SEMDEX and the SEMTRI went up 0.55% and 0.65% respectively whereas the DEMEX and the DEMTRI progressed by 0.9% and 0.31% respectively.

The All-share index, SEMDEX, grew by 10.79 points during the week, closing the session of Monday 20^th July 2015 at 1,955.84 points. The Total Return Index, SEMTRI, gained 42.04 points in one week, closing the same day at 6,516.42 points. The SEM-10 index, which comprises the ten largest and most liquid stocks, closed at 373.27 points. The market capitalisation stood at Rs 217.44 billion at market close on Monday.

Total transactions amounted to Rs 182.4 million during the week and the top five traded securities during the week were: MCB Group Ltd (MCBG), SBM Holdings Ltd (SBMH), New Mauritius Hotels Ltd (NMHL), Mauritius Union Assurance Co. Ltd (MUA) and CIM Financial Services Ltd (CIM). They were exchanged for a total value of Rs 63 million, Rs 28.5 million, Rs 27.4 million, Rs 11.1 million and Rs 7.4 million. The shares of MCBG, SBMH, NMHL, MUA and NMHL closed at Rs 215.00, Rs 0.87, Rs 19.30, Rs 72.00 and Rs 19.30 on Monday 20^th July 2015.

An analysis of the evolution of the prices of listed stocks indicates that out of the 52 stocks figuring on the Official List, 12 moved up during the week, 26 remained stable and 14 went down. The best performing stocks for the week were: New Frontier Properties Ltd (+14.29%), Belle Mare Holding Ltd (+10.93%), CIM Financial Services Ltd (+6.25%), MCB Group Ltd (+2.50%) and New Mauritius Hotels Ltd (+1.85%). The worst performers were: CMPL Ltd (-5.56%), Gamma-Civic Ltd (-4.59%), POLICY Ltd (-4.18%), Mauritius Union Assurance Ltd (-4%) and Caudan Development Ltd (-3.60%).

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 207.55 points and 260.62 points respectively. Market capitalisation stood at Rs 49.33 billion. A total volume of 198,502 shares for a total value of Rs 4.4 million has been traded during the week. The ten best performers in terms of annualised return since listing are: Margarine Industries Ltd, United Bus Service Ltd, Associated Commercial Ltd, ABC Motors Ltd, Phoenix Investment Company Ltd, Swan Life Ltd, Morning Light Ltd, Livestock Feed Ltd (O), United Investment Ltd and The Union Sugar Estates Ltd. The total return varies from 21.42% to 38.82%.

On the international front, the stock market ended on a positive note. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the NASDAQ went up 1.84% and 4.25% respectively during the week. In Europe, Britain FTSE-100, Germany DAX, and France CAC-40 gained 1.52%, 3.16% and 4.51% respectively during the same time frame.