Long wait for monetary policy keeps ZSE bleeding

During the past four – day trading week, the ZSE continued on a bearish trend, with losses in counters such as CBZ, OK Zimbabwe, Meikles and Econet among the losers.

Platinum Research in its weekly forecast said the mood is likely to remain until the monetary policy is announced and clarifications on some issues are cleared.

“We continue to expect mixed trading during the coming week as the market awaits the announcement of the 2024 Monetary Policy.

“The business community is expecting the Central Bank to address challenges around the exchange rate and the mechanics around the possible “Structured Currency” that is highly likely to be introduced in the economy in the coming short to medium term based on a proclamation made in a January cabinet meeting,” the report read.

Exchange rate movement has had a significant bearing on inflationary pressures in the economy which has an impact on the movement of equity prices.

“On the VFEX, trading activity is expected to remain subdued on the back of low levels of investor participation on the VFEX arising from competing demand from numerous USD denominated assets and low foreign investor participation,” they said.

In the previous week, the ZSE All Share Index’s decline continued for a third successive week as 17 counters closed in the negative against 12 that recorded gains during the period under review.

The All-Share Index lost by 2,35 percent from 508,228.16 points in the prior week to close at 496,267.62 points.

Market turnover for the week was $10,3 billion down from $20,4 billion in the prior week, led by Delta and Econet which contributed $5,7 billion and $2,03 billion respectively.

On the ETFs, three out of the five listed counters closed in the green with Morgan & Co Made In Zimbabwe leading the risers after gaining by 3,44 percent to $18.10. Datvest MCS, the sole losing ETF counter during the week, was down by 2,82 percent to close at $18.95.

The VFEX All-Share Index was up by 2,26 percent from 96.50 points to 98.68 points buoyed by gains in National Foods and Padenga despite major losses in six out of the 12 counters that traded during the period under review.

FCB led the losses after shedding 16,94 percent to US2.01 cents. National Foods, which led the risers, was up by 14,24 percent to US144.93cents.