Bulls n Bears Daily Market Commentary : 08 January 2025

Thu Jan 9 09:28:36 CAT 2025

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Bulls n Bears Daily Market Commentary : 08 January 2025

ZSE commentary 

Bearish sentiment prevails ...

The bearish sentiment prevailed in the mid-week session as the primary All
Share Index lost 0.15% to 209.42pts while the Blue-Chip Index rose 0.10% to
207 .34pts. The Agriculture Index fell 2.88% to 174.88pts while, the Mid Cap
Index went down 0.92% to 242.79pts. General Beltings was the worst performer
of the day having dropped 26.69% to $0.0500, followed by Hippo that dropped
14.99% to $6.2050.ART eased 14.93% to settle at $0.2365 while, retailer Ok
Zim tumbled 14.91% to $0.3480. Proplastics completed the top five fallers of
the day on a 14.35% retreat to end pegged at $1.2698. Trading in the
positive was Zimpapers that charged 50.00% to $0.1500 while, Ecocash added
5.45% to $0.2971. Star Africa ticked up 3.80% to close at $0.0201 while,
telecoms giant Econet surged 2.35% to settle at $2.9012. Beverage giant
Delta capped the risers of the day on a 0.29% lift to close pegged at
$13.9573. Nine counters recorded losses against five that gained to leave
the market w ith a negative breadth of four .

Activity aggregates were mixed in session as volumes traded declined 81.02%
to Sm shares while, turnover rose 27.65% to $14.37m.  Top  volume  drivers
of  the  day  were  Ecocash {41.73%); Econet {39.72%) and Delta {10.89%).
The trio of Delta, Econet and Ecocash highlighted the total value traded of
the day after contributing 52.95%; 40.13% and 4.32% respectively.
Cumulatively, .l m units exchanged hands in the ETF category. The Datvest
ETF eased 1.07% to end the day pegged at $0.0300 after a total of 964,800
units exchanged hands in the name. The OMTT ETF parred off 9.51% to close at
$0.1900. The Tigere REIT slipped 0.08% to end the day pegged at
$1.1990.-efesecrites

 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

South Africa

South African rand slips to seven-month low on strong dollar, weak data

(Reuters) - South Africa's rand weakened as a buoyant dollar and
disappointing domestic economic data releases weighed on the local currency
on Wednesday.

At 1510 GMT, the rand traded at 18.87 against the U.S. dollar , about 0.9%
weaker than its previous close. It earlier hit 18.97 per dollar, a level not
seen since early June 2024.

The greenback was last trading up about 0.37% against a basket of currencies
on elevated U.S. bond yields and tariff talks.

South African manufacturing activity fell for the second month in a row in
December as demand declined, a purchasing managers' index (PMI) survey
showed.

South Africa's net foreign reserves also fell to $60.371 billion at the end
of December from $60.619 billion in November, according to central bank data
released earlier in the day.

On the stock market, the Top-40 (.JTOPI), opens new tab index closed about
1.12% lower.

South Africa's benchmark 2030 government bond was weaker, with the yield
down 6.5 basis points to 9.115%.

Zambia

Zambia's currency stuck at record low as drought persists

Zambia's kwacha has hit a series of record lows since the start of the year
as a severe drought keeps the pressure firmly on the copper-producing
Southern African country's economy.

Analysts had hoped Zambia's emergence from default early last year would
have helped sentiment, but the currency is now roughly 3% below where it was
before its debt restructuring deal and has fallen nearly 15% over the last
six months.

It was trading at 27.95 per dollar on Wednesday, just above the latest
record low of 28.05 on Tuesday.

"Zambia is in a state of severe drought, and this appears to manifest in
currency weakness as the hydroelectrically dependent country faces an
industrial slowdown," Access Bank Zambia said in a research note.

"Mining companies are being forced to reduce copper production, a key
foreign revenue earner," it added.

The severe effects of El Niño caused the worst dry spell in southern Africa
in a century last year, devastating crop production and forcing Zambia's
authorities to cut electricity generation on the Kariba dam, the biggest
source of electricity.

The kwacha plunged when Zambia defaulted on $11 billion worth of external
debt in November 2020, but saw a brief 20% jump last February when it became
clear its restructuring efforts were going to be successful.

One financial analyst in Lusaka said some companies had sold dollars during
Wednesday's session in preparation for local tax payments next week,
offering some support to the kwacha.

 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

Global Markets

Asia’s central banks face a formidable challenge: An ascendant U.S. dollar

The U.S. dollar has appreciated sharply since President-elect Donald Trump
won the 2024 presidential election, sending Asian currencies to multi-year
lows.

The Chinese yuan, the Japanese yen, the Indian rupee, and the Korean won are
among currencies that have fallen in recent weeks.

The decline in currencies has fueled worries over imported inflation and
could complicate efforts by central banks to steer domestic economic policy.

A man looks in the window of a money changer showing the rate of various
currencies against the Japanese yen, along a street in central Tokyo on
April 29, 2024. The yen swung wildly on April 29 as it surged soon after
hitting a fresh 34-year low against the US dollar, fuelling speculation
Japanese authorities may have intervened to support the currency for the
first time since late 2022. 

A man looks in the window of a money changer showing the rate of various
currencies against the Japanese yen, along a street in central Tokyo on
April 29, 2024. 

Central banks in Asia face a catch-22 in 2025.

A relentless rise in the U.S. dollar has sent Asian currencies such as the
Japanese yen, South Korean won, Chinese yuan and the Indian rupee reeling to
multi-year lows against the greenback.

While a cheaper currency could in principle make exports competitive just as
President-elect Donald Trump threatens to impose tariffs, central banks in
Asia would need to assess its impact on imported inflation and avert
speculative bets on a sustained weakness in their currencies that could
complicate policymaking, analysts said.

The U.S. dollar has sharply appreciated since Trump won the 2024
presidential election, rising about 5.39% since the election on Nov. 5
stateside.

 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

Gold climbs after weaker-than-expected private payrolls data

(Reuters) - Gold prices hit a near four-week high on Wednesday after a
weaker-than-expected private employment report for December provided
reassurance for some in the market the U.S. Federal Reserve may be less
cautious about easing rates this year.

Spot gold rose 0.3% to $2,657.38 per ounce, as of 02:15 p.m. ET (1915 GMT)
and hit its highest since Dec. 13. U.S. gold futures settled 0.3% higher at
$2,672.40.

A line chart titled "Spot gold price in USD per oz" that tracks the metric
over time.

Weaker private payrolls "is contributing to gold's move, because ultimately,
weaker employment numbers imply that the economy has been weaker than many
had expected," said Bart Melek, head of commodity strategies at TD
Securities.

The ADP National Employment report showed the U.S. economy added 122,000
jobs in the private sector last month, compared with economists' estimate of
a rise of 140,000.

A separate Labor Department report showed jobless claims stood at 201,000 in
the previous week, lower than estimates of 218,000.

"The bigger factor will be U.S. nonfarm payrolls on Friday, the market is
expecting a change of 163 (thousand); anything significantly above that will
be negative for gold," Melek said.

Traders are on edge ahead of Friday's key U.S. labor data, due at 08:30 a.m.
ET, and Donald Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration, with expectations of a flurry
of policy moves marking the start of his second presidency.

Minutes from the Federal Reserve's Dec. 17-18 meeting revealed officials
expect inflation to ease this year but acknowledged the risk of stubborn
price pressures, particularly as they assess the potential impact of Trump's
policies.

Trump's proposed tariffs could stoke U.S. inflation, complicating the Fed's
ability to cut rates and potentially weighing on gold prices.

However, Fed governor Christopher Waller said inflation should continue to
fall in 2025 and allow the central bank to further reduce interest rates,
though at an uncertain pace.

Bullion is considered an inflationary hedge, but high rates reduce the
non-yielding asset's allure.

Spot silver added 0.1% to $30.03 per ounce, platinum gained 0.2% to $952.76,
palladium lost 0.1% to $925.05.

INVESTORS DIARY 2025

Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

Counters trading under cautionary

CBZH

GetBucks

EcoCash

Padenga

Econet

RTG

Fidelity

TSL

FMHL

ZBFH

Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears 

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