Bulls n Bears Daily Market Commentary : 26 February 2018

Mon Feb 26 15:15:56 CAT 2018

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Bulls n Bears Daily Market Commentary : 26 February 2018

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Zimbabwe Stock Exchange Update

Market Turnover $967,056.55 with foreign buys at $559,202.52 and foreign
sales were $277.79. Total trades were 73.

The All Share index opened the week lower at 87.85 points after losing 0.44
points . SEEDCO came off $0.0492 to close at $1.9008, AFDIS dropped $0.0300
to trade at $1.4500 and ECONET eased $0.0095 to $0.6807. DELTA went down by
$0.0071 to settle at $1.5900, FIDELITY LIFE slipped $0.0060 to end at
$0.0900 while mining company BINDURA was $0.0044 weaker at $0.0330.

Three counters gained ground as  PPC gained $0.0141 to $0.8691, ZIMPLOW
added $0.0080  to trade at $0.0900 whilst CBZ HOLDINGS rose by $0.0017 to
end at $0.1037. 

 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

Global Currencies & Equity Markets

Kenya

Kenyan shilling stable, volatility seen from end-month demand

(Reuters) - The Kenyan shilling was stable against the dollar on Monday amid
market expectations of possible volatility from end-month importer demand.  

At 0839 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 101.75/95 per dollar,
the same as Friday's close.

Uganda

Ugandan shilling unchanged, could firm on month-end flows

(Reuters) - The Ugandan shilling wa stable on Monday, with typical month-end
hard currency inflows from charities expected to provide support. 

At 0720 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,650/3,660, the same
level as Friday's close. 

America

Global stocks firm, dollar dips before big week for central banks

(Reuters) - Global stocks notched further gains on Monday and the dollar
stayed on the back foot, as investors bet the new head of the U.S. Federal
Reserve will steer a steady course on policy when he addresses lawmakers
this week.

MSCI’s index of world stocks was up 0.3 percent, with the pan-European Stoxx
600 up 0.6 percent.

Asian markets also rose, with Chinese stocks up 1.2 percent after the ruling
Communist Party set the stage for President Xi Jinping to stay in office
indefinitely.

Much of the market’s focus during the coming week will be on monetary
policy, with the heads of the European Central Bank and Bank of England set
to give speeches. But they are likely to be overshadowed by Fed chair Jerome
Powell.

U.S. stock markets calmed on Friday after the Fed said it saw steady
economic growth continuing and no serious risks on the horizon, a trend that
looks set to continue on Monday.

Dow Jones futures pointed to the index opening 0.6 percent higher, with S&P
500 futures up 0.4 percent.

Investors also seem to be wagering that Powell will stick to that script at
his first appearance before the House on Tuesday, followed by testimony to
the Senate on Thursday.

STERLING, EURO GAIN

The expected lack of policy surprises from Powell saw yields on U.S. 10-year
Treasuries back off to 2.86 percent and away from a four-year top of 2.957
percent, dragging down the dollar.

The currency surrendered early gains to dip 0.2 percent against a basket of
currencies to 89.68. That followed a 0.8 percent bounce last week.

Sterling was up 0.5 percent on Monday after Bank of England deputy governor
Dave Ramsden said the bank might need to raise interest rates somewhat
sooner than he had expected if wage growth picked up early this year.

The pound also benefited from hopes that Britain’s exit from the European
Union might be less disruptive than feared, after opposition leader Jeremy
Corbyn gave a speech on Monday backing a new customs union with the bloc.

The euro was 0.3 percent firmer on the back of dollar weakness, though
investors largely held back from taking big positions ahead of a national
election in Italy and the conclusion of coalition talks in Germany.

ECB President Mario Draghi is also set to appear before the European
Parliament later in the day, while BoE governor Mark Carney speaks in
Edinburgh on Friday.

In commodities, oil prices steadied after hitting their highest level in
nearly three weeks, supported by comments from top exporter Saudi Arabia
that it would continue to curb shipments in line with the OPEC-led effort to
cut global supplies. 

Commodities Markets

Gold rebounds from biggest weekly loss this year as dollar slips

(Reuters) - Gold rose on Monday as a softer dollar helped the metal rebound
from its biggest weekly loss this year, while traders awaited  Federal
Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's debut congressional testimony this week for
clues on the next direction of trade.

The dollar index slid 0.4 percent on Monday, lifting gold after it fell 1.4
percent last week, its biggest weekly drop in 2 1/2 months.       

Spot gold        was up 0.8 percent at $1,339.75 an ounce at 1056 GMT, while
U.S. gold futures        for April delivery were up $11.30 an ounce at
$1,341.60.

MKS head of trading Afshin Nabavi attributed the rebound in gold to the
dollar move, and a return of interest from major consumer China, where a
week-long holiday ended last week.

European stocks rose 0.5 percent on Monday as investors bet Powell will flag
up an intention to steer a steady course on U.S. monetary policy when he
addresses lawmakers this week. 

That view weighed on U.S. 10-year Treasuries yields, dragging down the
dollar.            

The Fed, looking past a recent stock market sell-off and concern about
inflation, said on Friday it sees steady growth continuing and no serious
risks on the horizon that might pause

its planned pace of rate hikes.             

Gold is highly sensitive to rising U.S. interest rates, which increase the
opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion and strengthen the dollar,
in which it is priced.

The heads of the European Central Bank and Bank of England are also set to
give speeches this week.  

Hedge funds and money managers raised their net long positions in COMEX gold
contracts in the week to Feb. 20, U.S. 

Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday, though they
reduced positions in palladium             . 

Autocatalyst metal palladium        was up 1.2 percent at $1,059.40 an ounce
after touching $1,062.60 earlier in the session, its highest since Jan. 30.

Among other precious metals, silver        was up 1.1 percent at $16.72 an
ounce, while platinum        was 0.5 percent higher at $1,000.99 an ounce.

Norway's Hydro buys Rio's Iceland aluminium plant in green drive

(Reuters) - Norway’s Hydro plans to buy a Rio Tinto aluminium plant in
Iceland for $345 million as part of its efforts to make its output as green
as possible and bolster its position in Europe.

The proposed acquisition, which is expected to close in the second quarter,
will raise its capacity to produce primary aluminium by 210,000 tonnes to
2.4 million tonnes this year, said in a statement on Monday.

Iceland generates all its electricity from hydropower and geothermal energy
and the plant will enable Hydro to produce more than 70 percent of its
aluminium using renewable energy, up from two-thirds of its output in
November.

Producing aluminium requires huge amounts of energy, meaning it is also more
cost effective to produce it using hydro-power.

Hydro is not interested in acquiring aluminium plants that use coal-fired
power, Aasheim added.

Hydro’s share price was up 1.3 percent at 1020 GMT, while Rio Tinto was up
0.7 percent.

Hydro launched a low-carbon brand of aluminium in November and expects
customers from carmakers to packaging firms to pay a premium to help slow
climate change.

The Icelandic plant also delivers 230,000 tonnes of extrusion ingot, used in
the European construction and transport sectors, from a newly-built
casthouse.

The transaction also includes Rio Tinto’s 53-percent stake in an aluminium
anode facility in the Netherlands and its 50-percent stake in an aluminium
fluoride plant in Sweden, which are ingredients in aluminium production.

The deal helps Rio Tinto which is seeking to divest all but the
best-performing units.

Rio Tinto is selling an aluminium smelter at Dunkirk in France to Liberty
House, which also bought the major miner’s smelter at Lochaber, Scotland.

Under the deal, Hydro would be the sole owner of the factory in the
Netherlands, while the Swedish factory will be 50/50 owned with fertiliser
maker Yara International. 

INVESTORS DIARY 2018

Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

DISCLAIMER: This report has been prepared by Bulls ‘n Bears, a division of
Faith Capital (Pvt) Ltd for general information purposes only and does not
constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy or
subscribe for any securities. The information contained in this report has
been compiled from sources believed to be reliable, but no representation or
warranty is made or guarantee given as to its accuracy or completeness. All
opinions expressed and recommendations made are subject to change without
notice. Securities or financial instruments mentioned herein may not be
suitable for all investors. Securities of emerging and mid-size growth
companies typically involve a higher degree of risk and more volatility than
the securities of more established companies. Neither Faith Capital nor any
other member of Bulls ‘n Bears nor any other person, accepts any liability
whatsoever for any loss howsoever arising from any use of this report or its
contents or otherwise arising in connection therewith. Recipients of this
report shall be solely responsible for making their own independent
investigation into the business, financial condition and future prospects of
any companies referred to in this report. Other  Indices quoted herein are
for guideline purposes only and sourced from third parties.

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