Bulls n Bears Daily Market Commentary : 26 March 2024

Wed Mar 27 06:49:32 CAT 2024

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Bulls n Bears Daily Market Commentary : 26 March 2024

 <mailto:sales at dulys.co.zw?subject=Request%20Quote> 
ZSE commentary

ZSE maintains a positive impetus...

The ZSE market maintained a positive momentum in the second session of the
week as the primary All-Share Index firmed up 1.84% to 795,094.49pts while,
the Blue-Chip Index rose 1.45% to 359,420.82pts. The Agriculture Index went
up 6.27% to 1,899.64pts while, the Mid Cap Index grew 1.96% to
3,044,412,732.57pts. The duo of BAT and ZBFH headlined the top performers of
the day on a similar 15% surge to close at $56,166.0000 and $7,035.7000
respectively. Apparel retailer Edgars advanced 14.47% to $465.0000 while,
NMB shot up 13.63% to settle at $2,980.0500. Hippo capped the winners of the
day on a 10.00% uplift to end the day pegged at $6,600.0000. On the losing
side was General Beltings that lost 4.38% to close at $131.0000 followed by
retailer OK Zimbabwe that dropped 2.01% to $1,153.0981. Banking group CBZ
Holdings slipped 0.11% to $9,999.9990 as fintech group Ecocash Holdings
declined 0.02% to $606.0543. Zimre Holdings Limited fastened the laggards of
the day on a negligible 0.004% retreat to end the day pegged at $299.9962.
Sixteen counters registered gains while, six counters faltered to leave the
market with a positive breadth of ten.

Activity aggregates declined in the session as volumes traded succumbed
30.29% to see 1.07m shares exchanging hands while, value traded fell 58.44%
to circa $2bn. The trio of Starafrica, Seedco and TSL topped the volume
aggregates for the day after claiming a combined contribution of 68.14%. Top
value drivers of the day were Seedco (38.29%), Delta (29.15%) and Econet
(10.42%). In the ETF section, Datvest climbed up 1.10% to $28.3086 while,
OMTT ETF inched up 0.29% to close at $143.8405. A total of 4,079,816 units
exchanged hands in the Tigere REIT that dropped 2.03% to end the day pegged
at $855.2495.-efesecurities

Global Currencies & Equity Markets

South Africa

South African rand weakens after employment data

(Reuters) - South Africa's rand weakened against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday
after a drop in fourth quarter local employment figures, and ahead of an
interest rate decision the following day.

At 1523 GMT, the rand traded at 18.9925 against the dollar , about 0.5%
weaker than its previous close.

The dollar was little changed against a basket of currencies.

South Africa's formal sector employment, excluding agriculture, fell 1.8% in
the fourth quarter of 2023 compared with the previous quarter statistics
agency data showed.

South African investor focus is firmly on an interest rate decision by the
South African Reserve Bank due on Wednesday.

The bank is widely expected to keep its repo rate steady at 8.25%, and wait
until the third quarter to start cutting.

On the stock market, the Top-40 (.JTOPI), opens new tab index closed 0.56%
higher and the broader all-share (.JALSH), opens new tab index was up 0.44%.

South Africa's benchmark 2030 government bond was weaker, with the yield up
10.5 basis points to 10.570%.

Zambia

Here's why the Zambian kwacha (ZMW) just soared

The Zambian kwacha (ZMW) jumped sharply against the US dollar as investors
cheered the recent eurobond news. The USD/ZMW crashed to 26.20 on Tuesday,
down from Monday's high of 26.81. Before this retreat, the pair had risen
for the past 21 days straight. It was also the biggest slump since February
14th.

Zambia eurobond restructuring

Zambian government bonds also performed well after the restructuring
announcement. The ten-year yield dropped to 25.13%, down from last year's
high of 30.50%. 

The main reason for the ongoing Zambian kwacha surge is that the country's
government reached a deal with its eurobond creditors. In a statement on
Monday, President Hakainde Hichilema said that the country had made history
by restructuring its finances under the G20 Common Framework.

This restructuring means that Zambia has become the first African country to
use the framework. The implication is that bondholders will receive a hefty
haircut in exchange for receiving their money earlier. In this case, these
holders will forgo about $840 million of their claims. They will also
provide a cash flow relief of about $2.5 billion during the IMF program
period.

Zambia still has more work to do to handle its finances. For one, it still
owes vast sums of money to Chinese banks like ICBC and Jianxi Bank. These
companies hate haircuts and, therefore, their strategy will be to extend the
payment period and receive their cash in full.

 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

Global Markets

Dollar up: yen edges lower after Japanese finance minister comments

(Reuters) - The dollar rose on Tuesday as traders waited on a fresh catalyst
to give clues on Federal Reserve policy, while the yen slipped after Japan's
finance minister said that he would not rule out any measures to cope with
the weakening currency.

Investors are grappling with whether the U.S. central bank will cut interest
rates three times this year, as is currently expected, if inflation remains
elevated and economic growth stays strong.

The dollar index bounced slightly after data on Tuesday showed that orders
for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods increased more than expected in
February, while business spending on equipment showed tentative signs of
recovery as the economy's growth prospects in the first quarter remained
upbeat.

"The market is intensely searching for signs of cracks in the U.S. economy
and they're hard to find, and durable goods illustrates that again today,"
said Adam Button, chief currency analyst at ForexLive in Toronto. "It's a
real wait and see market."

Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) due on Friday is this week's main
economic catalyst. The U.S. core PCE price index is seen rising 0.3% in
February, which would keep the annual pace at 2.8%. (USPCEM=ECI), opens new
tab, (USPCE2=ECI), opens new tab

Trading volumes on Friday may be light, however, with the U.S. stock and
Treasuries markets closed for the Good Friday holiday.

The dollar index gained 0.06% to 104.28, while the euro fell 0.05% to
$1.0831.

The greenback may come under some pressure this week from month- and
quarter-end portfolio rebalancing.

The yen dipped 0.09% to 151.52, reversing earlier gains, as verbal
intervention by Japanese officials continued. It has weakened in the past
week, despite the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) ending eight years of negative
interest rates.

Traders continue to focus on the still-stark interest rate differentials
between Japan and the rest of the world, particularly the United States. A
break past 151.94 per dollar, hit in October 2022, would take the Japanese
currency to its weakest since 1990.

In 2022, Japanese authorities intervened in currency markets to support the
yen.

Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Tuesday that "rapid
currency moves are undesirable." That came after Japan's top currency
diplomat Masato Kanda on Monday warned against speculators trying to sell
off the yen.

"Dollar/yen is stuck around this 151.50 level. People want to go long/dollar
yen because of carry returns, but if it goes to 152 or 153 they may get
punished by the currency authorities so they don't want to try," said Yusuke
Miyairi, currency strategist at Nomura.

The carry trade sees investors borrow in low yielding currencies to invest
in higher yielding ones.

China's yuan has also been on traders' radars since its sudden sharp fall on
Friday. It gained slightly in the offshore market to 7.248 per dollar after
a firmer-than-expected fix from the People's Bank of China .

In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin fell 1.28% to $70,078.01 It is holding below a
record high of $73,803.25 reached on March 14.

 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

Commodities Markets

Gold subdued as dollar firms, investors seek more Fed cues

(Reuters) - Gold prices edged lower on Wednesday due to an uptick in the
dollar, although bullion traded in a narrow range as investors stayed on the
sidelines awaiting more cues on the U.S. Federal Reserve policy.

Spot gold was down 0.1% at $2,176.29 per ounce, as of 0310 GMT. U.S. gold
futures also edged 0.1% lower to $2,175.20.

The dollar index strengthened 0.2% against its rivals, making gold more
expensive for other currency holders.

Gold prices have risen more than 5% so far this year and hit a record high
last week, helped by increasing bets for Fed easing, persistent safe-haven
demand and central bank purchases amid geopolitical tensions.

"It's difficult to construct an overly bearish case for gold prices with the
current backdrop of geopolitics and potential central easing," City Index
senior analyst Matt Simpson said.

The U.S. central bank left its funds rate on hold between 5.25% and 5.5%
last week and retained projections for three cuts by the year-end.

Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said on Monday that he pencilled in
three rate cuts for this year at the Fed's policy meeting.

Investors now look forward to U.S. core personal consumption expenditure
price index data due on Friday to gauge when the Fed may begin cutting
interest rates.

Traders are pricing in a 72% probability that the Fed will begin cutting
rates in June, according to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool. Lower interest
rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding bullion.

SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said
its holdings fell 0.62% to 830.15 tons on Tuesday.

"Aligned with the supported yet more sideways price action, open interest
figures show that most of the early March inflows into gold have so far
stuck," JP Morgan said in a note.

Spot silver was steady at $24.42 per ounce, platinum eased 0.1% to $902.15
and palladium fell 0.6% to $988.15.

INVESTORS DIARY 2024

Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

Good Friday

march 29

Easter Monday

1 April

Independence Day

April 18

Workers day

1 May

Counters trading under cautionary

CBZH

GetBucks

EcoCash

Padenga

Econet

RTG

Fidelity

TSL

FMHL

ZBFH

Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears 

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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
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79 993 5557 | +263 71 944 1674

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