The Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) has seen its market capitalisation increase by Sh697 billion, rising 1.74 percent to Sh40.8 trillion in the week ending September 25. This growth comes despite a slowdown in trading activity, with equity turnover almost halving during the week. According to a weekly market review by Vertex International Securities, the total market capitalisation had stood at Sh40.11 trillion a week earlier.
The recent increase extends a rally that had already pushed the value of listed companies to a record Sh40.3 trillion on September 10. Since the beginning of the year, investors had gained about Sh16.1 trillion in paper wealth. However, the latest gains have come against a backdrop of weaker trading activity. Equity turnover fell 48.22 percent to Sh27.47 billion from Sh53.05 billion in the preceding week.
The number of shares traded also declined 48.05 percent to 12.77 million from 24.59 million. Despite this decline in activity, Vertex’s manager of research and analytics, Frank Abel, noted that it had not yet translated into a reversal in market values. Price gains continued to provide support, with the Tanzania Share Index (TSI) rising 2.49 percent during the week to 10,419.49 points.
Domestic market capitalization similarly increased by 2.49 percent to Sh28.33 trillion from Sh27.64 trillion. The broader DSE Index gained 1.74 per cent to 4,682.13 points from 4,602.26 points. The continued rise in market value follows a strong run in banking stocks, which have been among the main drivers of the exchange's gains this year.
CRDB Bank was the most actively traded counter during the latest week, recording turnover of Sh9.23 billion, equivalent to 33.6 per cent of total equity turnover. NMB Bank followed with Sh7.98 billion, accounting for 29.08 per cent of the market's equity turnover. This reinforces the concentration of trading activity in the major counters, particularly banking stocks.
The market's gains were not confined to banks, with MUCOBA rising 11.11 per cent, AFRIPRISE at 5.41 per cent, and Vodacom Tanzania at 4.92 per cent. On the downside, DCB declined 5.62 per cent, followed by MCB at 3.85 per cent and NMG at 3.33 per cent. The increase in market capitalisation also coincided with continued activity in exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
The bond market remained considerably more active by value, with 129 transactions in the secondary market, generating turnover of Sh136.3 billion during the week. Meanwhile, the Bank of Tanzania raised Sh365.9 billion through a Treasury bills auction held on September 23, attracting 128 bids, of which 92 were accepted.
Key points
- The Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange market capitalisation rose to Sh40.8 trillion.
- Equity turnover fell 48.22 percent to Sh27.47 billion.
- The Tanzania Share Index rose 2.49 percent to 10,419.49 points.
