African equity markets have displayed a wide divergence in performance, with frontier exchanges in East and West Africa outperforming larger markets like South Africa and Morocco. According to a performance overview of trading data from African markets, Tanzania led the continent in year-to-date local currency gains, with the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange All Share Index soaring 69.52 per cent. The benchmark closed the week at 4,682.13 following a 1.74 per cent weekly advance.
Close behind Tanzania, Zimbabwe's ZSE ASI posted a 67.67 per cent local year-to-date return, representing 63.59 per cent in U.S. dollars, after gaining 2.86 per cent over the week to reach 465.90. Nigeria's NGX All-Share Index also maintained its upward trajectory, trading up 0.92 per cent over the week to 252,113.41, which brings its local year-to-date gain to 62.01 per cent and an impressive 76.05 per cent in dollar terms.
Other notable strong performers included Ghana, where the GSE-CI advanced 58.34 per cent local year-to-date, or 42.63 per cent in U.S. dollar terms, despite a 2.95 per cent weekly decline to 13,886.74. The West African regional exchange BRVM held a 56.41 per cent local year-to-date return, equal to 51.81 per cent in U.S. dollars, after dipping 2.34 per cent on the week to 540.78.
Uganda's USE ASI registered a 4.01 per cent weekly bump to reach 2,523.26, boosting its year-to-date return to 54.63 per cent in local currency and 46.29 per cent in U.S. dollars. Kenya and Rwanda also delivered double-digit year-to-date gains, with the NSE ASI rising 4.15 per cent on the week to 248.51, representing 33.19 per cent year-to-date in local currency and 32.48 per cent in U.S. dollars.
Conversely, Malawi anchored the lower end of the regional performance table. The Malawi Stock Exchange All Share Index fell 1.48 per cent over the week to 489,687.34, deepening its local currency year-to-date loss to -18.12 per cent and -18.57 per cent in U.S. dollar terms. Morocco's MASI also struggled, posting a year-to-date decline of -5.46 per cent, or -10.17 per cent in U.S. dollars, to 17,818.09.
South Africa's JSE ASI dropped 1.93 per cent for the week to close at 110,826.04, placing its year-to-date performance at -4.32 per cent in rand and -2.81 per cent in dollar terms. Mauritius's SEM ASI was down -2.26 per cent year-to-date, or -5.38 per cent in U.S. dollars, at 2,070.93, while Zambia's LuSE ASI remained virtually flat on the year in local currency at -0.19 per cent at 25,871.69.
The divergent performance of African equity markets highlights the varying economic conditions and investor sentiments across the continent. According to Jide Ajia, a seasoned journalist with over 12 years of experience, the performance of these markets is a reflection of the underlying economic fundamentals and investor confidence.
Key points
- Tanzania's Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange All Share Index led the continent with a 69.52 per cent year-to-date gain.
- Zimbabwe's ZSE ASI and Nigeria's NGX All-Share Index also posted significant gains, with 67.67 per cent and 62.01 per cent year-to-date returns, respectively.
- Malawi and Morocco struggled, with the Malawi Stock Exchange All Share Index and Morocco's MASI posting year-to-date losses of -18.12 per cent and -5.46 per cent, respectively.
