The summaries for the first quarter of the year 2020 had 331 trades recorded in the month of January and a total of 131,465 shares were transacted on the equities market, resulting in a market turnover of K196,493, according to Lusaka Securities Exchange (LuSe).
The month of February had a reduction in the number of trades recorded to 234 and a total of 53,938,913 shares were transacted on the equities market, resulting in a market turnover of K36,183,504. A further reduction of 194 trades was recorded in the month of March, a total of 6,311,440 shares were transacted on the equities market, resulting in a market turnover of K7,249,139 .
The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed the month of January at 4,251.54 points, decreasing by 0.30% from its close in December.
As of the month of February, the Index closed at 4,250.48 points, decreasing by 0.02% from its close in January. In March the LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed the month at 4,232.83 points, decreasing by 0.42% from its close in February.
Shoprite holdings had a significant impact on how the market closed on capitalization in the first quarter of the year. With Shoprite Holdings excluded, all three months would have otherwise recorded a lower market close on capitalization. This is seen in that at the end of January, the market closed on a capitalization of K56,501,000,000 including Shoprite Holdings and K22,262,000,000 excluding Shoprite Holdings. In comparison, February had the market close on a capitalization of K57,320,000,000 including Shoprite Holdings and K23,081,000,000 excluding Shoprite Holdings. A further comparison with the month of March saw the market close on a capitalisation of K57,242,000,000 including Shoprite Holdings and K23,004,000,000 excluding Shoprite Holdings. Shoprite Holdings is a dual-listed Security as it is traded in more than one exchange.
The annual rate of inflation for January 2020 was at 12.5%. In February however, the annual rate of inflation increased to 13.9% and this was attributed to the rise in non-food prices such as the purchase of vehicles and transport services such as minibusses, taxi fares and airfares. Also, there has been a depreciation of the Zambian Kwacha which is also a contributing factor as it reached an all-time high of 18.20 in March of 2020. The annual inflation rate has continued to rise in March to 14%. The inflation rate has been above 10%, a level not seen since October 2016, in the last 6 months as prices advanced further for food, mainly on account of rising prices of maize grain and meats.
The debt securities traded by LuSe are typically issued for a fixed term and the amount of capital represented by them has to be paid back to their owners at the end of the securities term. With this information, Bonds of the total face value of K242,363,971 were transacted in the month of January in 97 trades, resulting in a Bond turnover of K163,885,605. In February, bonds of the total face value of K244,567,563 were transacted in 82 trades, resulting in a Bond turnover of K161,483,045, slightly less than recorded before. In March, Bonds of the total face value of K1,162,738,502 were transacted in 82 trades, resulting in a Bond turnover of K580,801,598.
Finally, in the month of February, the market recorded a net inflow of USD 218,639 while in January the market recorded a net inflow of USD 587. In March, however, the market recorded a net outflow of USD 89,416.