[2008-07-16]  Financial Counters On the Comeback
Spirited comebacks by financial counters saw the mainstream Domestic Companies Index (DCI) continue with its winning streak by adding a further 0.2 percent last week, further signaling the end of the bear run.

Although last week's biggest gainer turned out to be property concern Turnstar as it recovered from a steep slump, star performances by financial counters ABC and Barclays carried the benchmark index to 7,205.07 points as buying orders started to improve on renewed investor confidence.

But during the week, the FCI and the ACI lost 0.03 percent and 0.02 percent each to close the week at 2,591.99 points and 2,755.24 points respectively.

"We expect the DCI recovery to continue in the coming weeks as more investors return on the market to take advantage of the current dip in most stocks," says a report by Motswedi Securities.

"During the week, gains were recorded in four counters, while 13 counters recorded losses and 14 counters were static.

Total volumes traded picked up during the week as 21,2 million shares valued at P51,5 million were traded as compared to 2.3 million shares valued at P11.3 million that were traded the previous week."

Finance house ABC Holdings gained a further 2.5 percent to 410thebe on improved investor sentiment after announcing that Citi Venture Capital International had agreed to invest US$25 million in the bank.

Insurance giant BIHL came back to its winning ways, gaining 2.4 percent to 1,075thebe on improved investor confidence after the company announced at its AGM that it was reversing the sale of a 10 percent stake in Bifm to a citizen consortium made up of some executive and non-executive directors. This was in response to shareholders' concerns about the lack of transparency in the transaction.

Financial blue chip Barclays also gained 1.8 percent to finish the week at 570thebe on increased buying. On the other hand, the biggest loser for the week was A-Cap Resources, which was the star performer on the local bourse last week. A-Cap lost 27.8 percent to close at 325thebe despite news of new inferred uranium deposits at its Letlhakane project.

Other losers include Discovery, Aviva and Imara. Total value traded during the week was P51,483,489 on 21,169,230 shares. Although Imara lost 5.8 percent to 1,225thebe on profit taking, it is still the best performer so far this year, reaching a high of 1,375thebe since announcing that their year-end profits will be above expectations.

"On a year-to-date basis, Imara is now up 63.3 percent. Mining house African Copper dropped 5 percent to 475thebe, while micro lender Blue Financial Services dropped 2.8 percent to close the week at 523thebe, one of (its) lowest levels so far since listing on the local bourse," read the report.

Source: Copyright © 2008 Mmegi/The Reporter.