ZSE bounces back to gain 25.58% in September

After putting investors through a tough period in August, retreating 3.7% the ZSE brought back smiles to the faces of the investing public in September gaining 25.58% – the second-highest gain this year. The exchange closed September with 39 companies and the Old Mutual ZSE Top 10 ETF in the green, 7 companies in the red and 3 non-movers.

Gainers

The month started unassumingly with what seemed to be a continuation of the losses experienced in August. August is the only month in 2021 so far to have registered a decline in the ZSE. A kick at the tail end of the month pushed the ZSE to new highs with several counters recording big wins. Notable gainers were ZECO which registered another trade to add 300% and BAT which marched towards the $2000 mark closing at $1990.30 (+99.23%). Quick Service restaurant chain Simbisa gained 77.23% on the back of favourable full year (June) results. The remainder of the top 10 gainers was made up of Cassava (62.13%), Mashonaland Holdings (51.25%), Innscor (47.44%), Masimba Holdings (40.05%), Econet (37.88%), Willdale (36.94%) and OK Zimbabwe (34.09%).

Losers

Even in a positive month, there will be losses on the market and we had quite a few of these. Nothing much compared to the gainers. Only 7 companies lost ground in September. NTS which is believed by many analysts to have overshot its fundamentals slid 25.93%. RioZim continued to face trouble giving up 10.71%, while Fidelity which is in the process of being acquired by Zimre continued to stagnate this time giving up 10.1%. Also amongst the losers were Star Africa (-7.59%) which is looking for direction after the completion of the disposal of ZAMCOs stake to Takura Capital while Getbucks, once a high flyer gave up 3.47%. There were only 3 non-movers in September being CAFCA, Lafarge and Unifreight.

Indices

A look at the indices shows a departure from the dominant story so far this year, the rise of the small-cap index. The biggest gains were seen in the top 10 as gains materialised in the biggest companies in the nation. 7 of the top 10 (Simbisa 77.23%, Cassava 62.13%, Innscor 47.44%, Econet 37.88%, OK Zimbabwe 34.09% and Delta 30.46%) registered above ZSE average returns. Only Hippo (19.45%) and CBZ (3.83%) failed to beat the average. However, in the year-to-date picture, the Small Cap index remains head and shoulders above the rest. The Old Mutual ZSE Top 10 ETF gained 24% in the month.