Stocks in the negative

STOCKS were largely skewed towards the negative in the month of October as total market value shed a marginal 0,45 percent to $30,39 billion compared to September’s $30,52 billion.

The month of October however saw a slower depreciation of the local currency, a trend witnessed since September following tighter foreign exchange controls that resulted in the closure of some accounts of individuals and entities believed to be fuelling the illegal parallel market.

On the local bourse, the primary indicator, the ZSE All Share Index gained a marginal 0,14 percent to close the month at 323,86 points while the Industrials Index was also on the upside after gaining 0,36 percent to 777,4 points.

The market’s heavies, the Top 10 Index was on the downside giving away 1,7 percent of value to 214,37 points from 218,09 points in the previous month.

Month-on-month, the resources side did not do very well neither. The Minings Index of three active counters fell the hardest with a 13 percent decline to 276,31 points from prior month’s 317,75 points as the sector is anticipated to record a dip in output for 2019.

One of its active counters, Bindura fell a massive 27 percent to 13 cents from 18 cents in the prior month. The nickel producer announced that its ultimate shareholder ASA had concluded the sale and purchase agreement with the third party, which has been under long running negotiations.