BSE trading activities on positive track
Positive trajectory has been recorded on the Botswana Stock Exchange’s ( BSE) trading activities to mark ending of first half of the year. The equity market performance on bourse indicated that the domestic company index ( DCI) continued with its momentum of gains from April and May.
The latest statistics indicate that DCI gained 0.5 percent in June to end the second quarter of the year with a depreciation of 3.7 percent compared to a depreciation of 5.1 percent in the first quarter of the year.
“On a half yearly basis, the DCI has depreciated by 3.7 percent compared to a depreciation of 4.4 percent in the same period in 2020,” said BSE’s latest market performance for the period January to June 2021. BSE Chief Executive Officer at the opening bell ceremony during end of June, expressed optimism at DCI’s trading activities. “This give us hope that the market may be bouncing back,” said Tsheole, commenting on the positive trading trends. On the other hand, the domestic company total return index ( DCTRI), a similar trajectory of gains reversing the losses. DCTRI accounts for dividend paid out. The DCTRI ended the second quarter up 4.0 percent compared to a depreciation of 4.4 percent in the first quarter. “On a half yearly basis, the DCTRI has registered an overall marginal loss of 0.6 percent, in comparison to an increase of 1.5 percent in the corresponding 2020 period,” said the market performance report. The foreign company index ( FCI) appreciated by 0.3 percent on a year- to- date basis in 2021 compared to a decline of 0.7 percent over the same period in 2020.
BSE said according to the comparative performance of the indices, there are indications
that the market is gaining consistency in terms of positive month - on- month returns since April 2021, for the domestic sector. In addition, BSE says listed companies are continuing to pay dividends which tend to augment the capital gains reflected in the DCI. The difference between the performance of the DCI and DCTRI is attributed to dividend payouts as the DCTRI measures the returns accruing from both the price and the dividends. Meanwhile, there are indications of momentum in trading activity as noted from the relative increase in turnover in the second quarter of 2021 compared to the first quarter of 2021.