DSE market cap hits 43-day high on easing of lockdowns

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DSE opened the week with a market capitalisation of Sh15.04 trillion on Monday, a Sh242.59 billion rise from the Sh14.8 trillion that was registered last Friday

Dar es Salaam. Market capitalisation at the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) rallied during the first day of trading this week as investors cheered announced divi-dend proposals and a further easing of lockdowns in some countries.
The Dar es Salaam bourse opened the week with a market capitalisa-tion of Sh15.04 trillion on Monday, a Sh242.59 billion rise from the Sh14.8 trillion that was registered at the closure of the last day of trading last week.
The last time that the bourse market capitalisation was recorded above Sh15 trillion was on March 23, 2020.The bullish indicator, analysts say, results from investors’ improved sentiments as they await dividends.
“The market is gaining trad-ing momentum because investors are targeting stocks dividends,” the director of Arch Financial and Investment Advisory Limited, Mr Mazengo Kasilati, told The Citizen.
Some of the cross-listed firms have already issued their proposed dividend payments for the year that ended December 31, 2019.
As a result, the price of a share of East African Breweries Limited (EABL) gained by 7.27 percent to close at Sh3,690 while that of KCB Group rose by 2.6 per cent to close at Sh790 per share.
CRDB Bank Plc, whose share is currently Sh150, is also proposing a Sh17 dividend per share for its stake-holders while the board of directors of Tanzania Portland Cement Com-pany Ltd (TPCC) has proposed a Sh290 per share dividend.
A Jubilee Holdings Limited (JHL) stock was the only loser on the mar-ket on Monday, shedding its value by 3.45 percent to close at Sh5, 600.DSE recorded a total turnover of Sh6.33 million from 44,900 shares traded in 12 deals, active counters include CRDB, DSE and Nicol.
Across the world, markets have been gaining as the number of countries that ease lockdowns keeps increasing, raising hope that the Covid-19 pandemic was on its way out.