Over the Easter period, African equities experienced a lull. The Ai40 Index closed Friday at a value of 112.18, down slightly (-0.5%) from a March 28 close of 112.76
US markets closed lower at end of play Friday on the back of disappointing US job data. The US Labor Department said that initial jobless claims rose to 385,000; more than the 345,000 analysts had expected. The US economy added only 88,000 jobs in March, a third of the number in February, according to official data.
The data signalled a slowdown in the world’s biggest economy and, as a result, European equity markets plummeted. At the close, London’s FTSE 100 index of leading companies dropped 1.49% to 6,249.78 points and Frankfurt’s Dax 30 dropped 2.03% to 7,658.75 points, while the Paris Cac 40 had 1.68% to 3,663.48 points.
Friday’s close saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average lose 40.86 points, or 0.28%, to close at 14,565.25; the Nasdaq lost 21.12 points, or 0.65%, to reach a value of 3,203.86, and the S&P 500 lost 6.7 points (0.43%) to land on 1,553.28.
Gainers
Once again, Africa’s banks performed well on the Index during the period under review. Nigeria’s First Bank led the pack with a healthy gain of 9.3%. The company has just released ‘Expressions on Cards’, whereby customers can assume control of the look and design of their Naira MasterCard; an offering that is aimed at supporting the Central Bank of Nigeria’s cash-lite policy.
Tying for fourth position, West Africa-listed Ecobank and Kenya’s Equity Bank both recorded a gain of 5.8% to reach prices of US$0.10 and $5.67 respectively. Making up the middle spots, Kenyan telecommunications giant Safaricom recorded a jump of 7.1% while Morocco’s Lafarge surged 6.4%. Foreign investors bought net shares worth Sh3.5 billion in Safaricom in the nine months to January in expectation of increased dividends and higher capital gains at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).
Losers
As has so often been the case over the past few months, North African countries and South Africa’s mining giants dominated the losers’ category for the week. Tunisia’s Banque de Tunisie and Egypt’s Commercial International Bank continued to feel the downward effects of the ongoing political uncertainty in the region; they lost 4.9% and 8.8% respectively.
Woes continue in the South African mining sector. Analysts say that if South Africa continues to lose out on the current commodities boom, the resulting job losses in the sector could be catastrophic. Anglo American, AngloGold Ashanti and Anglo Platinum recorded losses of 4.9%, 7.7% and 9.5% apiece.
For more on the Ai40 Index, please visit the Africa investor website at www.africainvestor.com.
