Stock Market Analysis: Dramatic 45.8% Surge in Transactions

January 2025 has witnessed a staggering 45.8% rise in trading activity on the stock exchange, compared to the same month in the previous year. A total of Rs 858.3 million was transacted on the multi-currency platform last month, a significant increase from Rs 588.6 million recorded in January 2024.

Dominating the trading landscape, the Banks, Insurance & Finance sector claimed a hefty 38.4% of all transactions.

Meanwhile, the Total Return Index, SEMTRI, closed at an impressive 11,375.81 points.

Closely following, the SEMDEX finished the week at 2,519.23 points, while the SEM-10, which encompasses the market’s large-cap stocks, concluded at 472.49 points.

As of 5 February’s market close, the official market capitalisation stood at Rs 397.2 billion.

Among the 64 listed stocks, 17 ended the week on a positive note, 31 remained unchanged, and 16 experienced declines.

Noteworthy gainers included CIEL Limited, soaring by 11.59%, Alteo Limited up 7.31%, and United Docks Ltd, which rose by 5.52%. In contrast, Grit Real Estate Income Group Limited saw a significant drop of 5.88%, while New Mauritius Hotels Limited and Lux Island Resorts Ltd fell by 3.94% and 3.64%, respectively.

In total, 3.9 million shares changed hands for a cumulative value of Rs 180.76 million during the week.

The most significant trades were recorded for MCB Group Limited, which accounted for Rs 111.1 million, followed by CM Structured Products (1) Ltd and CM Diversified Credit Ltd with Rs 6.9 million and Rs 5.3 million, respectively.

The performance of ten companies has shown striking annualised total returns since their market debut, ranging from 12.99% to an impressive 20.22%.

These companies operate across various sectors, as outlined in the accompanying table.

On the Development & Enterprise Market (DEM), both the DEMEX and DEMTRI indices ended Wednesday at 237.07 points and 394.44 points, respectively, with total market capitalisation amounting to Rs 46.3 billion.

This week, trading on the DEM registered Rs 22.8 million. The ten leading companies in terms of annualised total return since their initial public offerings include The Union Sugar Estates Co. Ltd, Livestock Feed Ltd, and Phoenix Investment Company Ltd, among others, with returns ranging from 13.13% to 24.25%.

Turning our gaze to the international scene, the Dow Jones and Nasdaq reported declines of 0.66% and 0.40% respectively over the week.

In Europe, the CAC-40 fell by 0.18%, while the DAX and FTSE-100 showed modest increases of 0.15% and 0.33% respectively during the same period.

Source: l’Express