The Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) witnessed marginal gains as the Domestic Companies Index (DCI) inched up by 0.17 percent, concluding the week at 8929.30 points. Noteworthy market movements included property firm NAP, emerging as the week’s top performer, experiencing a 5 thebe increase, closing at 385 thebe. Conversely, New Plat faced a setback, shedding 270 thebe and securing the title of the week’s biggest loser, closing at 11,900 thebe.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Companies Index (FCI) maintained its stability, closing the week without significant fluctuations at 2464.54 points. In contrast, the Domestic Companies Total Return Index (DCTRI) saw a modest uptick of 0.22 percent, concluding the week at 2750.56 points.
According to the Botswana Stock Exchange’s weekly report, the overall market activity for the reviewed week resulted in a turnover of P13,963,457, with a substantial 2,395,620 securities changing hands. SEFALANA dominated the weekly turnover, contributing 31%, closely followed by FNBB at 30 percent.
The BSE had its strongest yearly performance in 2023, with its benchmark, DCI gaining 15.6 percent, nearly reaching highs last seen in 2013 when the bourse hit 17.8 percent before it began its descent.
The DCI, which tracks performance of the 23 listed companies that primarily operate within Botswana, closed December 2023 at 8 929.63 points from 7 724.59 points at the beginning of the year. With the BSE’s index up by 15.6 percent, it continues what has been a good run from 2022 after it appreciated by 10.2 percent, the biggest gain since 2015’s 11.6 percent.
The DCI fell by 11.3 percent in 2016, before recovering slightly in 2017 with a 5.8 percent loss, and continued to stumble in 2018, depreciating by 11 percent. In 2019, the DCI narrowed losses to 4.6 percent, and worsened in 2020 when the index contracted by 8.2 percent. However, the DCI grew by 1.9 percent in 2021, making a recovery after six years of downward spiral.
In 2023, from the 23 listed companies on the main domestic board – 17 recorded share price gains, while two companies’ shares remained flat, and four companies lost share price value.
