Key Insights
- The NGX All share index ends the week in the green, by a slight 0.10%, or 104.19 bps recovery breaking a 4-day losing streak. This amounts to a one-week local Naira decline of 1.11%.
- The EGX 30 index ekes upward by 1.05% or 218.99 bps to 31,677.58 breaking the 4-day gaining steak by Wednesday. Worth noting, that the stocks touched a one-week gain of EGP 1.24% within the week.
- Similarly, the NSE Index surged to 130.22, reflecting a 0.24% or 0.31 bps increase after two days of decline on Tuesday and Thursday. This marked a one-week low of its stock compared to its Ksh shilling by 1%.
- Additionally, the JSE J203 halted in the red, for the week trading day ending 20th March 2025, dropping 630.94 bps points, or 0.7% representing a one-week gain of 2.82% and a 3.7% gain of 3.79% stocks to Rand.
Regional Index Summary
West Africa – Nigeria Securities Exchange
At the end of the trading week, the deals traded dropped by 6.1%, share volume dipped by 11.55%. Likewise, turnover value plummeted by 0.24%.
- All other Indexes plummeted, with only the Consumer Index gaining by 0.06%, due to a 9.99% uptick from the N NIg. FLOUR MILLS PLC.
- In contrast, the NGX Sovereign Bond Index and NGX ASeM Index remained unchanged, reflecting stable interest rates and cautious investors.
East Africa – Nairobi Securities Exchange
The bourse closed the week with deals plummeting 13.79% week-on-week, equity trade ekes 50.18% week-on-week, and total shares traded upticks 97.79% w/w.
- The market ended the week in negative territory, with the NASI and NSE 25 declining by 3.1% week-on-week. Likewise, the N10 and NSE 20 dropped by 3.3% and 4.3% week-on-week, respectively.
North Africa – Egypt Securities Exchange
This market eked by 9.20% in deals, 10.85% in equity trades, and 67.74% in total turnover on a week-on-week basis.
- All other Index gains with EGX ESG, EGX 33, and TAMAYUZ plummeted by 0.16%, 10.24%, and 0.47% week-on-week respectively.
- Market capitalization gained by 0.14%, from EGP 2,244.8 billion to EGP 2,248.1 billion w/w, dipping slightly below the all-time high of EGP 2,268.61 billion in February 2025.
South Africa – Johannesburg Securities Exchange
This bourse’s total shares plummeted by 8.20%. Deals were up by 128%, 163% gain in turnover, and 9% up in deals on a day-on-day basis.
South African rand saw a decline across major currencies.
- USD/ZAR:18.22 (-0.01%) — A slight decline, impacting import cost
- EUR/ZAR: 19.83 (-0.1%) — A minor decline from trade dynamics
- GBP/ZAR: 23.58 (-0.1%) — A slight decline, raising trade cost
Here’s what Impacted Africa Bourses
Africa Bourses ended the week with several reasons to fluctuate:
- Geopolitical tensions picked up at the same time after Donald Trump withdrew financial and military support from the Ukraine-Russian war.
- Gold prices jumped above the estimated $3,000 per ounce for the first time in a long while on Wednesday, the exact day air fire strikes in Gaza killed over 400 people.
- Africa’s largest refinery and the World’s largest single-train refinery pumps up crude prices globally immediately after halting distribution in local Naira currency.
While the African bourse has managed to maintain relative stability, Investors will likely ask questions about what predictable factors could play out this new week.
This is what is set to happen this week:
- Africa’s top-ranked oil & gas distributor in Nigeria sets to halt local distribution of petroleum products in Naira.
- The Central Bank of Kenya and the South African Reserve Bank are set to maintain monetary policy rates aimed at maintaining relative stability of the Ksh shilling and the South African Rand against major global inflationary trends.
- Egypt has set out to use its investor support app to ease communication with investors.
- South Africa’s Absa Bank expects its share performance to surge after CEO Kenny Finla’s appointment last week.
- Nigeria’s leading financial institution, Access Bank, sets to raise ₦194 billion through commercial paper.
Market outlook to watch out for
The African All-share index fluctuated as a result of global, geopolitical, and national tension. This has led to mixed expectations of the week’s market performance by analysts. While some analysts envision a bearish market, others remain optimistic about a bullish trend.
However, Analysts in the US say the market Outlook remains “Uncertain,” a word it has adopted following the sweeping changes from Trump’s tariff policy.
With the benchmark rate struggling for balance, raising economic and geopolitical tensions this week could erode the policies set to protect trades. If the market maintains relative stability, investors should see this as a cue to continue investing. In all, monitoring financial indicators closely is crucial.