Overview:
According to the Quarterly Bulletin for the quarter ended March 2024 released by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) on Wednesday, June 19, 2024, this growth was due to the increase in market capitalization of seven cross-listed counters.
A new report indicates that the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE) total market capitalisation increased by 22.9% to UGX 23.4 trillion by the end of March 2024, up from UGX 19 trillion at the end of December 2023.
According to the Quarterly Bulletin for the quarter ended March 2024 released by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) on Wednesday, June 19, 2024, this growth was due to the increase in market capitalization of seven cross-listed counters.
They are Centum Investment (CENT), East African Breweries Limited (EABL), Equity Bank Limited (EBL), Jubilee Holdings Limited (JHL), Kenya Airways (KA), Nation Media Group (NMG) and KCB.
Additionally, Airtel Uganda’s listing on the USE and the rise in market capitalization of three domestically listed counters (UMEME, BOBU, and SBU) also contributed to this increase.
By the close of the review period, locally listed stocks’ value or domestic market capitalization had decreased by 1.7% to UGX11 trillion from UGX11.2 trillion in December 2023 mainly due to reduced market capitalization on three locally listed counters: AIRTEL (-9.3%), NIC (-6-2%) and MTNU (-0-3%).
The equity turnover at the USE increased by 195.5% to UGX 23.9 billion during the period under review, up from UGX 8.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023. The growth in value traded was driven by increased participation from domestic investors, specifically an increase in trading activity on the UMEME counter.
This surge in UMEME stock activity can be linked to growing investor interest due to expectations of a government payment following its concession with the state coming to an end.
The USE All Share Index closed at 1,071.9 points in the first quarter of 2024, marking a 22.9% increase from the previous quarter’s 872.5 points. This increase was driven by gains in the share prices of seven cross-listed counters (CENT, EABL, EBL, JHL, KA, KCB and NMG) and three locally listed counters (UMEME, BOBU and SBU).
On the other hand, the USE Local Counter Index decreased by 1.7%, ending at 267.3 points compared to 271 points in the fourth quarter of 2023. The decline in the LCI was due to the drop in share prices of three locally listed counters AIRTEL, NIC and MTNU.