TRADE at the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) improved by 78 per cent with 1,244,317 shares exchanging hands, representing a sharp jump over the previous period performance of 697,722 stocks.

According to the Tanzania Securities Limited (TSL) weekly commentary, total market turnover climbed to 292m/-, an equivalence to 25 per cent from the preceding performance of 234m/-. However, the Tanzania Share Index (TSI) lost 2.81 per cent to end the week at 1,170.31 points.

"The All Share Index lost 0.61 per cent to settle at 1,310.34 points. The overall market performance was affected by the NMB, a 1.1 per cent gain, while the TBL and CRDB lost 8 per cent and 8.2 per cent respectively", the commentary said.

Despite poor performances of CRDB, banking counters were still active and liquid. CRDB traded at 113/- per share up from 110/- per stock, implying that the counter is undervalued. "Investors especially those with long-term strategies should be in no hurry to knock the door and run" remarked TSL analyst, Mr Magabe Maasa.

He added: "We still anticipate sustaining institutional investors forces to hold the market afloat during the current period, and thus, expect the overall market to weather a downturn in the long run," For long-term focused and institutional investors, the TSL recommend them to hold strategy for now.

The NMB recovered 1.1 per cent of its value to end the week at 900/- per share. It also accounted for 34 per cent of the market value. The continued good performance by the counter may be explained by a continued local support resulting from its recently published strong 2012 first quarter financial statement.

DCB trade dropped significantly during the week by selling only 76 shares at 640/- per piece. This is a sharp decline from the 12,000 shares traded from the previous period. However, DCB counter is still popular to local investors and could be a potential buy for foreign traders. Listed manufacturing firms dipped by 3.59 per cent, losing 53 points to end the week at 1,426.20 points.

Twiga and Simba were the most active counters among the industrial and allied sector indices. The two counters continue to enjoy local and foreign support due to their recent financial results, dividend policies, and the country's booming construction industry.

A total of 17,442 shares of Twiga were traded at 2,400/- per share, while 12,633 shares of Simba exchanged hands at a price of 2,380/- per share during the week. TBL also lost 8 per cent of its share price this week to end at 2,300/- per share. The TBL counter was almost inactive again during the period under review as it traded on 4,771 shares - mostly a corrective reaction of the market to bullish runs it experienced a few weeks ago.

The Swissport had 8,330 shares sold as it held the gains it made to end the week at 1,040/- per share. The TOL was again active by trading 1,263 shares at 220/- per share. Precision Airline (PAL) was inactive for the second week in row, a growing indication that investors are still sitting out studying the counter.

Source : allafrica.com