LUSAKA, Monday — Zambia’s equities market recorded a mixed performance today, with several heavily traded counters posting losses while overall turnover rose on increased investor participation across industrial, telecom, and financial stocks.
Zambian Breweries–linked counters and energy-linked stocks showed resilience, while notable declines in CEC Africa (CECZ) and British American Tobacco Zambia (BATZ) weighed on the broader market sentiment.
Major Movers
CEC Africa (CECZ) was the day’s biggest decliner, falling K2.30 to close at K20.13, despite recording 92 trades and over 10,000 shares exchanged. Investor sentiment was dampened by thin buy-side interest, with the best bid absent and the best ask at K20.94.
BATZ shed K0.67, closing at K13.33, with 32 trades executed. The counter saw an unusually wide spread, with bids as low as K11.50 and offers at K13.00, signaling uncertainty among both buyers and sellers.
ZFCO, a smaller but active industrial counter, rose K0.10 to K3.55, supported by decent bid strength of 712 shares.
High-Turnover Counters
Airtel Zambia (ATEL) dominated liquidity with ZMW 1.48 million worth of shares traded across 21 transactions, closing unchanged at K137.69. Strong bid interest at K136.00 helped maintain price stability.
AECI saw significant activity, recording 14 trades worth K15,840, closing flat at K120.00.
Chilanga Cement (CHIL) dipped marginally by K0.03 to K60.03, with moderate turnover of ZMW 116,546.
Financial Sector & Property Stocks
ZMBF, the most heavily traded financial counter by volume, recorded 25,160 shares worth ZMW 55,860, closing unchanged at K2.22. Strong ask-side supply (224,935 shares) suggests potential downward pressure ahead.
SCBL edged up K0.01 to K2.58, supported by steady two-way demand.
Real estate-linked REIZUSD saw 2,506 shares traded, maintaining its price at $0.09, with very strong demand reflected in an ask quantity of over 25 million shares, indicating deep liquidity.
Blue-Chip Stability
Cement, agriculture, and retail-linked counters such as ZNCO (K6.00), SHOPRITE (K350.00), ZSUG (K66.59) and FARM (K5.80) remained stable, with limited trading volume.
ZCCM-IH closed unchanged at K162.30, with only 31 shares traded a typical low-liquidity session for the strategic investment holding firm.
Market Outlook
Analysts expect continued mixed trading in the coming sessions as investors respond to corporate earnings projections and year-end portfolio adjustments. High liquidity in telecoms and manufacturing counters is expected to continue driving overall turnover, while weakness in energy and industrials could persist if buy-side volumes remain thin.
