For the week ended 4th April 14, the Stock Exchange of Mauritius (SEM) gained 0.45% to close at 2,101.76 points, according to data compiled by equity research firm African Markets.

The top 5 gainers on the SEM were Automatic Systems Ltd, Terra Mauricia Ltd, United Basalts Products Ltd, New Mauritius Hotels Ltd and Lux* Island Resorts Ltd.

ASL led with a gain of 5.31% at a price of MUR 119 while Lux shored up the base with a 2.43% gain at a price of MUR 40.

With as many as two leading resort chains featuring in the top 5 gainers on the SEM, it appears that the hospitality sector in Mauritius is on the rise, after a relatively weak performance in 2013 as European tourists stayed away.

Conversely, the top 5 losers on the SEM for the first week of the month were Mauritius Freeport Development Company Ltd, ENL Investment Ltd, Gamma Civic Ltd, Caudan Development Ltd and Air Mauritius Ltd.

Mauritius Freeport Development Company saw share prices fall 2.5% to hit MUR 7.8 while Air Mauritius Ltd led from the back with a share price erosion of 1.45% to reach MUR 17.

In terms of traded volumes, State Bank of Mauritius (SBM), Lux* Island Resorts Ltd, CIEL Investment Ltd and Deep River Investment Ltd were the major players.

SBM led the pack with 23.22 million shares traded, Lux* was a distant secondwith 8.08 million shares traded while both CIEL Investment Ltd and Deep River Investment Ltd saw 1.23 million shares each being traded, pursuant to their amalgamation into CIEL Limited and the listing of the holding company on the SEM.

Meanwhile, data compiled by the SEM showed that securities worth Rs 3.9 billion were traded on the official market and the Development & Enterprise Market (DEM) for the first three months of the year.

The first quarter of 2014 saw the value of transactions on the official market reach Rs 3.6 billion while on the DEM, trade amounted to Rs 262.9 million with January being the busiest month as transactions approached Rs 119.6 million.

However, the SEMDEX, the main index of the official market, lost 0.16% between the start of trade in January 2014 when it stood at 2,095.69 points, to March 28 when it closed at 2,092.40 points.

The total return index of the official market, the SEMTRI, lost 0.01% in the first quarter of 2014, down from 6,673.93 points at the start of trade in January 2014 to 6,673.07 points on March 28.

The market capitalization of the official market increased by 5.38% between January 1 (Rs 212.9 billion) and 28 March 2014 (Rs 224.4 billion). The increase is attributable to the listing of new shares of CIEL Limited on 4th February.

The classification of listed securities based on the annualized total return to 28 March 2014 show that CIM Financial Services Ltd has retained the lead with a yield of 33.24%.

Rounding up the top 10 were the Mauritius Commercial Bank with a yield of 24.05%, Vivo Energy Mauritius Ltd (21.62%), ENL Land Ltd (21.51%), Gamma Civic Ltd (21.33%), Mauritius Oil Refineries Ltd (20.38%), Mauritius Development Investment Trust Co. Ltd (20.23%), Mauritius Union Assurance Ltd (20.01%), SBM (19.60%) and Rogers & Co. Ltd (19.49%).

Image (Indian Ocean Times): The SEMDEX, the main index of the official market, lost 0.16% between the start of trade in January 2014 when it stood at 2,095.69 points, to March 28 when it closed at 2,092.40 points.

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