How equities market performed

The Uganda Securities Exchange (USE) said that the top gainer in the equity market was dfcu counter, which registered a gain in price of 3.4 percent with its price ranging from Shs230 to Shs238 per share.

 While there were activities in five counters in the week of March 10 to 14 2025, USE said the notable movement was observed in Quality Chemical Industry Limited (QCIL) registering a price gain of 1.79 percent translating into Shs84 to Shs85.5 per share. 

The weekly trading statistics which was provided by USE and the end of the week revealed that the top loser during the week was Centum (CENT) with a decline of 11.05 percent as the company’s share prices fluctuated in the range of Shs444.77 to Shs395.62 per share.

 The USE said the equity market top mover during the week was MTN Uganda with its counter selling 1,949,614 shares at Shs269 per share.

 Overall, the USE said the volume of shares traded during the week was 12,010,126 shares which generated Shs1.038 billion down from Shs129 billion in the previous year. 

 In the domestic foreign exchange market, the Uganda shilling slightly gained against the greenback in the last week from March 10 to 14 supported by stable portfolio flows of US dollars from commodities, and remittances, which outweighed the existing demand from corporate entities.

The increased inflows of US dollars into the domestic market help the local unit to appreciate against the greenback.
 The foreign exchange market from Absa Bank Uganda indicates that the local unit traded at 3,660 / 3,670 levels per dollar against the week’s opening of 3,665 / 3,675.

 Absa Bank trader corporate and investment banking Richard Nsubuga said in their analysis that the Ugandan shilling is expected to continue its upward trend, with predictions that it will trade between 3,650 and 3,700 soon.

 “It was a liquid money market during the week, having seen interbank players exchange overnight and one-week funds at an average rate of 9.80 percent and 10.88 percent, respectively,” he said. 

 Mr Nsubuga said this prompted the Central Bank to conduct an open market operation on Thursday, where a total of Shs430 billion was mopped out via a 7-day repo. An open market operation is a tool used by the Central Bank to regulate the money supply and influence short-term interest rates in the economy. It involves the buying and selling of government securities (such as bonds) in the open market. 

Mr Nsubuga said the Treasury bill auction held generated interest among investors, as indicated by the bids submitted to the Central Bank. 

 “The accepted face value amounted to Shs396.61 billion, surpassing the offered size of Shs355 billion. We saw an upward shift in the 91-day maturity by 100 basis points and a downward shift in both the 182-day and 364-day maturities. The 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day maturities cleared at 12 percent, 13.5 percent and 14.752 percent respectively,” he explained.

 The dollar index remained stable around 104 on Friday after a declining week, as escalating trade tensions raised concerns about their potential negative impact on the US economy, particularly considering many US firms' dependence on free trade. The dollar index recovered from losses registered earlier in the week after analysts projected a US recession as a result of trade war spillovers. The index traded at 103.984. 

 The US President Donald Trump threatened to impose 200 percent tariffs on all alcoholic products from the European Union, retaliating against the bloc’s 50 percent tariff on American whiskey and other US goods.

During the week, gold traded higher, taking advantage of the turbulent trade war times. Additionally, the safe haven commodity also got further support from the Fed’s easing path and growing demand. The asset climbed to around $2,990 per ounce.