By Business Insider Reporter
The Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) remained above the TSh 40 trillion mark at the end of the week despite a broad retreat in share prices, with banking stocks among the major counters weighing on the market.
Total market capitalisation fell from about TSh 40.88 trillion on Monday to TSh 40.12 trillion on Friday, a decline of roughly TSh 765 billion or 1.9 percent.
The DSE All Share Index (DSEI) followed a similar path, slipping from 4,689.98 points on Monday to 4,602.26 points on Friday, also down about 1.9 percent.
Put simply, the stock market had a weaker week. Shares generally lost some of their value, with the market’s overall measure (DSEI) falling by about 1.9 percent. However, this does not mean everyone who owns shares lost 1.9 percent, because individual share prices moved differently.
The week initially looked stronger. The index rose to 4,696.11 points on Tuesday, while total market capitalisation reached about TSh 40.94 trillion, before the market began losing ground over the following three sessions.
The DSE’s daily reports show the reversal gathering pace from Wednesday, when the index fell to 4,663.24 points, followed by further declines to 4,632.03 on Thursday and 4,602.26 on Friday.
The decline came despite relatively active trading during parts of the week. Equity turnover reached TSh 16.86 billion on Tuesday, TSh 10.18 billion on Wednesday and TSh 15.39 billion on Thursday.
Thursday was particularly notable, with 5.45 million NMB shares changing hands in a block trade, contributing to the day’s trading activity.
NMB and CRDB, two of the market’s major banking counters, nevertheless recorded significant price declines during the week. NMB closed Friday at TSh 2,070, down from TSh 2,180 at the beginning of the week, while CRDB fell from TSh 2,980 to TSh 2,810.
The decline in banking counters was reflected in the DSE’s Banks, Finance & Investment Index, which fell from 24,152.29 points on Monday to 22,924.73 points on Friday.
However, the week’s performance was not uniformly negative. AFRIPRISE emerged as one of the strongest gainers, with its share price rising from TSh 605 on Monday to TSh 740 on Friday, a gain of more than 22 percent.
The week’s trading also highlighted the growing importance of the fixed-income market. Government bond transactions totalled about TSh 104.2 billion, compared with around TSh 53.1 billion in equity turnover.
Thursday recorded the highest bond activity, with transactions worth about TSh 41.51 billion.
Friday’s session was quieter, with equity turnover of about TSh4.3 billion. The day’s report also showed a notable difference between foreign purchases and sales: foreign investors accounted for just 0.10 percent of equity purchases but 51.16 percent of equity sales.
DSE Per4formance: The week in numbers
| Indicator | Monday, Sept 14 | Friday, Sept 18 | Weekly change |
| Total market cap | TSh40.884trn | TSh40.119trn | -1.9% |
| Domestic market cap | TSh28.402trn | TSh27.640trn | -2.7% |
| DSEI | 4,689.98 | 4,602.26 | -1.9% |
| Equity turnover | TSh6.33bn | TSh4.30bn | — |
| Government bond turnover | TSh17.47bn | TSh0.74bn | — |
The figures, however, represent a single trading session and should not by themselves be interpreted as evidence of a sustained foreign-investor exit.
Despite the week’s correction, the DSE ended Friday with total market capitalisation above the TSh 40 trillion threshold, highlighting the substantial expansion of Tanzania’s equity market in 2026. Capital market analysts said the week’s performance presented a mixed picture: the market remained at historically high levels, but the retreat in major banking counters and the decline in the DSEI show that the rapid gains recorded earlier are being accompanied by periods of price adjustment and more selective trading.
