No one is happy about this 800% stock market rally

2023's most blistering stock rally is happening in Harare, Zimbabwe. The market here is up more than 800%.

But no one is happy. Local investors are banking on stocks in a country where the value of cash is eroding as inflation hit 176% in June.

The central bank's primary lending rate is now near 150%, the world's highest.

Stock market of Zimbabwe has total capitalization is about $1.8 bn, 55 stocks to trade, and a daily turnover of about $650,000, says Bloomberg.

Gains come at break-neck speed: 5%, 10%, even 20% in a single session.

With Zimbabwe dollar plummeting almost daily, few businesses will accept it as payment on any major purchase — property, cars, even fuel.

Zimbabwe stocks have easily out-sprinted 2023’s other big gainers. Argentina’s Merval index has merely doubled, while S&P 500 investors must be content with a 16% rally.

Given the country’s economic ills, foreigners have largely abandoned the Zimbabwe equity market and account for just 15% of trading.

Foreign investors see the gains being “driven entirely by the search for a hedge against inflation."