The Nigerian equities market performance was bullish, recouping some of the losses from the previous trading session due to modest gains in MTNN (+1.7%), UBA (+3.8%) and ACCESS (+1.1%). As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) rose 19bps to settle at 26,434.00 points as market capitalisation grew by N24.0 billion to N12.8 trillion while YTD loss moderated to -15.9%. Activity level waned as volume and value traded declined by 8.3 per cent and 14.8 per cent to 180.1 million units and N3.0 billion respectively. In terms of volume, the most active stocks were UBA (29.3m units), ZENITH (19.9m units) and GUINNESS (15.6m units) while DANGCEM (N698.0m), GUINNESS (N460.6m) and NESTLE (N385.5m) were the top traded stocks by value. The market recorded the first gain in December with the crucial market indices appreciating by 0.19 per cent. Specifically, the All-Share Index increased by 49.79 points or 0.19 per cent to close at 26,434.00 compared with 26,384.21posted on Tuesday.
The upturn was impacted by gains recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are; MTN Nigeria, CI Leasing, Flour Mills of Nigeria, United Bank for Africa and UACN. Market breadth closed negative with 12 gainers and 14 decliners. C & Leasing led the gainers’ chart in percentage terms, with a gain of 9.26 per cent to close at N5.90 per share. Courteville followed with a gain 8.70 per cent to close at 25k, while Oando grew by 4.17 per cent to close at N3.75 per share.
UBA went up by 3.85 per cent to close at N6.75, while UACN appreciated by 3.11 per cent to close at N8.30 per share. Conversely, Chellarams led the losers’ chart by 9.74 per cent to close at N2.78 per share. Union Diagnostic & Clinical Services followed with a decline of 8.33 per cent to close at 22k, while Chams went down by 8.11 per cent to close at 34k per share.
Linkage Assurance dipped 5.88 per cent to close at 48k, while Lasaco Assurance shed 3.85 per cent to close at 25k per share. However, the total volume of shares traded closed lower as investors bought and sold 180.228 million shares worth N3.03 billion transacted in 2,951 deals.
This was in contrast with a turnover of 196.29 million shares valued at N3.55 billion achieved in 3,154 deals on Tuesday. Transactions in the shares of UBA topped the activity chart with 29.33 million shares valued at N192.72 million. Zenith Bank came second with 19.85 million shares worth N366.31 million, while Guinness Nigeria traded 15.64 million shares valued at N460.63 million. Guaranty Trust Bank accounted for 13.32 million shares worth N373.01 million, while Access Bank transacted 12.98 million shares valued at N119.44 million.
Performance across sectors was mixed as 3 of 6 indices under our coverage closed in the green while the Industrial Goods index closed flat. The AFR-ICT index advanced the most, up 1.0%, strengthened by price appreciation in MTNN (+1.7%) while the Oil & Gas index trailed, rising 0.5% due to price appreciation in OANDO (+4.2%). Similarly, buying interest in FLOURMILL (+1.6%) and DANGSUGAR (+0.7%) buoyed the Consumer Goods index higher by 0.1%. Conversely, the Insurance and Banking indices extended their losing streak by 0.7% and 0.4% respectively as sell-offs in NEM (-2.5%), LINKASSURE (-5.9%), GUARANTY (-2.3%) and STANBIC (-1.9%) weighed on the indices.
Investor sentiment moved in tandem with market performance as market breadth (advance/decline ratio) strengthened to 0.9x from the 0.3x recorded yesterday with 12 stocks advancing against 14 that declined. CILEASING (+9.3%), COURTVILLE (+8.7%) and OANDO (+4.2%) were the best performing stocks while CHELLARAM (-9.7%), UNIONDAC (-8.3%) and CHAMS (-8.1%) led the laggards. In subsequent trading sessions, we maintain our bearish outlook on the market. However, we do not rule out the possibility for bargain hunting.
Market Statistics for Wednesday, 11th December, 2019
| Market Cap (N’bn) | 12,758.4 |
| Market Cap (US$’bn) | 35.4 |
| NSE All-Share Index | 26,434.00 |
| Daily Performance % | 0.2 |
| 1 Week Performance % | (1.9) |
| MTD Performance % | (2.1) |
| QTD Performance % | (4.3) |
| YTD Performance % | (15.9) |
| Daily Volume (Million) | 180.1 |
| Daily Value (N’bn) | 3.0 |
| Daily Value (US$’m) | 8.4 |
Source: Afrinvest
