Investors at the Nigerian Stock Exchange gained N150.7 billion as the All Share Index rose by 1.1 per cent. This halted the bearish sentiment in the Nigerian equities market as the benchmark index trended northwards on two out of the five trading sessions. Hence, the All Share Index (ASI) rose 1.1 per cent week on week to settle at 38,278.55 points while year to date return improved to 0.1 per cent. As a result, investors gained N150.7 billion as market capitalisation climbed higher to N13.9 trillion.
DANGCEM (+1.8%), NESTLE (+5.4%), NIGERIAN BREWERIES (+3.3%) and STANBIC (+6.7%) were the major drivers of the bullish performance of the market this week as investors sought for bargain hunting opportunities. Activity level was strengthened as volume and value of stocks traded advanced 25.6 per cent and 3.6 per cent to 344.5 million units and N4.0 billion respectively. STERLING (236.6m), CHAMPION (150.6m) and FIDELITY (98.9m) were the top traded stocks by volume while ZENITH (N2.4bn), DANGCEM (N2.0bn) and GUARANTY (N1.8bn) were the top traded by value.
At the start of the week, bargain hunting in DANGCEM buoyed the benchmark index, up 0.3%. However, selloffs in market bellwethers and banking stocks – INTBREW, ZENITH and GUARANTY – on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, led to a cumulative loss of 71bps while the All Share Index settled at 37,733.44 points. By Friday however, bargain hunting in market bellwethers overturned losses to close 1.4 per cent higher.
Performance across sectors was mixed as 3 of 5 indices advanced W-o-W. The Industrial and Consumer Goods indices were the best performing, trending 2.7% higher W-o-W apiece as gains in DANGCEM (+1.8%), NESTLE (+5.4%), NIGERIAN BREWERIES (+3.3%) and PZ (+3.8%) bolstered the index. The Insurance index followed closely, appreciating 0.7% W-o-W, driven by renewed investor interest in MANSARD (+0.7%), LASACO (+5.9%), and NEM (+5.3%). On the flipside, the Banking and Oil & Gas indices closed 2.4% and 1.2% lower respectively W-o-W, pulled by losses in GUARANTY (-0.5%), ZENITH (-3.5%) and SEPLAT (-5.1%).
Investor sentiment as measured by market breadth strengthened to 0.8x from 0.6x recorded last week as 31 stocks advanced against 38 decliners. The top performing stocks for the week were HONYFLOUR (+9.6%), LAWUNION (+9.3%) and NEM (+5.3%) while JAPAULOIL (-23.4%), PRESTIGE (-16.7%) and EQUITYASSURE (-8.7%) were the worst performers. The reversal in the performance in the equities market this week is largely in line with our expectation of a rebound on the back of gains in bellwethers. In the coming week, we expect a further rally by investors seeking to take positions in stocks trading at attractive prices.
Market Statistics, Week ended Friday, 29th June 2018
Market Cap (N’bn) 13,866.4
Market Cap (US$’bn) 45.3
NSE All-Share Index 38,278.55
Daily Performance % 1.4
Week Performance % 1.1
YTD Performance % 0.1
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