The equities market ended in the negative territory following sell-offs in NIGERIAN BREWERIES (-3.7%), ACCESS (-4.7%) and ZENITH (-1.7%). As a result, the benchmark index lost 31bps to 40,095.49 points, YTD return worsened to -0.4% and market capitalisation fell ₦65.8bn to ₦21.0tn. Trading activity declined as volume and value dipped 30.6% and 47.6% to 326.0m units and ₦3.7bn respectively. The most traded stocks by volume were TRANSCORP (48.4m units), DANGSUGAR (33.9m units) and UBA (27.5m units) while ZENITH (₦637.6m), DANGSUGAR (₦611.8m) and GUARANTY (₦478.8m) led by value.
Performance across sectors was mixed as 3 of the 6 indices under our coverage closed southward. The Banking index led laggards, down 1.4% due to price decline in ACCESS (-4.7%) and ZENITH (-1.7%). Also, the Consumer Goods and Oil & Gas indices closed lower at 0.8% and 0.2% respectively following sell pressures in NIGERIAN BREWERIES (-3.7%), DANGSUGAR (-0.6%) and OANDO (-1.8%). Conversely, the Insurance index rose 0.2% following buying interest in WAPIC (+3.7%) and MANSARD (+0.9%). Lastly, the Industrial Goods and AFR-ICT indices closed flat.
Investor sentiment as measured by market breadth (advance/decline ratio) weakened to 0.6x from the 1.0x recorded previously as 14 stocks advanced against 23 decliners. CHAMS (+9.1%), ROYALEX (+8.0%) and WEMABANK (+7.7%) were the top gainers while LASACO (-9.7%), FIDSON (-8.4%) and ETI (-6.3%) were the top losers. We expect the market to close in the red for the week.
Market Statistics for Thursday, 25th February 2021
| Market Cap (N’bn) | 20,978.2 |
| Market Cap (US$’bn) | 54.3 |
| NSE All-Share Index | 40,095.49 |
| Daily Performance % | (0.3) |
| WTD Performance % | (0.2) |
| MTD Performance % | (5.5) |
| QTD Performance % | (0.4) |
| YTD Performance % | (0.4) |
| Daily Volume (Million) | 326.0 |
| Daily Value (N’bn) | 3.7 |
| Daily Value (US$’m) | 9.6 |
