NSE: Bearish performance resumes… ASI down 5bps

The domestic equities market closed in the red as the All-Share Index (ASI) declined marginally by 5bps to 21,729.48 points following losses in MTNN (-2.9%), TOTAL (-10.0%) and FCMB (-3.9%). Consequently, YTD return worsened to -19.0% while market capitalisation declined ₦6.1bn to ₦11.3tn. Activity level waned as volume and value traded fell 29.4% and 37.3% to 233.1m units and ₦2.2bn respectively. The most active stocks by volume were GUARANTY (49.7m units), ZENITH (44.7m units) and ACCESS (44.2m units) while GUARANTY (₦847.8m), ZENITH (₦522.2m) and ACCESS (₦250.3m) led by value.  

Sector performance was bullish as 4 of 6 indices under our coverage trended northward. The Banking index led the gainers, up 2.9% due to buying interest in ZENITH (+7.3%), UBA (+9.1%) and  GUARANTY (+1.2%). Similarly, the  Insurance and Industrial Goods indices inched higher by 1.4%  and 0.4% respectively following gains in AIICO (+5.6%), PRESTIGE (+9.1%), WAPCO (+4.4%) and CUTIX (+10.0%). Price appreciation in PZ (+8.6%) and CADBURY (+9.7%) drove the Consumer Goods index 0.2% higher. On the flip side, the AFR-ICT and Oil & Gas indices declined 1.6% and 1.0% respectively due to sell-offs in MTNN (-3.0%) and  TOTAL (-10.0%)

Investor sentiment as measured by market breadth (advance/decline ratio) improved to 2.7x from the 1.8x recorded in the previous trading session as 19 stocks advanced relative to 7 decliners. The best performers were CUTIX (+10.0%), CADBURY (+9.7%) and PRESTIGE (+9.1%) while TOTAL (-10.0%), AFRIPRUD (-9.9%) and JAIZBANK (-8.2%) led the laggards. We expect the bearish performance to be sustained as the COVID-19 spread continues to dampen investor sentiment.

Market Statistics for Wednesday, 25th March 2020