Last week, the Nigerian equities market closed in the green territory despite the bouts of profit-taking by investors on the bourse.
The All-Share Index and market capitalization at the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) appreciated by 0.36 per cent to close the week at 47,437.48 basis points and N25.566 trillion respectively.
Specifically, gains in Presco, Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), International Breweries and Okomu Oil stocks pushed the benchmark higher as their prices appreciated by 19.6 per cent, 3.9 per cent, 4.0 per cent and 3.7 per cent, respectively.
Based on the preceding, the Month-to-Date (MTD) return turned positive +0.1 per cent, while the Year-to-Date (YTD) return increased to +11.1 per cent.
Similarly, all other indices finished higher with the exception of NGX Consumer goods, NGX Oil/Gas and NGX Industrial Goods, which depreciated by 0.52 per cent, 2.22 per cent and 0.13 per cent respectively, while NGX AseM, NGX Growth and NGX Sovereign bond indices closed flat.
Activity levels mirrored the overall market’s board gauge as the week’s traded volumes surged by 103.7 per cent while trading value edged up by 0.3 per cent.
Specifically, a total turnover of 2.798 billion shares worth N23.859 billion in 22,970 deals was traded last week by investors on the floor of the Exchange, in contrast to a total of 1.374 billion shares valued at N23.786 billion that exchanged hands in 28,809 deals.
Data from the local bourse indicated that the Financial Services Industry, measured by volume, led the activity chart with 2.398 billion shares valued at N14.030 billion traded in 11,900 deals; thus contributing 85.69 per cent and 58.80 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively. The Conglomerates Industry followed with 73.381 million shares worth N305.944 million in 996 deals. The third place was The Consumer Goods Industry, with a turnover of 60.832 million shares worth N3.087 billion in 2,707 deals.
Last week, FCMB Group Plc, Unity Bank Plc, and FBN Holdings Plc made the top three equities traded on the floor of the Exchange. They accounted for 1.633 billion shares worth N5.486 billion in 1,395 deals, contributing 58.36 per cent and 22.99 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
This week, analysts expect market performance to be dominated by the bulls, as yield-seeking investors take positions in stocks with attractive dividend yields amid the negative real returns in the fixed income market.
“However, we do not rule out intermittent profit-taking activities. Overall, we advise investors to seek trading opportunities in only fundamentally justified stocks as the weak macro story remains a significant headwind for corporate earnings,” Cordros said in its report.
