Nigerian Equities Market Posts Gain for the First Time in Days

Bargaining hunt in large-cap stocks bolstered the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) to close in the green for the first time in days as 18 stocks gained.

Activity level rose on demand for bank stocks, Seplat, etc. During the trading hours of Tuesday, investors transacted 257,413,873 shares worth N2.343 billion in 4,410 deals compared to the 219,495,846 shares valued at N1.930 billion that were traded in 5,168 transactions on Monday.

Breaking down sectorial activity, the banking index appreciated by 173 basis points on renewed bargaining hunt for Zenith Bank, Jaiz Bank, UBA and Sterling Bank.

The oil and gas index also jumped 142 basis points on a 2.15% gain in Seplat and 1.25% gain in OANDO. The consumer goods index, however, shed 34 basis points on a 5.43%, 4.79%, 1.61% and 1.51% decline in NASCON, Honey Flour, Flour Mill and Guinness.

The industrial index lost 5bps on a 0.91% decline in WAPCO even with 8.86% and 5.85% gain in Meyer and Cutix.

Market value of listed equities appreciated by N49 billion from N25.169 trillion on Monday to N25.218 trillion on Tuesday. The NGX All-Share Index gained 89.52 index points to 46,777.37 index points.

The Exchange year-to-date return inched slightly higher to 9.51%. Despite the gain in NGX, 20 stocks closed in the red compared to 18 stocks that closed in the green. Suggesting that sentiment remained weak but investors are expected to start acquiring stocks weighed upon by the rout.

According to Vetiva Dealing and Brokerage, “Just as expected, we saw investors take advantage of the beaten-down prices especially in banking names like Zenith Bank and GTCO, as both stocks closed in the green today. We expect further cherry-picking of attractive counters across the board amid mixed market sentiments.”

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