Losses extend to the fifth consecutive session… ASI down 48bps

Today, sell-offs in GUARANTY (-5.7%), NIGERIAN BREWERIES (-4.9%) and DANGSUGAR (-10.0%) neutralised late bargain hunting in NESTLE (+10.0%) to drag the benchmark index 0.5% lower for the fifth consecutive trading session. The All Share Index (ASI) settled at 33,449.17 points, YTD loss increased to -12.5% while N59.3bn was wiped off market capitalisation which fell to N12.2tn. Activity level however strengthened as volume and value traded advanced 9.5% and 17.7% to 150.7m units and N1.6bn respectively. The top traded by volume were GUARANTY (17.5m units), UBA (15.6m units) and DIAMOND (13.8m units) while top traded by value were GUARANTY (N562.8m), NESTLE (N250.7m) and ZENITH (N236.0m).

Performance across sectors under our coverage was largely bearish as 4 of 5 closed southwards. The Banking index declined the most as continuous selloffs in GUARANTY (-5.8%), ZENITH (-2.9%) and UBA (-4.5%) dragged the index by 3.0%. Similarly, the Insurance and Oil & Gas indices lost 0.9% and 0.8% respectively on the back of losses in CONTINSURE (-4.7%), CORNERSTONE (-7.4%), FORTE (-5.0%) and ETERNA (-3.2%) while sustained profit taking in CUTIX dragged the Industrial Goods index marginally by 1bp. On the flip side, the Consumer Goods Index rallied by 1.6% following buy interest on NESTLE (+10.0%) and DANGFLOUR (+7.7%) which offset price depreciations in NIGERIAN BREWERIES (-4.9%) and DANGSUGAR (-10.0%).

Investor sentiment as measured by market breadth (advance/decline ratio) weakened to 0.5x from 0.6x recorded yesterday as 14 stocks advanced against 29 stocks that declined. The best performing stocks were LAWUNION (+10.0%), NESTLE (+9.6%) and REGALINS (+9.5%) while DANGSUGAR (-10.0%), NAHCO (-10.0%) and UNIVINSURE (-9.1%) were the worst performers. Today’s session saw higher sell pressures on major bellwethers although investors bidded to buy the dip towards the close of market today. Nonetheless, bearish sentiments remain. Against this backdrop, we maintain a  near-term negative outlook for the market

Market Statistics Tuesday, 11th September 2018

Market Cap (N’bn)                          12,211.5

Market Cap (US$’bn)                            39.9

NSE All-Share Index                     33,449.17

Daily Performance %                            (0.5)

Week Performance %                           (4.2)

YTD Performance %                           (12.5)

Daily Volume (Million)                         150.7

Daily Value (N’bn)                                   1.6

Daily Value (US$’m)                               5.2