Sell pressures persist as domestic Equities market extend losses…ASI down 1.4% 

Sell pressures persisted in the local bourse as losses extended into the third consecutive session. Losses in DANGCEM (-2.9%), NESTLE (-1.5%) and DANGSUGAR (-8.0%) pulled the All Share Index (ASI) southwards, shedding 1.4%to settle at 32,006.65 points while YTD loss moderated to -16.3%. Market Capitalisation also declined by N167.8bn to close at N11.7tn. Activity level however strengthened as volume and value traded moved higher by 67.4% and 29.0% to 355.7m units and N4.9bn respectively. The top traded stocks by volume were FCMB (168.7m), GUARANTY (85.8m), and ZENITH (24.4m) while the top traded stocks by value were GUARANTY (N3.2bn), ZENITH (N562.9m) and FCMB (N261.2m).

Across sectors, performance was bearish as all indices under our coverage closed in the red. The Industrial index shed the most in today’s session as losses in DANGCEM (-2.9%) erased gains on WAPCO (+2.0%) to close the index lower by 2.1%. The Consumer Goods index and Oil & Gas index trailed as losses in NESTLE (-1.5%) and DANGSUGAR (-8.0%), OANDO (-4.7%) and ETERNA (-9.9%) pushed the indices lower by 1.1% and 0.8% respectively. The Banking index and Insurance index completed the laggards as losses in ZENITH (-1.3%), and FBNH (-3.8%), LASACO (-6.7%) and LINKASSURE (-5.8%) dragged the indices lower by 0.6% and 0.1% respectively.

Investor sentiment as measured by market breadth (advance/decline ratio) remained unchanged at 0.5x as 11 stocks advanced against 23 stocks that declined. The best performing stocks for today were JAPAUL (+10.0%), NEIMETH (+9.1%) and WAPIC (+7.5%) while CADBURY (-10.0%), CAP (-10.0%) and ETERNA (-9.9%) led the laggards in today’s session. Following 3 consecutive days of profit taking, we anticipate a mild upturn in prices of bellwethers that have declined, thus driving a positive performance in tomorrow’s session.

Market Statistics Thursday, 1st November 2018

Market Cap (N’bn)                                     11,684.9

Market Cap (US$’bn)                                       38.2

NSE All-Share Index                                32,006.65

Daily Performance %                                       (1.4)

Week Performance %                                      (1.7)

YTD Performance %                                      (16.3)

Daily Volume (Million)                                    355.7

Daily Value (N’bn)                                              4.9

Daily Value (US$’m)                                         15.9