Profit-Taking drags stock market performance… ASI down 0.1%

At the close of trade, the equities market posted a negative performance as profit-taking in DANGCEM (-0.6%), ACCESS (-2.3%) and ZENITH (-0.6%) pulled the benchmark index down 10bps to settle at 25,304.25 points. As a result, investors lost ₦13.5bn as market capitalisation declined to ₦13.2tn while YTD loss worsened to -5.7%. Activity level improved as volume and value traded rose 39.0% and 16.5% to 251.3m units and ₦1.8bn respectively. The top traded stocks by volume were UACN (111.9m units), UBA (25.0m units) and FBNH (20.9m units) while UACN (₦643.2m), UBA (₦159.5m) and ZENITH (₦125.7m) led by value.

Performance across sectors was mixed as 2 indices under our coverage lost, 2 gained while 2 closed flat. The Industrial Goods and Banking indices closed negative, down 37bps and 33bps respectively due to profit-taking in DANGCEM (-0.6%), WAPCO (-1.3%), ACCESS (-2.3%) and ZENITH (-0.6%). On the flip side, the Insurance and Consumer Goods indices rose 64bps and 52bps respectively following price upticks in MANSARD (+6.4%), NIGERIAN BREWERIES (+2.8%) and GUINNESS (+0.7%). Lastly, the Oil & Gas and AFR-ICT indices closed flat.

Investor sentiment as measured by market breadth (advance/decline ratio) fell to 0.6x from the 3.0x recorded previously as 11 stocks gained against the 19 that declined. The top gainers were MAYBAKER (+9.9%), UPL (+9.4%) and MANSARD (+6.4%) while CHIPLC (-8.1%), FIDSON (-7.2%) and LASACO (-6.1%) lost the most. We expect the equities market to close the week on a bullish note.

Market Statistics for Thursday, 27th August 2020

Source: Afrinvest