Bargain hunting halts Bearish momentum, investors gain N50.1bn

The local bourse recorded the first gain this week as the All-Share Index advanced 38bps to settle at 25,520.97 points owing to bargain hunting in ZENITH (+3.4%), GUARANTY (+1.9%) and MTNN (+0.4%). Consequently,  market capitalisation rose to ₦13.3tn as investors gained ₦50.1bn while YTD loss improved to -4.9%. Activity level waned as volume and value traded decreased 13.2% and 42.7% respectively to 236.4m units and ₦1.6bn. The most traded stocks by volume were ZENITH (33.2m units), FIDELITY (30.0m units) and MBENEFIT (25.0m units) while ZENITH (₦546.8m), GUARANTY (₦221.9m) and SEPLAT (₦174.3m) led by value.

Sector performance was bullish as 4 of the 6 indices that we cover gained while 2 lost. The  Insurance and  Oil & Gas indices lost 1.7% and 1.3% respectively following sell pressures in  CORNERSTONE (-7.6%), CUSTODIAN (-3.0%) and SEPLAT (-2.5%). On the other hand, the Banking and AFR-ICT indices were the best performing indicators, gaining 2.3% and 0.2% respectively, buoyed by price appreciation in  ZENITH (+3.4%), GUARANTY (+1.9%) and MTNN (+0.4%). Similarly, the Consumer and Industrial Goods indices posted respective gains of  0.1% and 2bps, on the back of buying interest in NIGERIAN BREWERIES (+0.1%), HONYFLOUR (+4.4%) and WAPCO (+0.4%). 

Investor sentiment as measured by market breadth (advance/decline ratio) rose to 1.8x from the 0.3x recorded previously as 22 stocks gained against the 12 that lost. The top gainers were ETERNA (+9.7%), CILEASING (+8.5%) and WEMABANK (+7.8%) while ABCTRANS (-7.7%), CORNERSTONE (-7.6%) and CHIPLC (-5.9%) lost the most. We expect the equities market to close the week on a bearish note. However, there are opportunities for bargain hunting,

Market Statistics for Thursday, 10th September 2020 

Source: Afrinvest