Nigerian Stock Market extends loss, ASI down 92bps

The local bourse today extends the previous session’s negative sentiment as the benchmark index fell 92bps to close at 39,433.81 points following sell-offs in STANBIC (-10.0%), GUARANTY (-3.7%), and ZENITH (-3.2%). Consequently, YTD loss worsened to -2.1% while market capitalisation fell ₦192.7bn to ₦20.6tn. Trading activity declined as volume and value traded fell 18.0% and 24.8% to 349.6m units and ₦3.5bn respectively. The most traded stocks by volume were FBNH (71.3m units), ACCESS (40.9m units) and EKOCORP (40.0m units) while ZENITH (₦544.4m), FBNH (₦523.8m), and GUARANTY (₦464.7m) led by value.

Across sectors under our coverage, performance was poor as 5 out 6 sector indices closed red. The Industrial Goods index was the lone gainer, appreciating by 29bps on the back of a 5.2% gain in WAPCO. On the other hand, the Banking, AFR-ICT, and Consumer Goods indices declined 1.7%, 1.2%, and 0.5% respectively due to sell-offs in GUARANTY (-3.7%), CWG (-9.6%) and UNILEVER (-8.2%). Also, the Oil & Gas and Insurance indices lost 15bps and 5bps respectively on the back of price declines in OANDO (-2.0%) and AIICO (-3.9%).

Investor sentiment as measured by market breadth (advance/decline ratio), weakened to 0.7x from the 1.4x recorded in the previous session as 16 stocks advanced while 22 declined. LASACO (+9.6%), LINKASSURE (+9.4%) and CAVERTON (+9.1%) were the top gainers, while STANBIC (-10.0%), CWG (-9.6%) and UNILEVER (-8.2%) top the decliners table. We expect the market performance to remain bearish in the next trading session, as investors continue to take position in the fixed income space due to rising yields.

Market Statistics for Wednesday, 5th May 2021