Bargain hunting dominates the Equities Market… ASI up 0.2%

Today, the local bourse sustained gains from the previous two sessions as bargain hunting activities in ACCESS (+2.7%), DANGSUGAR (+2.0%), and WAPCO (+1.6%) drove the All-Share Index up by 22bps to 38,501.31 points. Consequently, the YTD loss improved to -4.4% while market capitalisation rose ₦43.4bn to ₦20.1tn. Trading activity improved as volume and value traded rose 2.5% and 6.0% respectively to 296.1m units and ₦2.6bn. The most traded stocks by volume were FBNH (34.8m units), ACCESS (28.7m units), and ZENITH (27.7m units) while ZENITH (₦689.2m), GTCO (₦357.1m), and ACCESS (₦271.7m) led by value.

Across sectors under our coverage, performance was bullish as 5 of 6 indices closed in the green while the AFR-ICT index closed flat. The Insurance and Banking indices led the gainers, up 0.6% and 0.5% respectively following buying interest in WAPIC (+5.4%), CUSTODIAN (+4.8%), ACCESS (+2.7%), and ZENITH (+0.8%). Furthermore, gains in OANDO (+2.6%) drove the Oil & Gas index higher, up 0.4%. Similarly, the Industrial and Consumer Goods indices rose by 0.1% apiece due to price appreciation in WAPCO (+1.6%), DANGSUGAR (+2.0%), FLOURMILL (+0.2%). 

Investors sentiment, as measured by market breadth (advance/decline ratio), weakened to 1.7x (from 2.8x) as 22 stocks gained while 13 stocks lost.  CUTIX (+10.0%), JOHNHOLT (+9.8%), and UAC-PROP (+9.7%) led gainers while BOCGAS (-9.9%), BERGER (-9.6%) and COURTVILLE (-4.5%) led decliners. In the coming trading session, we expect the positive performance to be sustained as investors take position in relatively cheap stocks ahead of the earnings season.

Market Statistics for Wednesday, 7th July 2021