Bears remain resolute… ASI down 51bps

Today, the local bourse extended its bearish performance on the back of sell pressure on MTNN (-1.1%), SEPLAT (-6.5%), and ZENITH (-1.9%), as the benchmark index fell 51bps to close at 42,247.98 points. YTD return moderated to 4.9% while market capitalisation shed ₦112.3bn to ₦22.0tn. Trading activity was mixed as volume traded fell 3.4% to 324.0m units while value traded rose 49.0% to ₦5.3bn. FBNH (113.4m units), GTCO (33.5m units), and ACCESS (19.0m units) led activity by volume while FBNH (₦1.3bn), SEPLAT (₦1.0bn), and GTCO (₦821.1m) led by value.

Across our sector coverage, performance was bearish as 5 indices lost while 1 index gained. The Consumer Goods index was the only gainer, up 8ps on account of bargain hunting in INTBREW (+2.1%) and NIGERIAN BREWERIES (+0.3%). Conversely, the Oil & Gas index lost the most, down 3.5% due to sell-offs in SEPLAT (-6.5%) and OANDO (-3.6%). Trailing, the Insurance and Banking indices fell 2.2% and 1.3% respectively on account of profit-taking in AIICO (-7.3%), MANSARD (-7.9%), ZENITH (-1.9%), and STANBIC (-2.6%). Similarly,  the AFR-ICT and Industrial Goods indices shed 0.5% and 0.1% respectively, driven by price depreciation in MTNN (-1.1%) and WAPCO (-1.8%). 

Investor sentiment, as measured by market breadth (advance/decline ratio), weakened to 0.5x from 0.7x as 17 stocks advanced while 33 stocks declined. MEYER (+10.0%), NEM (+7.3%), and ROYALEX (+5.9%) led gainers while BOCGAS (-10.0%), UPDC (-9.1%), and TRANSEXPR (-9.0%) led decliners. In the final trading session, we maintain our expectation of modest recovery as investors take advantage of bargain opportunities in the market.

Market Statistics for Thursday, 2nd December 2021