Buying interest in indutrial goods drives mild gains

Today, gains in DANGCEM (+0.7%), HONYFLOUR (+10.0%), and UNILEVER (+0.7%) buoyed positive performance on the local bourse as the All-Share index rose by 11bps to 39,490.06 points, Consequently, YTD loss improved to -1.9% while market capitalisation increased by ₦21.7bn to ₦20.6tn. Trading activity strengthened as volume and value traded rose  214.3% and 9.2% respectively to 570.2m units and ₦2.3bn. The most traded stocks by volume were HONYFLOUR (384.1m units), VITAFOAM (21.4m units), and FCMB (13.6m units) while HONYFLOUR (₦654.2m), VITAFOAM (₦331.2m), and ZENITH (₦269.8m) led by value.

Across sectors under our coverage, performance was negative as 4 indices declined, 1 index gained while the AFR-ICT index closed flat. The Industrial goods index was the lone gainer, up 0.4%, as a result of buying interest in DANGCEM (+0.7%). Conversely, the Insurance and Banking indices led the losers, down 1.8% and 0.2% respectively, due to sell pressure on NEM (-6.3%), REGALINS (-8.5%), ETI (-1.7%) and FCMB (-1.3%). In the same vein, the Oil & Gas and Consumer Goods indices fell by 23bps and 2bps respectively, driven by price depreciation in OANDO (-1.2%) and DANGSUGAR (-2.8%).

Investors sentiment as measured by market breadth (advance/decline ratio) waned, settling at 0.4x from 1.4x recorded in the last trading session as 8 stocks advanced while 22 stocks declined. HONYFLOUR (+10.0%), WEMABANK (+3.9%), and FLOURMILL (+3.1%) led gainers while TRIPPLEG (-9.3%), REGALINS (-8.5%), and PRESTIGE (-8.3%) led losers. In the last trading session of the week, we expect the market performance to be bearish, driven by weakened investors’ sentiment and profit-taking.

Market Statistics for Thursday, 12th August 2021 

Source: Afrinvest