Buying interest resurfaces, boost domestic Bourse performance… ASI Up 34bps 

The equities market performance was slightly positive, recouping some of the losses from the previous trading session due to modest gains in DANGCEM (+0.7%), DANGSUGAR (+3.3%) and UBA (+2.0%). As a result, the All Share Index (“ASI”) advanced 0.3% to settle at 32,718 points. Similarly, market capitalisation grew by N43.9bn to N11.2tn as YTD loss improved to -19.7%. Furthermore, activity level strengthened as value and volume traded advanced by 104.0% and 30.9% to N3.4bn and 215.4m units respectively. In terms of value, the most active stocks for the day were ZENITH (N1.3bn), NESTLE (N640.1m) and DANGCEM (N287.3m) while ZENITH (58.3m units), STERLING (35.1m units) and FBNH (25.6m units) were the top traded stocks by volume.

Performance across sectors was mixed with a positive bias as 3 out of 5 sectors under our coverage advanced. The Industrial Goods index advanced the most by 0.7% – a rebound from yesterday’s negative performance – on the back of gains in DANGCEM (+0.7%) and WAPCO (+1.6%). Also, the Consumer Goods index trailed, advancing by 0.6%, bolstered by price appreciation in DANGSUGAR (+3.3%), NIGERIAN BREWERIES (+0.6%) and FLOURMIL (+5.0%) while the Oil & Gas index improved marginally by 0.1% following gains in FORTE OIL (+4.4%). However, the Banking and Insurance indices extended their losing streak by -0.1% and -0.4% respectively as losses in GUARANTY (-1.0%), DIAMONDBNK (-7.8%), NEM (-4.3%) and PRESTIGE (-8.5%) weighed on the indices.

Investors sentiment moved in tandem with today’s market performance as market breadth (advance/decline ratio) more than doubled, improving to 1.4x from 0.6x recorded yesterday with 22 stocks advancing against 16 that declined.  LAWUNION (+8.5%), UACN (+6.5%), WEMA (+5.6%) were the best performing stocks for the day while CILEASIN (-9.8%), PRESTIGE (-8.5%) and DIAMONDBNK (-7.8%) led the laggards. In subsequent trading sessions, we expect a furtherance of today’s positive performance, however, we envisage that this will be short-lived as we maintain our overall bearish outlook for the market.

Market Statistics Tuesday, 11th December 2018

Market Cap (N’bn)                                         11,220.6

Market Cap (US$’bn)                                            36.7

NSE All-Share Index                                      30,718.72

Daily Performance %                                              0.3

1 Week Performance %                                         (0.9)

YTD Performance %                                            (19.7)

Daily Volume (Million)                                          215.4

Daily Value (N’bn)                                                    3.4

Daily Value (US$’m)                                                5.4