Domestic Equities Market extends losses… ASI down 0.4%

Losses in the equities market were extended into the third consecutive trading session as sell-offs in SEPLAT (-10.0%), NIGERIAN BREWERIES (-3.6%) and INTBREW (-9.9%) dragged the benchmark index 38bps lower to close at 24,655.05 points. As a result, market capitalisation declined ₦49.6bn to ₦12.9tn while YTD loss worsened to -8.2%. Activity level improved as volume and value traded rose 12.7% and 23.8% to 189.2m units and ₦1.9bn respectively. The most active stocks by volume were FBNH (44.4m units), ZENITH (21.3m units) and ACCESS (18.9m units) while ZENITH (₦349.4m), FBNH (₦241.1m) and SEPLAT (₦241.0m) led by value.

Across sectors, performance was mixed as 2 of the 6 indices under our coverage closed northward. The Insurance and Banking indices gained, up 0.9% and 0.2% respectively following price appreciation in AIICO (+28.0%), PRESTIGE (+4.4%), ZENITH (+0.9%) and FBNH (+0.9%). Conversely, the Oil & Gas and Consumer Goods indices declined 4.1% and 1.6% respectively due to sell-offs in SEPLAT (-10.0%), NIGERIAN BREWERIES (-3.6%) and INTBREW (-9.9%). Lastly, the Industrial Goods and AFR-ICT indices closed flat.

Investor sentiment as measured by market breadth (advance/decline ratio) improved to 0.8x from the 0.4x recorded in the previous session as 17 stocks advanced against 22 decliners. The best performing stocks were CHAMS (+9.5%), CHAMPION (+8.0%) and UNITYBNK (+7.4%) while PZ (-10.0%), SEPLAT (-10.0%) and INTBREW (-9.9%) lost the most. Following three consecutive days of sustained profit taking by investors, we do not rule out the possibility of some bargain hunting in subsequent trading sessions.

Market Statistics for Wednesday, 24th June 2020 

Source: Afrinvest