Investors gain N74.8bn as Stock market posts bullish performance…

As expected, it was a bull’s market today as the local bourse closed positive. The All Share Index (ASI) rose 53bps to 35,516.21 points, YTD loss improved to -7.1 performance and market capitalisation increased by N74.8 billion to N13.0 trillion. Price appreciation in banking bellwethers – GUARANTY (+2.6%), ACCESS (+2.8%) and UBA (+2.5%) were the major drivers of this performance. In the same vein, activity level improved as volume and value traded surged 93.3 per cent and 179.9 performance higher to 339.7 million units and N5.5 billion respectively. The top traded stocks by volume were HMARKINS (100.0m), STANBIC (80.0m) and MAYBAKER (40.1m) while STANBIC (N3.6bn), NESTLE (N0.4bn) and GUARANTY (N0.2bn) were the top traded stocks by value.

Performance across sectors was equally bullish as 4 of 5 indices closed northwards. The Banking index was the biggest gainer, up 1.7 per cent as investors rallied in GUARANTY (+2.6%), ACCESS (+2.8%) and UBA (+2.5%). The Oil & Gas and Consumer Goods indices followed suit, rising 0.7 per cent and 0.3 per cent respectively following buying interest in TOTAL (+5.0%), DANGSUGAR (+3.3%), FLOURMILL (+5.1%) and PZ (+7.3%). Similarly, the Industrial Goods index gained marginally, up 2bps due to bargain hunting in PORTPAINT (+9.7%). The Insurance index was the only loser, shedding 0.2 per cent as investors booked profit in LINKASSURE (-7.4%) and LAWUNION (-9.9%).

Investor sentiment as measured by market breadth (advance/decline ratio) improved to 2.1x from 1.9x recorded the previous day as 33 stocks advanced against 16 stocks that declined. The top performers were PORTPAINT (+9.7%), JAIZ (+9.6%) and CAVERTON (+9.6%) while IKEJAHOTEL (-9.9%), LAWUNION (-9.9%) and NPFMCRFBK (-9.4%) led laggards. We expect performance to stay upbeat in subsequent sessions as investors hunt for bargains.

Market Statistics Tuesday, 28th August 2018

Market Cap (N’bn)                                        12,966.2

Market Cap (US$’bn)                                           42.4

NSE All-Share Index                                     35,516.21

Daily Performance %                                             0.6

Week Performance %                                            2.5

YTD Performance %                                             (7.1)

Daily Volume (Million)                                         339.7

Daily Value (N’bn)                                                  5.5

Daily Value (US$’m)                                            18.0