Local Bourse gains as Bulls take charge… ASI Up 13bps

The Benchmark index ended on the green note as the ASI inched higher by 13bps to 26,824.50 points, leading to a slight improvement in YTD loss at -14.7%. Furthermore, market capitalisation improved by ₦43.6bn to settled at ₦12.9tn. The market performance today was driven by gains in FBNH (+4.6%), ACCESS (+2.2%) and GUARANTY (+0.5%). Activity level strengthened as both volume and value traded increased by 60.0% and 15.9% to settle at 303.8m units and ₦1.7bn respectively. The most traded stocks by volume were LAWUNION (151.7m units), UBA (20.4m units) and ACCESS (12.4m units) while the most traded stocks by value were NESTLE (₦326.3m), DANGCEM (₦292.7m) and ZENITHBANK (₦193.1m).

Despite an uptick in the market, sector performance was bearish as only 2 of 6 sectors under our coverage gained. The Consumer Goods index declined the most, down 30bps on the back of sell-offs in DANGSUGAR (-4.8%). Similarly, the Industrial Goods and Insurance indices trailed, losing 14bps and 1bp respectively, following sell-pressures in DANGCEM (-0.4%), LASACO (-3.7%) and REGALINS (-4.8%). Conversely, the Oil & Gas and Banking indices gained, up 0.7% apiece as investors took position in OANDO (+6.3%), UBA (+0.5%) and ACCESS (+2.2%). Finally, the AFR-ICT closed the trading session flat.

Investor sentiment as measured by market breadth (advance/decline ratio) rose to 1.5x from 0.7x observed in the previous trading session as 19 stocks gained against 13 losers. The top gainers were led by CADBURY (+10.0%), CUTIX (+9.7%) and GLAXOSMITH (+9.6%) while the top losers were CILEASING (-9.8%), JAIZBANK (-8.7%) and LIVESTOCK (-7.3%). We expect the underlying bearish sentiment to dominate market performance this week, although we see opportunities for bargain hunting.

Market Statistics Thursday, 28th November 2019 

Source: Afrinvest