Nigerian Equities Market edges higher, investors gain N28.8bn

The Nigerian Equities Market recorded a positive performance as the All-Share Index advanced 31bps to 25,654.90 points following gains in MTNN (+2.4%), DANGSUGAR (+0.8%) and FBNH (+2.0%). Consequently,  market capitalisation rose to ₦13.4tn as investors gained ₦28.8bn while YTD loss improved to -4.4%. Activity level advanced as volume and value traded rose 33.6% and 158.8% respectively to 262.1m units and ₦4.4bn. The most traded stocks by volume were ZENITH (45.9m units), FBNH (24.1m units) and TRANSCORP (20.9m units) while MTNN (₦1.6bn), ZENITH (₦766.3m) and PRESCO (₦626.9m) led by value.

Sector performance was lackluster as 5 of the 6 indices that we cover closed in the negative region. The AFR-ICT index was the lone gainer, up 1.2% following price accretion in MTNN (+2.4%). On the flip side, the Insurance index was the worst-performing indicator, losing 1.1% due to price decline in CORNERSTONE (-6.2%) and LINKASSURE (-5.0%). Similarly, the Banking and Oil & Gas indices posted respective losses of  0.6% and 0.2%, on the back of sell pressures in UBN (-6.5%), ACCESS (-0.8%) and OANDO (-1.7%). Lastly, losses in INTBREW (-2.9%) and DANGCEM (-0.2%) dragged the Industrial and Consumer Goods indices lower by 0.1% apiece.

Investor sentiment as measured by market breadth (advance/decline ratio) fell to 0.5x from the 0.6x recorded previously as 9 stocks gained against the 17 that lost. The top gainers were REDSTRAREX (+9.8%), CHIPLC (+9.7%) and TRANSEXPRESS (+9.3%) while UBN (-6.5%), CORNERSTONE (-6.2%) and LINKASSURE (-5.0%) lost the most. We expect bargain hunting to persist in the market.

Market Statistics for Tuesday, 22nd September 2020