Nigerian Equities Market extend gains… ASI up 0.3%

The local bourse extended gains for the third consecutive trading session as a result of price appreciation in GUARANTY (+4.2%), WAPCO (+6.8%), and UBN (+5.3%). Accordingly, the All-Share index rose 29bps to close at 39,128.34 points, YTD loss improved to -2.8% while market capitalisation increased by ₦59.0bn to ₦20.5tn. Trading activity declined as volume and value traded fell 29.4% and 38.5% respectively to 239.2m units and ₦1.7bn. The most traded stocks by volume were ACCESS (28.2m units), FIDELITY (17.2m units), and MBENEFIT (16.8m units) while GUARANTY (₦423.1bn), ZENITH (₦276.7m), and ACCESS (₦213.2m) led by value.

Across sectors under our coverage, performance was mixed as 3 of the 6 indicators closed in the green. The Banking index led gainers, up 2.3% due to price appreciation in GUARANTY (+4.2%), UBN (+5.3%), and UBA (+2.1%). Similarly, the Industrial Goods and Oil & Gas indices rose 0.4% and 0.3% respectively due to buying interest in WAPCO (+6.8%), CONOIL (+10.0%), and ETERNA (+9.5%). Conversely, the Insurance and Consumer Goods indices declined 1.3% and 0.4% respectively as investors exited position in NEM (-7.0%), LINKASSURE (-4.8%), GUINNESS (-9.9%) and INTBREW (-0.9%). Finally, the AFR-ICT index closed flat.

Investor sentiment, as measured by market breadth (advance/decline ratio), weakened to 1.0x from the 2.0x recorded in the previous session as 22 stocks advanced against 21 decliners. CONOIL (+10.0%), STUDPRESS (+9.9%) and ETERNA (+9.5%) were the top gainers while GUINNESS (-9.9%), PORTPAINT (-9.8%) and ACADEMY (-9.8%) were the top decliners. In the next trading session, we expect the market to sustain its positive momentum.

Market Statistics for Wednesday, 21st April 2021