Nigerian equities market sheds N422.2 billion as ASI down 3.5%

The domestic equities market shed its biggest daily loss in eight months as sell-offs drove the All Share Index (ASI) 3.5 per cent lower to 32,292.79 points. YTD loss dipped to –15.6 per cent while N422.2 billion was wiped off market capitalisation which declined to 11.8 trillion. Sell-offs in DANGCEM (-5.8%), STANBIC (-8.9%), NIGERIAN BREWERIES (-4.6%) and ACCESS (-8.6%) largely contributed to today’s bearish performance. However, activity level strengthened as volume and value traded spiked 63.9 per cent and 334.0 per cent to 246.9 million units and N6.9 billion respectively. The top traded stocks by volume were ACCESS (46.2m), FBNH (22.6m) and TRANSCORP (19.7m) while the top traded stocks by value were DANGCEM (N3.9bn), NESTLE (N748.0m) and GUARANTY (N519.2m).

The Oil & Gas index closed today’s session as the lone gainer amidst an overwhelming bearish performance. Gains in SEPLAT (+0.6%) and FORTE (+4.4%) drove the index 0.4 per cent higher. On the flip-side, the Industrial and Banking indices fell 3.9 per cent and 2.8 per cent respectively, following sell pressures in DANGCEM (-5.8%), CCNN (-9.9%), STANBIC (-8.9%) and ACCESS (-8.6%). The Consumer Goods index trailed, as continued sell-offs in NIGERIAN BREWERIES (-4.6%) and profit-taking in NESTLE (-0.4%) pulled the index down by 1.6 per cent. Similarly, the Insurance index closed 1.4 per cent lower, on the back of losses in NEM (-3.2%) and AIICO (-6.7%).

Investor sentiment as measured by market breadth (advance/decline ratio) weakened to 0.3x from 0.5x recorded yesterday as 10 stocks advanced against 37 stocks that declined. Out performing stocks today were LAWUNION (+9.1%), SKYEBANK (+8.9%) and JAIZBANK (+6.0%) while UNIVINSURE (-10.0%), CCNN (-9.9%) and FIDELITY (-9.6%) led laggards. In line with our expectation, strong bearish sentiments witnessed in yesterday’s session weighed heavily across trading today. Following this, we anticipate a possible rebound before the close of the week as investors buy the dip for stocks with attractive entry prices as witnessed in GUARANTY (+0.3%). This however does not change our near-term bearish outlook on market.

Market Statistics Wednesday, 12th September 2018

Market Cap (N’bn)                               11,789.4

Market Cap (US$’bn)                                 38.5

NSE All-Share Index                           32,292.79

Daily Performance %                                  (3.5)

Week Performance %                                 (6.2)

YTD Performance %                                  (15.6)

Daily Volume (Million)                                246.9

Daily Value (N’bn)                                         6.9

Daily Value (US$’m)                                    22.6