Nigerian Equities Marketextends Bearish run… ASI Down 6bps

Today, the benchmark index declined for the third consecutive trading session. The ASI dipped 6bps to 26,456.29 points following losses in GUARANTY (-1.3%), UBA (-2.5%) and ZENITH (-0.8%). As such, YTD loss stood at -15.8% while investors lost N7.7bn, dragging down market capitalisation to N12.9tn. However, activity level was mixed as volume traded rose 4.1% to 144.1m units while value traded declined 19.6% to N2.9bn. The most active stocks by volume were GUARANTY (35.2m units), FBNH (24.3m units) and FIDELITY (14.0m units) while NESTLE (N1.3bn), GUARANTY (N946.7m) and ZENITH (N213.0m) led by value. 

Performance across sectors was mixed. Of the 6 indices under our coverage, 3 gained, 2 lost while 1 closed flat. The Insurance index led gainers, up 0.8% following gains in WAPIC (+9.4%) and AIICO (+1.6%). Similarly, the AFR-ICT and Consumer Goods indices gained 20bps and 7bps respectively on the back of price appreciation in MTNN (+0.4%) and FLOURMILL (+2.4%). However, the Banking and Industrial Goods indices shed 86bps and 8bps respectively following sell-offs in UBA (-2.5%), GUARANTY (-1.3%) and WAPCO (-0.3%). Lastly, the Oil & Gas index closed flat.

Investor sentiment as measured by market breadth (advance/decline ratio) declined to 1.4x from 1.6x recorded yesterday as 11 stocks gained against 8 decliners. The top gainers were WAPIC (+9.4%), CHAMS (+9.1%) and FCMB (+6.9%) while CORNERSTONE (-8.1%), UBA (-2.5%) and WEMABANK (-1.7%) were the top losers. We expect investors’ risk-off approach to persist, although there are opportunities for bargain hunting.

Market Statistics Thursday, 17th October, 2019