Sell pressure on AIRTELAF, MTNN, WAPCO dragged the benchmark index lower by 2.3%

Losses closed proceedings in the equities market today as sell pressure on AIRTELAF (-10.0%), MTNN (-2.0%), and WAPCO (-7.8%) dragged the benchmark index lower by 2.3% to 44,318.15 points. Consequently, YTD return moderated to 3.7% (previously: 6.2%) while market capitalisation shed ₦570.9bn to ₦24.1tn. Activity level diverged as volume traded fell 60.7% to 165.4m units while value traded rose 1.4% to ₦3.7bn.

Across our coverage sectors, performance was mixed as 3 indices gained while 3 lost. The AFR- ICT index led laggards, down -6.6% driven by sell pressure on AIRTELAF (-10.0%) and MTNN (- 2.0%). Similarly, the Oil & Gas and Consumer Goods indices dipped 80bps and 3 bps respectively due to price depreciation in TOTAL (-6.7%), MRS (-9.7%), DANGSUGAR (-1.9%), and NNFM (-9.6%). On the flip side, the Industrial Goods index advanced 0.9% on the back of buying interest in BUACEMENT (+3.8%). Likewise, price uptick in FIDELITY (+9.7%), JAIZBANK (+7.1%), AIICO (+5.6%), and MBENEFIT (+6.9%) drove the Banking and Insurance indices higher by 0.5% and 0.2% respectively.

Investor sentiment, as measured by market breadth, faltered to -0.01x (previously: 0.04x) as 16 stocks gained, 17 lost while 68 closed flat. In the penultimate trading session for the week, we expect the bearish performance to persist barring any positive catalyst.

Market Cap (₦’bn)                                 24,138.90

Market Cap ($’bn)                                         54.80

NGX All-Share Index                            44,318.15

Daily Performance %                                    -2.30

WTD Performance %                                 -6.80                         

MTD Performance %                                 -9.60                        

QTD Performance %                                  -9.60

YTD Performance %                                   3.70                         

Daily Volume                                           165.40

Daily Value (₦’bn)                                      3.70                         

Daily Value ($’m)                                       8.30                           

Sectoral Indices Performance

NGX 30                                                     -2.00         

NGX BANKING INDEX                          0.50          

NGX INSURANCE INDEX                     0.20   

NGX CONSUMER GOODS INDEX      0.00

NGX OIL/GAS                                       -0.80                        

NGX LII                                                  -2.20

NGX INDUSTRIAL GOODS INDEX    0.90

NGX-AseM                                              0.00