Sustained profit taking drags down Stock Market prices… ASI Down 0.2%


The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) extended loses for the second consecutive day with crucial market indices dropping further amid profit taking. Losses in the market continued  as the All Share Index (“ASI”) inched southwards by 0.2 per cent following sustained declines in DANGCEM (-0.8%), NIGERIAN BREWERIES (-2.3%) and GUARANTY (-0.8%). Consequently, market capitalisation fell by N26.9 billion to N11.9 trillion while YTD return moderated to 2.0 per cent. On the other hand, activity level was mixed as volume traded advanced by 4.9 per cent to 218.5m units while value traded fell 1.7 per cent to N2.7 billion. The top traded stocks by volume were ZENITH (34.8m units), ACCESS (29.2m units) and FBNH (29.0m units) while top traded by value were ZENITH (N859.7m), GUARANTY (N850.1m) and FBNH (N235.9m).

Performance across sectors was bearish as all sectors under our coverage closed in the red. The Insurance and Oil & Gas indices led declines, retreating 1.0 per cent apiece due to losses in CORNERSTONE (-8.0%), MBENEFIT (-8.0%), AIICO (-1.4%), OANDO (-1.8%) and MOBIL (-5.6%). Similarly, the Industrial Goods index extended losses, down 0.4% due to sustained profit taking activities in DANGCEM (-0.8%) while the Consumer Goods index lost 0.2% based on price depreciation in NIGERIAN BREWERIES (-2.3%), PZ (-8.3%) and FLOURMILL (-4.8%). Also, the Banking index reversed prior-day trading gains, down 0.1% as investors sold position in GUARANTY (-0.8%), ACCESS (-1.6%) and DIAMOND (-2.4%).

Investor sentiment as measured by market breadth (advance/decline ratio) fell to 0.3x from 0.4x recorded the previous trading session. The top gainers for the day were CADBURY (+7.8%), DANGFLOUR (+4.1%) and STANBIC (+3.0%) while the least performing stocks were UPL (-9.8%), UCAP (-9.1%) and ROYALEX (-8.6%). We maintain our outlook for a positive close to the benchmark index tomorrow based on investor’s bargain hunting and positioning ahead of dividend announcements.

Market Statistics Thursday, 7th March 2019

Market Cap (N’bn)                         11,951.8

Market Cap (US$’bn)                           39.0

NSE All-Share Index                       32,049.73

Daily Performance %                             (0.2)

1 Week Performance %                           1.0

YTD Performance %                              2.0

Daily Volume (Million)                        218.5

Daily Value (N’bn)                                2.7

Daily Value (US$’m)                             8.9

Afrinvest