United Capital Plc launches N150bn infrastructure Fund as stock market sustains rally

United Capital Plc said it has launched the United Capital Infrastructure Fund, a Naira-denominated fund established to provide long term financing for the delivery of critical infrastructure which would bridge the infrastructure deficits in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa. The fund has been duly registered by the Securities and Exchange Commission as a close ended fund with a ₦150.0 billion issuance program.

Meanwhile, the stock market extended its bullish dominance from the previous week on the back of buying interest in AIRTELAF (+1.3%), FBNH (+2.5%), and UNILEVER (+6.9%) as the All-Share index rose 0.1% to 41,814.74 points. Likewise, market capitalisation gained ₦26.9bn to ₦21.8tn while YTD return improved to 3.8%. Trading activity advanced as volume and value traded rose 32.2% and 29.4% respectively to 674.5m units and ₦7.6bn. The most traded stocks by volume were FBNH (350.5m units), ETI (45.6m units), and UNIVINSURE (33.9m units) while FBNH (₦4.3bn), GTCO (₦614.4m), and ETI (₦347.8m) led by value.

Performance across sectors within our coverage was bullish as 4 indices gained while 2 indices lost. The Insurance and AFR-ICT indices gained 1.9% and 0.6% respectively due to buying interest in MANSARD (+6.5%), MBENEFIT (+7.1%), and AIRTELAF (+1.3%). Trailing, the Oil & Gas and Consumer Goods indices rose 0.4% apiece as a result of price appreciation in OANDO (+1.0%), TOTAL (+1.3%), UNILEVER (+6.9%), and PZ (+9.3%). On the flip side, the Banking and Industrial Goods indices declined 0.2% and 0.1% respectively due to sell-offs in STANBIC (-4.9%), ZENITH (-0.4%), and WAPCO (-1.2%).

Investor sentiment, as measured by market breadth (advance/decline ratio), strengthened to 1.4x from 1.2x as 28 stocks advanced against 20 declining stocks. PZ (+9.3%), MBENEFIT (+7.1%), and UNILEVER (+6.9%) led gainers while ABBEYBDS (-9.5%), PRESTIGE (-8.5%), and REGALINS (-7.3%) led the laggards. In the next trading session, we expect the local bourse to sustain its bullish momentum in expectation of 9M:2021 earnings releases.

Market Statistics for Monday, 25th October 2021