The Nigerian Equities market reversed the trend last week to post the first weekly gain in eight weeks.
According to the analyst, the gains is connected to investors’ positive reaction to juicy dividends declared by blue-chip companies Dangote Cement and Stanbic IBTC Holdings.
Consequently, the All-Share Index advanced by 2.2 per cent Week-on-Week (WoW) to close at 39,216.20 basis points.
Investors gain N43.6 billion as the market capitalisation of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) grew to N20.52 trillion from N20.08 trillion in the prior week.
As a result of the gain, the Year-to-a-Date (YtD) loss moderated to -2.6 per cent.
Notably, bargain hunting in bellwether stocks; Stanbic IBTC, BUA Cement, Dangote Cement and MTN Nigeria, drove the weekly gain as their stock appreciated by 30 per cent, 5.2 per cent, 2.3 per cent and 1.9 per cent, respectively.
In summary, 48 equities appreciated at price during the week, higher than 33 equities in the previous week; while 18 equities depreciated in price, lower than 25 equities in the previous week, while 96 equities remained unchanged, lower than 104 equities recorded in the previous week.
Sectoral performance was positive as all sectors closed in the green. The Industrial Goods index led the gainers’ chart, followed by Consumer Goods, Insurance, Oil and Gas and Banking indices.
However, activity levels were mixed, as trading volumes declined by 34.7 per cent w/w, while value traded rose by 10.6 per cent w/w.
A total turnover of 1.530 billion shares worth N21.311 billion in 20,016 deals were traded the week under preview by investors on the floor of the Exchange,
Trading in the top three equities namely Union Bank Nig. Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc and Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, measured by volume, accounted for 687.616 million shares worth N9.496 billion in 3,022 deals, contributing 44.95 per cent and 44.56 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
Despite the bullish return for the week, analysts at Cordros advised investors to take positions in only fundamentally justified stocks as the unimpressive macro story remained a significant headwind for corporate earnings.
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