Investors gained N54bn in five days amidst renewed buy sentiments

Equities trading at the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) closed on the green field, last week, amid renewed buy sentiment.

Overall sentiments for the week were largely due to investors’ interest in telecoms stocks, especially MTNN’s as MTN International Mauritius offered for sale up to 575 million shares of its shareholding in MTN Nigeria Communications (MTNN) Plc to high-net-worth investors in Nigeria.

Hence, the NGX All-Share Index rose Week-on-Week (W-o-W) by 109.02 points or 0.25 per cent to close at 43,308.29 basis points.

Thus, over the five-day trading sessions, Investors earned N54 billion as market capitalisation closed at N22.598 trillion.

However, sectoral performance was not reflective of the performance of the benchmark index, as most sector gauges closed in the red.

The NGX Banking, NGX Consumer Goods, NGX Oil & Gas, and the NGX Industrial indices plummeted by 0.29 per cent, 2.00 per cent, 0.87 per cent and 0.03 per cent to close at 390.48 points, 549.62 points, 364.84 points, and 2,193.80 points respectively.

However, the NGX Insurance rose by 3.56 per cent to close at 183.058 points.

The market breadth for the week was negative as 29 equities appreciated at price, 36 equities depreciated in price, while 91 equities remained unchanged. University Press led the gainers table by 27.83 per cent to close at N2.94, per share. Ikeja Hotel followed with a gain of 17.39 per cent to close at N1.35, while Honeywell Flour Mill went up by 16.81 per cent to close to N3.96, per share.

On the other side, UACN Property Development Company Plc (UPDC) led the decliners table by 14.94 per cent to close at N1.31, per share. Cutix Plc followed with a loss of 14.02 per cent to close at N2.76, while MRS Oil Nigeria declined by 9.87 per cent to close at N13.70, per share.

Overall, a total turnover of 3.435 billion shares worth N30.915 billion in 21,109 deals was traded last week by investors on the floor of the Exchange, in contrast to a total of 1.392 billion shares valued at N27.886 billion that exchanged hands last week in 19,990 deals.

The Oil & Gas Services Industry, led the activity chart, measured by volume, with 2.014 billion shares valued at N13.448 billion traded in 1,350 deals; contributing 58.63 per cent and 43.50 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively. The Financial Service Industry followed with 1.052 billion shares worth N10.168 billion in 10,941 deals, while the Consumer Goods Industry traded a turnover of 183.803 million shares worth N4.492 billion in 4,007 deals.

Trading in the top three equities; Oando Plc, FBN Holdings (FBNH), and Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) accounted for 2.283 billion shares worth N17.395 billion in 3,645 deals, contributing 66.47 per cent and 56.27 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

Looking into the week, analysts at Cowry Assets Management Limited expected the local bourse index to trade sideways as investors wait on the sidelines to take advantage of declining stock prices. “We expect more sales from retail investors than the institutional investors as yuletide season beckons.”

Also, Cordros Securities’ analysts, posited that the market performance over the week would be dominated by the bulls, as positioning by early birds in dividend-paying stocks ahead of 2021 full year dividend declarations should outweigh profit-taking activities.

“We reiterate the need for positioning in only fundamentally sound stocks as the weak macro environment remains a significant headwind for corporate earnings.”

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