Investors in Nigerian equities closed weekend with net gain of N144 billion as positive global sentiments quickened investors’ appetite across the markets.
Benchmark equities indices indicated that Nigerian stock market recorded average return of 0.37 per cent last week, equivalent to net capital gain of N144 billion.
The All Share Index (ASI) – the value-based common index that tracks all share prices at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), closed weekend at 71,112.99 points as against the week’s opening index of 70,849.38 points. Aggregate market value of all quoted equities meanwhile rose from its opening value of N38.925 trillion to close at N39.108 trillion.
The rally nudged the average year-to-date return for Nigerian equities to 38.75 per cent, one of the highest returns globally.
The performance of Nigerian equities followed global optimism on macroeconomic outlook. Global stock market indices showed a generally positive outlook across the advanced, emerging and frontier markets.
In United States, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) appreciated by 1.9 per cent while the S & P 500 Index rose by 2.1 per cent. United Kingdom’s benchmark, FTSE 100 Index, posted average return of 0.7 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rallied by 3.1 per cent while China’s SSE Index inched up by 0.4 per cent. STOXX Europe, which tracks the broad European markets, rose by 1.8 per cent. The MSCI EM Index, which tracks emerging markets, closed with average return of 3.6 per cent while the MSCI FM Index, which tracks the frontier markets, appreciated by 2.0 per cent.
Total turnover at the NGX however dropped to 2.025 billion shares worth N27.693 billion in 32,763 deals last week as against 2.525 billion shares valued at N45.297 billion traded in 32,815 deals two weeks ago.
The financial services sector led the activity chart with 1.202 billion shares valued at N11.481 billion traded in 12,775 deals; thus contributing 59.38 per cent and 41.46 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively. The oil and gas sector followed with 328.656 million shares worth N3.163 billion in 4,713 deals while the services industry placed third with a turnover of 131.249 million shares worth N539.745 million in 2,263 deals.
The trio of Japual Gold and Venture Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc and Jaiz Bank Plc were the most active stocks, jointly accounting for 488.181 million shares worth N1.967 billion in 3,136 deals, representing 24.11 per cent and 7.10 per cent of the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
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Also, a total of 36,548 units of Exchange Traded Products valued at N4.610 million were traded in 95 deals compared with a total of 32,861 units valued at N4.458 million traded in 143 deals penultimate week.
On the secondary debt market, a total of 87,570 bond units valued at N80.851 million were in 54 deals compared with a total of 62,233 units valued at N65.981 million swapped in 16 deals two weeks ago.
Further analysis of pricing trend showed that there were 54 gainers against 30 losers last week compared with 37 gainers and 43 losers recorded in the previous week.
Deap Capital Management & Trust led the gainers with a gain of 54.84 per cent to close at 48 kobo per share. C & I Leasing followed with a gain of 49.55 per cent to close at N4.98. Mecure Industries placed third with a gain of 46.17 per cent to close at N5.73. Omatek Ventures Plc appreciated by 35.94 per cent to close at 87 kobo while Northern Nigeria Flour Mills rose by 32.78 per cent to close at N23.90 per share.
On the negative side, Japaul Gold & Ventures led the decliners with a drop of 14.14 per cent to close at N1.70 per share. Beta Glass followed with a loss of 9.92 per cent to close at N54. The Initiates dropped by 9.80 per cent to close at 92 kobo. Red Star Express declined by 8.54 per cent to close at N3 while Mutual Benefits Assurance dipped by 7.69 per cent to close at 48 kobo per share.
Most analysts expected the market direction to be determined by the decisions at the meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), scheduled to start today.
Analysts at Cordros Capital said they believed investors would closely monitor the results of the MPC meeting to gain further clarity on the movement of yields in the fixed-income market.
“As a result, we anticipate cautious trading on the local bourse. Overall, we advise investors to take positions in only fundamentally justified stocks as the weak macro story remains a significant headwind for corporate earnings,” Cordros Capital stated.
Analysts at Afrinvest Securities expected “modest gains” at the equities market “as investors react to the outcome of the MPC meeting”.
